These handmade milk containers are often a combination of woven basket intertwined with silver wire and sometimes leather over the gourd. The gourds are made by hollowing out a fruit from the squash family. A hot corn cob is inserted into the hollowed out calabash and turned round and round. This action causes the inside of the gourd to blacken, and it causes the outside of the gourd to obtain a rich ochre patina. In a culture where raising cattle is of central importance, milk containers are seen as vital objects. The woman make the woven containers and the men carve the wooden containers. Several types of milk containers can be found within this tribe, made from different combinations of basketry, gourds, leather, silver wire and wood.
These handmade milk containers are often a combination of woven basket intertwined with silver wire and sometimes leather over the gourd. The gourds are made by hollowing out a fruit from the squash family. A hot corn cob is inserted into the hollowed out calabash and turned round and round. This action causes the inside of the gourd to blacken, and it causes the outside of the gourd to obtain a rich ochre patina. In a culture where raising cattle is of central importance, milk containers are seen as vital objects. The woman make the woven containers and the men carve the wooden containers. Several types of milk containers can be found within this tribe, made from different combinations of basketry, gourds, leather, silver wire and wood.
