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Book Cover
E-book
Author Frank, Barbara E., author.

Title Griot potters of the Folona : the history of an African ceramic tradition / Barbara E. Frank
Published Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2021]

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Description 1 online resource (xvii, pages) : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (some color)
Series African expressive cultures
African expressive cultures.
Contents Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Orthography -- 1. Marks of Identity Heritage Matters -- 2. Identity Matters Griot Potters and Their Clients in the Folona -- 3. Mapping Identities Potters and Their Husbands -- 4. Technology Matters Making Pots in the Folona -- 5. Mapping Styles of Technology ChaƮnes OpƩratoires -- 6. Objects Matter Pots and Their Contexts in the Folona -- 7. Mapping Pots Function, Form, Design, and Distribution -- 8. Alternative Histories -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author
Summary While the women may have nominally given up their mothers' identities through marriage, over the generations the potters preserved their maternal heritage through their technological style, passing this knowledge on to their daughters
Griot Potters of the Folona reconstructs the past of a particular group of West African women potters using evidence found in their artistry and techniques. The potters of the Folona region of southeastern Mali serve a diverse clientele and firing thousands of pots weekly during the height of the dry season. Although they identify themselves as Mande, the unique styles and types of objects the Folona women make, and more importantly, the way they form and fire them, are fundamentally different from Mande potters to the north and west. Through a brilliant comparative analysis of pottery production methods across the region, especially how the pots are formed and the way the techniques are taught by mothers to daughters, Barbara Frank concludes that the mothers of the potters of the Folona very likely came from the south and east, marrying Mande griots (West African leatherworkers who are better known as storytellers or musicians), as they made their way south in search of clientele as early as the 14th or 15th century CE. While the women may have nominally given up their mothers' identities through marriage, over the generations the potters preserved their maternal heritage through their technological style, passing this knowledge on to their daughters, and thus transforming the very nature of what it means to be a Mande griot. This is a story of resilience and the continuity of cultural heritage in the hands of women
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on January 12, 2022)
Subject Pottery -- Mali
CRAFTS & HOBBIES -- Pottery & Ceramics.
Pottery
Mali
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780253058973
025305897X
9780253058980
0253058988