» | Sudanow Magazine

Khartoum, Sudan (Sudanow) The water Jar or the pot, known in the Sudan as Alzeer, is common feature of all traditional Sudanese households, especially in the rural areas and the peripheries of the urban areas.

It is there in the peripheries that women, mostly those who moved from western Sudan’s rural areas, are engaged in the rudimentary industry of making the pots.

The process is usually of three steps: gathering micaceous clay or mud, known as the karkajia- mineral rich thik layers of mud found in dry creeks and water courses- then animal remains- particularly cow residues, is added to the mud which is bounded and sieved, to remove all hard elements, water is added to the mud which is well mixed, then special skill is applied to make the round-thin mouthed pot-the idea is to ensure the cylinder body stronger which is realized by giving it a pyramid shape.

Then after the mud-made jars are dry, the whole group of twenty to thirty pots are taken to make-shift oven. The group is laid in way that all the mouths are inward and the back are outward.

The gaps between each individual pot and the other is filled with dry hay and cow residues. Then fire is set on the oven. The burning will remain up to the early hours of next day.

The end result is that the brownish and blackish mud is turned into liver-color red shining pot. The pots are then become special, pottery with natural pores helping keep fresh and cool water. Gaining living and helping people secure, cheap and natural refrigerators.