Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday 23 May 2017 / No comments
The importance of pottery in the pre-colonial economy of Ghana
THE IMPORTANCE
OF POTTERY IN THE PRE-COLONIAL ECONOMY OF GHANA
Introduction
Pottery was a major traditional occupation of the
indigenous people of pre-colonial Ghana. This was the situation long before the
arrival of the Europeans to the shores of pre-colonial Ghana. The major
locations where pottery was dominant were Mpraeso and the Krobo areas of the
Eastern Region, Volo and Koloenu in the Volta Region of present day Ghana.
PROCESSES OF
POTTERY
At the very beginning of the process, the clay
deposits were extracted and hipped at a location. It was then mixed with water
to allow for easy pounding. The clay was then pounded to a desired texture
based on the knowledge and skills of the potter. The following stage was the
kneading and moulding of the clay mixture into desired objects.
After kneading, the objects were smoothened and left
to dry. After they were dried, they were then packed and fired to make them
stronger. Sometimes, the clay objects were painted in either black or brown
colours. The final stage of the pottery
process was to take the objects into the markets for sale or to leave them at “the
factory” for merchants to come and buy.
IMPORTANCE OF
POTTERY IN PRE-COLONIAL GHANA
Provision of vessels
One of the reasons why pottery was important to the
pre-colonial economy of Ghana was that it made vessels readily available to the
people for domestic use. The indigenous people prepared meals using the pots,
some boiled herbs in their pots and grounded pepper in other earthen-ware utensils.
In short, the availability of pottery products improved the efficiency with
which domestic chores such as cooking, fetching water and washing were undertaken.
Job creation
At every stage of the pottery making, that is, from
the extraction of clay to the firing of the clay products, labour was expended.
Sometimes, the labour was hired and paid for. The producers of the pottery sold the items out to marketers for onward sale to distant markets or nearby
communities. The local pottery industry in pre-colonial Ghana created
employment for the people.
Generation of personal income
The workers in the pottery production chain were
remunerated for their services. The traders who bought pottery from the potters
paid money before the products were taken away. The traders then added their
own profit margin and sold them in the markets. All these people earned money
in one way or the other. One can therefore conclude that pottery in the
pre-colonial economy of Ghana served as an income generation mechanism for the
local people.
Value addition
The pottery was also important because of the way it
allowed for value to be added to the clay deposits. The clay deposits, by itself
could not have created any employment or earn income for anybody unless some
level of value was added. In effect, the pottery industry in pre-colonial Ghana
added value to the raw clay deposit found in abundance in their locality.
Encouraged trade
The various objects which were molded, such as the pots,
vessels, bowls etc., were traded in by the people. There was a ready market for
the products and they had to be taken to those markets. The pottery products
were sold for money. There was so much activity surrounding the clay deposits
from extraction to the sale of the objects. The pottery industry in Ghana was
therefore important because it stimulated trade.
SAMPLE
QUESTION
1. a. Describe the process of pottery-making.
b. Outline
five ways in which the pottery industry was important in pre-colonial Ghana.
