Description:

Women throughout the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa make clay pots such as these, to be used - as the name suggests - to hold beer during  gatherings. The story of the beer pots connects to the legend of the goddess Mbaba Mwana. As a gesture of goodwill and to keep the peace, Mbaba Mwana passed on the knowledge of brewing beer to the Zulu people and the tradition carries on to this day, as an important aspect of the ritual remembrance of ancestors.  After a second baking or firing in a dry grass fire, the pot surfaces are rubbed with animal fat or a wax polish and a polishing pebble.