In Spanish Town just outside of Kingston, Jamaica, there lives a 70-year-old potter known only as Ma Lou. Making pottery in an African tradition of coiling and firing in an open pit, Ma Lou has consistently produced pottery for the people of Jamaica since she was 8 years old. Coming from a family of twenty, Ma Lou learned how to work with clay from her mother over 60 years ago. Since her daughter is also working in clay, the tradition, handed down from mother to daughter which started generations ago in Africa, is continuing.

While Ma Lou lacks formal education, she does not allow that to be a handicap. She has been able to produce ware that is both functional and visually satisfying. Like her mother before her, making pottery is a way of life. Ma Lou makes no claims on art or craft but rather a lifestyle. During unsettled times in an underdeveloped country, many new influences challenge the older values and traditions. Ma Lou is finding it increasingly difficult to understand these changes but wearily accepts them because her livelihood depends on it. She knows no other way to make a living and is thankful to have been able to produce work for so many years.

Her work reflects the needs of the people around her, yet she is deeply concerned that the pieces are not used much anymore. In the past, everyone used pottery for cooking and storing food, but as times have changed, so have the needs of the people. Therefore, it is becoming more important today that the role and function of the potter be redefined. Ma Lou's pottery is constantly being challenged by an aesthetic which is governed primarily by sales and tourism. Work made only for the tourist market is often winning out over the work of those potters which reflect the traditions and needs of the Jamaican people. Ma Lou hopes that there will continue to be ways to sell her work regardless of the change in times and attitudes toward traditional folk pottery.

While Ma Lou makes a variety of forms from cups and saucers to cooking stoves, her most popular form is the Yabba, a rounded bottom vessel. Yabbas have traditionally been one of the most important pots for cooking, and because of the clay she uses (a body which is quite porous due to the large amounts of sand added) the pieces can be used over an open flame without cracking from the sudden heat. This quality has been important to people who do not have indoor cooking facilities. Since Ma Lou has no modern conveniences, she uses her pottery daily. She realizes, however, that the majority of people living in the city do not have this problem, so they are not in need of the "dirt pots" as they once were.

She spends up to ten hours a day, six days a week making and firing the pottery. During the first three days she usually makes the pots, producing about two dozen pieces a day of various sizes. This means at least a day of burnishing which takes place during the drying stages just prior to firing. After being burnished and dried, the forms are collected and brought to an area in the front yard for the firing. This is a time of great excitement, and like so many other stages of the process, many family members are there to assist with carrying the work to the firing site. From the youngest of the grandchildren to the oldest, all lend a hand and are involved with the process of pottery-making.

There are several piles of wood from the local sawmill which Ma Lou purchases for $3 (U.S.), plus another $3 for delivery - (a load being approximately the size of a cord of wood.) She then collects dry palm leaves to assist the fire in burning fast and hot in the early stages. To fire, the pieces are stacked in a very orderly fashion, with the openings of the pots facing upward and another piece resting on the rim of the pot below. The bottom row of pots is placed on a single row of sticks on the ground which allows the heat to travel under the mound as well as on the top and sides. This will also ensure a more even fire and help prevent any unnecessary cracking due to hot and cold spots. A stack of about 6 ft. square and 3 ft. high holding approximately 6 dozen pieces of varying shapes and sizes is then ready to accept the wood. The wood is placed neatly around the outside of the mound until it covers the outer edge; then more timber is laid across the top enclosing the stack completely concealing the remaining pottery. The dried palm leaves are then placed on top of the pile of wood and pottery.

Finally, Ma Lou spreads small chunks of dry manure around the base of the mound which is where she will first begin the fire. She heats up coals in a small cooker until they are red hot; these are then spread around the base which begins to smoke and burn. In a matter of minutes, and with the help of some light fanning, the palm leaves begin to burn fiercely and the firing is underway. It is left to burn freely while Ma Lou sits and watches anxiously amid the sound of crackling wood accompanied by the settling of both pottery and burnt logs.

Ma Lou does not cover the mound either before or after the firing with anything that will smother and smoke the pieces therefore turning them black. Her pottery is left to burn to the finish with a roaring flame. Unlike the black smoked wares of the Southwest American Indians, Ma Lou's pottery is fired to a rich iron-red color. This is a result of a more oxidizing atmosphere which produces only slight variations from light to dark.

After two hours of burning, then begins an examination of the firing. As the pots lie on the ground among the burning coals, the children are the first to begin probing the mound with long wooden poles. One by one, the pieces are withdrawn from the pile and allowed to air cool. These are anxious moments while Ma Lou watches to see if her efforts have paid off and produced wares that will be ready for market. As much as 20% of the pieces do not survive since this type of firing can cause the work to be either cracked while heating or damaged during the settling stages of the burning. When cool, similar forms are stacked in piles and placed in a shed where they will remain until sent to Kingston to be sold.

Ma Lou's process is a long and arduous one, yet she seems quite satisfied being part of a family tradition of pottery-making. It is her love of the Jamaican people and the belief that her product is worth having that encourages her to continue. Many believe that she is an important example of the Afro-Jamaican pottery tradition.

Joe Molinaro
Kathleen Wint
1986

Note:
Ma Lou passed away in the fall of 1992. She was in her 80's and
still working in clay. She is missed by many.