SOME CLAY VESSELS
FORMERLY USED BY THE
SOUTH SOTHO
E. du Pisani
Clay vessels (lipitsa) and other clay artefacts were once in general use a m o n g the S o uth Sotho. This is indicated by both ethno g rap h ic and archaeological records.
Although some of the sources listed contain related inform ation, none o f them specifically refer to Sechefo’s paper (n.d.), The Old Clothing o f the
Basotho. Judging from his other publications, this
paper may have been written reasonably long ago and deserves some discussion.
N otw ithstanding vague and incomplete descrip tions and the fact th at Sechefo did not specifiy from which areas in Lesotho he obtained his data, his paper does add to our knowledge of So tho pottery. It also suggests that a much wider variety of pots were form erly used th an is perhaps generally thought. This may both complicate and facilitate the task of archaeologists in reconstructing the m aterial culture of Iro n Age S o th o -T sw an a peoples.
Sechefo recorded the use of the following clay vessels:
Lefiso: A medium-sized bowl used for storing
liquids.
Lefisoana: A smaller bowl of similar shape as the lefiso, used for serving food.
Nkho: A much larger vessel than the lefiso having a
narro w neck, used for carrying water and storing liquids.
M okeke: A small, shallow basin used for dishing up
meat or setoto (strong beer in the process of preparation).
Khamelo: A clay milking pail with a wide m outh
and a flat base. Unlike the lefiso, which had a sm ooth base, the khamelo had finger-pinching round the base to prevent it from slipping off the knees of the milker. (Milking was traditionally done by men and boys.) A smaller milking pail of similar shape was denoted khameloana.
Morifi: A vessel in which beer was brewed. W om en
also used it to take food to male initiates. A smaller variety, the moritsoana, was used for serving
b o h o k o (a type of porridge) to herdboys.
M opotjo: A slender beaker, solely used for keeping
beer ready for drinking. M opotjoana denoted a smaller beaker of similar shape.
Sehoro: A medium-sized vessel used for preserving
fat.
Selibelo: The smallest of the clay vessels, having a
small mouth, was used for storing fat.
Pitsana ea sehlare: A clay vessel with a capacity of
approxim ately half a litre, used exclusively for the cooking of medicines.
Thuana: A chamber-pot. Old women also referred
to it as mauoe.
Pitsa
Other terminology relating to clay vessels recorded by Sechefo are:
moeta: a cracked pot, mophatha: an elongated
vessel, mokhako: a newly fired pot, and lengeta: a potsherd.
Pitsa: A thick and heavy cooking vessel w ithout a
handle or legs. It was supported by three small stones (matseho). A flat sherd, obtained from a broken pot, was used as a lid. The edges arou nd the lid were sealed with fresh cow dung to prevent steam from escaping and smoke from entering the vessel. This precaution was taken especially when meat or green mealies were cooked. A smaller cooking vessel of similar shape was denoted pitsana.
Setlhotlelo: A large vessel in which joala (a type of
beer) was brewed.
REFER EN CES
A S H T O N , H. 1967. The Basuto. A S o cia l stu d y o f tra d itio n a l a n d
m o d e rn L eso th o . L o n d o n : O x f o rd University Press.
L A 1 D L E R , P.W. 1938. S o u t h Afri ca n Nativ e Ceramics: Thei r C ha ra ct er is tics an d Classification. Trans. R. Soc. S. A fr. 26:93-
172.
L A W T O N , A.C. 1967. B a ntu Pottery o f S o u t h e r n Af rica. A n n . S. A fr.
M us. 49: 1-440.
M A G G S . T . M . O 'C . 1976. Iron A g e c o m m u n itie s o f th e S o u th e rn
H ighveld. Oc ca si onal P u b lica tions o f th e N ata l M u s e u m . No. 2.
Piet er ma ritzb ur g: Counc il of the N ata l Museum .
M E Y E R O W I T Z , H.V. 1936. R e p o rt on th e P ossibilities o f th e
D e v e lo p m e n t o f Village C rafts in B a su to la n d . Morija.
S C H O F I E L D . J . P . 1948. P rim itive P ottery. A n In tro d u c tio n to S o u th
A fr ic a n Ceram ics. P rehistoric a n d P rotohistoric. H a n d b o o k
Series No. III. C a p e T ow n: T h e S o u t h African A rch aeo logical Society.
S E C H E F O . J. n.d. The O ld C lo th in g o f the B asotho. M a ze n o d . Lesotho: The C a th o lic Centre. A
