Container for Liquids

Little has been published on the pottery of the Mambila, the Mfumte, and the neighboring and interrelated peoples such as the Yamba, who live primarily in the highlands of west-central Cameroon and across the border into eastern Nigeria. Potters in the region make large, handsomely decorated containers for storing and serving palm wine, which is offered as an important expression of hospitality within the family and at larger communal events. They may also perform this function in cult houses, where they would be consecrated through ritual. These and other pottery vessels are sold in markets, and their trade across considerable distances has promoted the blending of local styles.

In the Mambila village of Lip and the surrounding region, simply adorned containers like this elegantly austere example can hold water and the maize flour that is used to make beer. The vessel’s overall form is graceful, with a rounded base gently rising to a wide shoulder, then abruptly narrowed at the neck, and slightly flared at the rim. The potter’s artistry is evident in the deftly applied embellishment. A raised coil encircles the shoulder like a necklace just above its widest point. From this, other coils extend down the inward sloping sides, each maintaining its integrity and seemingly adhered with a single press of the potter’s finger at top. In the neighboring Grassfields, potters make containers closely related in form that hold a variety of liquids including beer and palm wine.