Oromo Gourd

Bottle gourds of this size and shape, both decorated and plain, come from the Oromo valley in Ethiopia. A number of tribes inhabit this vast region. After having looked through hundreds of field photographs, I’ve determined that this gourd is probably Konso. Numbers of such containers hang on the walls of Konso huts from leather straps tied around their pinched necks. Here the strap is stiff, oily, and split on one side. A pattern of joined, cross-hatched triangles has been incised around the mouth of the vessel. A similar pattern is used to decorate headrests indigenous to the region. The body of the vessel was cracked ages ago and lovingly repaired. The repairs consist of fine strands of interlocking rattan sewn through the gourd. The surface of the gourd came to me cleaned of soot. 8″ tall.

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