CHAPTER 65
EARTHEN-WARE FOR USE IN HOMES
1. 1. A cooking pot is made of earth and after it has been formed, it is left to dry. This takes about 30 to 40 days, after which it is filled and covered with dry grass. Fire is put round it until the grass burns completely and turns into ashes. When the fire has died and the pot becomes cool, it is removed from the ashes and is by this time bright brown. It is now ready for use and if water is put into it, it does not leak. If, however, water is put into it before it is burnt, the whole thing crumples and the water flows out. Therefore, an unburnt pot cannot be used for anything. The pot which has been burnt is used to cook food as well as for other cooking purposes.
2. Sauce-bowls are prepared in the same way as cooking pots except that they are smaller than cooking pots.
3. Water pots in which, water is kept or fetched from the well, as well as beer and storage pots, are all worked in the same manner as cooking pots.
4. Salt filters. These are also prepared in the same way as the other vessels but they do not remain burning for as long as the other vessels; the filters only remain for 15 to 20 days, when they seem to have had “the necessary burning time. They are made in the same way as they are to—day, containing two rooms divided by a perforated soil wall with a number of smal1 holes through which filtered salt passes to the lower room after the unrefined salt has been placed on the top one and water poured over it.
CARPENTRY APPLIANCES IN THE HOME
1. The wooden mortar (‘kinu’) is made from a musita or another tree. It is carefully prepared and curved with a big hollow ranging from 1 to 2 feet deep and the diameter is about 4 to 12 inches, while its thickness ranges from 1 to 2 inches. The whole height of the mortar ranges from l to 3 feet and the circumference 2 to 3 feet. An accompaniment to this mortar is also a wooden pestle about 2 to 4 feet long and about 4 inches circumference. This is used for pounding into the mortar.
2. ‘Eikonero’ — this was used for beating fresh plantain fibres for washing bodie’s with. It was made from either a musita tree, a mvule or any other tree. The top part was carved into a round shape resting on 3 or sometimes 4 legs. Its height ranged from 4 to 8 inches with a circumference of 2 to 3 feet. An accompaniment to beat with was made in the form of a round short stick about 4 to 6 inches long and 1 to 2 inches circumference. Therefore when it was made the whole apparatus was known as Eikonero’ where all fresh plantin fibres could be beaten to produce watery tissues to wash up with.
3. ‘Omululi’ or ‘Omukomago’ was the oblong wooden piece upon which barkcloth was beaten. This was made from any fine tree and its length ranged from 8 to 22 feet, according to the height of the tree selected to make the omukomago. The tree selected for this purpose had to be straight and well built. It was then felled and the bark removed. Then it was carried and placed under a shady tree near the house or in the owner’s compound. Then came the task of making grooved wooden mallets for beating out bark cloth on the omukomago and these were known as ‘Ensaamu’. These usually were two or three prepared from ‘Akauna’ or ‘Nkanaga’ trees. Each mallet measured 8 to 12 inches long and 6 to 8 inches in circumference and contained two parts — the head which was left in its normal size, and was well smoothed so that no swelling remained.
Meeting threads of about 1/8inch thick were cut around this whole head, each one meeting itself. These threads varied; on another mallet they would be 3/8 inch thick while on the third one they were ¼ inch thick. Then the lower part was decreased in thickness up to the size one wanted and this used to be 3 or 4 inches in circumference being left and that part was known as the handle.
After all these things had been made, the whole business had been accomplished and it only remained for the barkcloth to be prepared. In the preparation of a barkcloth it is the mallet having the smallest threads – 1/8 inch — which is used lastly when beating the cloth to finish it.
4. Wooden bowls for drinking beer in were prepared from either mvule, musita or any other kind of tree. The height of the bowl varied from 6 to 12 inches and the whole was moulded according to the size of the wood, although the wood was curved so as not to exceed 6 inches in circumference. The thickness of the grooved bowl remained 1/8 or ¾ inch. The wood was curved in such a way that it comprised three segments. The top part was the bowl and this was bigger than each of the two lower parts. The middle part was made thin so that the fingers could hold it firmly and easily, and the bottom part known as the stand of the bowl was curved wider than the middle so that the whole thing was placed or stood easily without falling over.
5. There were other wooden bowls for putting sauce in or for making juice or brewing juice. These were also prepared from the same kinds of trees and were made as the rest of the bowls.
6. Sticks were made from any kind of tree, provided it was the type and size required.
There were various kinds of sticks — e.g.: —
a) For fighting with during wars
b) For use during plays
c) For use when during or grazing cattle or goats
d) For special games
e) For ‘Abaswezi’ or ‘Abasamize’
f) For walking with leisurely
g) Used in ceremonies and other ways
All these were made according to their significance.
7. Chairs were made in exactly the same way as eikonero except that a chair was higher than the eikonero by twice and half its height. Also the upper part was moulded into a hollow in the middle of the seat to about 4 to 6 inches deep, leaving the thickness of the wood around it with ½ or 1 inch. It was in the form of a stool with four legs. There were several ways in which these stools were made according to the maker’s wish.
8. Beds were made from any kind of trees but usually from trees from which bark cloth had been removed. Some beds were simply woven with small soft trees while others were made in any way that enabled them to be used as beds.
HAND CRAFTS
1. In this range, there were baskets (‘Ebibbo’) which were of many varieties and sizes. They were made from elongated tiny trees and in any size according to one’s plan.
a) Big baskets were used for brewing beer in. They were about 3 to 4 feet high and about 12 feet in circumference.
b) The small sizes were used for any other purposes.
2. Sleeping carpets or mats or cushions. These were woven from plantain fibres or from mid-ribs of withered banana leaves or from grass which normally was used to thatch houses and to prepare juice, etc. This was the ancient form of mattresses used in the country.
3. Net bags — these were made for storing things in, especially edible things, or in which a few utensils were kept, or were used by men for storing their fetishes and other things, such as long drums, gourds for scooping up water, and also to keep valuable properties.
They were prepared out of sisal obtained from forests and woven in a network, some of them with big spaces or holes for storing big things, while others had small holes which were used as bags by men. These were carried about as small suitcases by men for taking their packages on journeys.
4. Hunters’ nets. These were made from the usual sisal and were of two types — one being a big net the size of a barkcloth, while the other, which was known as ‘enkanda’ was made on a stick in the form of a bow. Both types were used when hunting animals.
5. Hats — which were made out of threads woven from cotton, and from the other kind of wild cotton known as ‘Kifumuusi’, which can be blown by the wind. First, the cotton was removed from its seeds by the fingers after which a small piece of stick about half a foot long was brought and the cotton threads wound on the stick. Then four or more pieces of stick were taken and put in formation so that the hat could be woven on them. Long purses could also be made out of such and tied around the waist, this being a way of storing money.
WORKED-OUT METAL APPLIANCES
1. Big knives to the size of a panga, daggers, axes, hoes and many other kinds of worked metal appliances were made from other old metal. A person who knew the art of working with metals used to gather old metals out of which he formed new metal appliances. Old metals in the form of old hoes which used to be bought from Bunyoro, where there were hoe-makers, and also iron mines, were used.
2. a) Smaller knives were used for preparing food and were kept by women only.
b) Daggers were made or kept in order to be used as a defence during fighting and for slaughtering cows, goats, hens, etc. These daggers were kept by men only.
c) Axes were used to cut any sort of trees when they were required for any purpose, and to cut bones off meat, or when a knife, or dagger, or hoe or a spear failed to work efficiently.
d) Spears were made in many different ways according to their purposes, but were normally prepared for defence when fighting, as were pointederules, which were used when hunting as well as when fishing, and for other purposes.
ANCIENT FOOD LAY-OUTS WHEN EATING
1. The commonest lay—out on which food was served in every chief or peasant’s home was the banana leaf, which was used as Kisoga plates, forks and spoons.
2. Sauce was served in earthen and wooden bowls which also served as plates or large meat dishes.
3. Drinks were served in calabashes which used to be of different sizes and kinds. Sometimes they were also served in wooden calabashes.
a) Drinks could also be served in gourds which were used to scoop out water from pots. Only water and beer could be taken from them — these were the glasses or cups of that time. They were made from fruit of a certain kind and some were carved out of wood.
b) Beer calabashes were used to serve as well as to store beer. They were of various sizes and kinds, being made from certain kinds of fruit and from the carving of trees.
c) There were also curved wooden glasses as well as glasses made from calabashes which were used for beer only.