My Library

quite orderly and proceeds without argument or discussion. A woman approaches the table and speaks to the butcher, in some cases indicating with her hands the size of the piece she requires, in others she points to a piece of meat or draws with her finger on the carcass. Her indication of her needs appears to be accepted without question. Not very far away are two men engaged in making bowls. Between them there is a mound of wet clay; one man is making an open bowl like a wash-basin, the other a kind of ewer, several’ of which are being used to hold water with which to moisten the clay. The process reminds one very much of making a pudding; the man takes a lump from the mound with his hands and puts it before him on the ground; he then flattens it—again with his hands— makes it slightly hollow and pours in water. When he has rolled it up and kneaded it until it is of equal consistency and stiffness throughout, he flattens it to the thickness he requires and begins to turn the edges up; as he has worked it to the stiffness of putty, it remains in whatever shape he gives it. It is interesting to watch him turn the clay into a bowl. He locks both hands and passes them under the flat slab of clay; then, using his body and arms to press and hold it in a circular shape, he begins to raise the edge slowly with his fingers. Having raised one side, he turns the piece round and repeats the process; he then works it up with his bare hands, which he keeps dipping into water, moulding the bowl into a more or less symmetrical shape. Judging from the specimens of his work which are around him, he does not achieve exact repetition of shape, though there is a general similarity. There does not appear to be either lip or thickened base to his work, but he runs his hand round the edge and gives it as smooth a finish as he possibly can. The man making jugs works in an almost exactly similar way. The pieces are all standing in the sun and appear to dry and get fairly quickly; they are then heated by being placed round—not in—a small but fierce fire. This fire is made of short stumps of wood closely packed together, which give off a very great heat. The operation of turning the bowls and placing them before the fire has to be performed quickly; this is being done by the same men who moulded them. Cooking appears to be done in the open, and to consist entirely of roasting. Four large stones are placed in the form of a square just inside or at the edge of the fire. A bowl is placed inside the hollow thus formed to catch the juice from