Manufacturing Procedures and Techniques of Indigenous Pottery Technology: An Ethno- Archaeological Investigation on West Guji Zone of Bule Hora District, Southern Ethiopia.

This an ethno-archaeological study focused on the investigation of indigenous pottery technology in West Guji Zone of Bule Hora district, Southern Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of the paper was to conduct an inclusive investigation about the traditional pottery manufacturing technology, procedures and its ethnographical tradition of the local communities (selected kebeles) in the district. The research was conducted on five kebeles (two rural kebeles, Goroo Gudina and Harroo; and three of Bule hora town kebeles) of West Guji Zone. These kebeles has own distinctive pottery making procedure, technique, styles, features and materials to their cultural clay products. The data in these areas were studied through employed primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include site observation, interview, photographs, and group discussions, while secondary sources also embraces brochures, books and documents. Potters of the study area mainly used black and brown clay and tempering material like, powdered potsherd and white clay to prepared paste. Besides these, some of the potters also used similar kinds of raw materials in molding, shaping and decorating pots while others used different treatment techniques and firing woods. This indigenous technology was mainly controlled by female potters who have long experiences in producing pots, jars, kets and other clay products.