The Pot Maker
by Temsula Ao
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Sentila dreams of becoming a pot maker like her mother Arenla and grandmother, but her mother wants her to become a weaver because pottery is tiring and poorly paid. Sentila secretly watches expert potters at work. Overhearing her mother complain about the hardships of pot making, she hides her passion. The village council reminds the family that traditional skills must be passed on to anyone who wishes to learn. Arenla finally teaches Sentila, but for a year the girl cannot shape the clay, she is too tense. A kind widow, Onula, who supervises the girls' dormitory, patiently guides Sentila and restores her confidence. One day Arenla, feeling unwell, asks Sentila to make as many pots as she can, and Sentila skilfully makes almost as many as her mother. Returning home, Sentila finds her mother dead. Onula later discovers two identical rows of pots in the shed and senses that a new pot maker has been born.
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A dream and a mother's objection
Ever since she was old enough, Sentila dreamed of becoming a pot maker like her mother Arenla and grandmother, but Arenla wanted her to become a weaver. Sentila secretly approached expert potters to learn the craft. Overhearing her mother describe pot making as tedious, messy and poorly paid, with clay dug sixteen kilometres away and carried uphill, Sentila hid her fascination at home.
The village council intervenes
Sentila kept watching the potters shape, dry and fire the pots in a kiln. When her visits became village gossip, the council summoned her father Mesoba, reminding him that skills like pot making symbolise the tradition and history of the people and do not 'belong' to any individual, experts are obliged to pass them on to anyone who wishes to learn.
A year of failure
Arenla finally took Sentila to the riverbank and taught her to dig, soak and pound the clay. Sentila learnt these steps quickly, but when she tried to shape the lump into a pot she could not even hold it properly. For almost a year she failed, hanging her head in shame while her mother silently took over and made beautiful pots.
Onula restores her confidence
At the girls' dormitory, the kind widow Onula noticed Sentila's tense, clumsy efforts. She gently taught her, and with new confidence Sentila made a beautiful pot, though the mouth was wrong. Onula advised her to watch her mother closely when shaping the mouth. Sentila observed carefully during the next session.
A new pot maker is born
One sunny day Arenla, complaining of a headache and backache, asked Sentila to make as many pots as she could. Working in perfect coordination, Sentila made pot after pot with her mother's speed and skill, finishing just one short of her mother's tally. She then found her mother lying dead on the floor. Onula later discovered two identical rows of pots in the shed and realised, with wonder, that a new pot maker had been born.