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The Collector(s) / Donor(s) James Ellison is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of historical anthropology at the University of Florida, having recently completed his PhD in anthropology at the same institution. He is particularly interested in issues relating to cultural translation and globalization in the 20th century. After completing an undergraduate degree in anthropology at Michigan State University in 1987, Ellison participated in an archaeological project researching changes in human ecology in southern Somalia. In the winter of 1988 he conducted an ethnographic reconnaissance of Xawaal Dheri, a small village that then had approximately 250 inhabitants. Part of Ellison's study involved collecting a representational sample of the material culture used by the people of Xawaal Dheri. His notes indicate that the "collection represents standard artifacts found in most households in the village, as well as specialty items found only in specific sections of the village." The collection, which includes this pot, came to the MSU Museum in 1988. It is an important collection because, in Ellison's words, it represents a "slice out of time," a specific moment in a community's history. Collector(s) / Donor(s) Statement The Object(s) This pot was made in 1988 in the Somali town of Xawaal Dheri in Southern Somalia. The women of this town carry water in ceramic pots that have suspended in specially-made wood and rope frames. The leather strap is worn over the forehead and the pot rests on the woman's back during transport. Ellison, who collected the pot in 1988, tells us that it is called aashuun and was made for an adolescent--there is a small size for children and larger one for adults. In this part of Somalia, women collect the clay for making pots but it is the men who create them. This is rather unusual, for women are the potters in most African societies. The pot is formed using a coil technique. In Xawaal Dheri men are potters, a rather uncommon practice, as women tend to be the potters in most African societies. The process is facilitated by the us of a "wheel"--a circular slab of wood that is balanced on a knob-like peg firmly anchored in the ground. The pot is set on the wheel and rotated as the potter builds up the sides by adding successive coils of clay. After the pot has been modeled, its surface is decorated with incised or punched designs. It is dried in the sun and then fired. Further Information Books and Articles James Ellison. "An Introduction to the Material Culture at Xawaal Dheri, Somalia." Unpublished manuscript, 1989. [On deposit at Michigan State University Museum. Katheryne S. Loughran, et al. Somalia in Word and Image. Washington, D.C. and Bloomington: Foundation for Cross Cultural Understanding and Indiana University Press, 1986. Internet Resourcesnone
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