My maternal grandmother was a traditional potter - never had the opportunity to see her working - but due to traditional belief I understood she worked alone. Looking at this wonderful grandmother I keep imagining my late grandmother working in her little hut -

Want to start something with no money and limited resources, just creativity and determination. Ask an African!

Africans are the only people who have a word for art. I loved this video and the narration of the videographer. Anything you make you ought to be able to use it. Alrighty now.

this reminds me of some of the process my gran used to do back in Southern Africa. She was born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and was a potter for her entire life, even after she moved to Durban in 1967. She still does pottery at age 76 and enjoys doing it. Right now she is in lockdown due to contracting covid-19, but she is making pots and bowls with a smile on her face, and I enjoy hearing her singing as she works. She is doing well and is recovering fast. Blessings to each and every one of you from a South African Brit. I may visit West Africa some day and learn about the culture of a different part of the continent on which I was born.

I'm amazed by the clean and symmetrical round shape they create. I started ceramics and it's so hard to get things clean symmetric if you handbuild them. They make it look so easy

Your descriptions were short and to the point. The rest of the time not only did I enjoy watching the many techniques but I really loved listening to the background sounds, children, birds, chickens, goats, insects, etc. Thank you immensely for sharing.

I am glad you liked it. I have been working on this for well over 40 years, and I enjoy sharing it with others. you might enjoy going to Africa sometime and visiting with African potters.

I feel privileged to have access to videos like this, truly amazing

Chris eyes got watery while watching this documentary. I cannot explain why but this documentary inspired me. These artists, potters or ceramicist, all of the above, are working with such simple materials, yet they are creating such amazing pieces of functional art. Thank you for this amazing documentary, not everyday I get to watch such an amazing documentary.

“African potters understand as fully as western potters do…” What a fn amazing revelation, Christopher!

I bought a few pots last time i was in Africa with my family and they are some of my most treasured pieces. The lady wouldn't accept the money i offered to pay for the pots, apparently this was too much for it, which i found incredibly righteous given the fact that she definitely seemed to have use for some cash and it was not at all an extravagant sum of money i was offering. But my kids didn't agree with the price we paid for the pots and so we bought some cakes from a vendor in the city along with some house appliances and other goods and brought them to the lady and her kids. I believe that exchange is better than money and those pots were worth far more than a few coins, given the amount of work they require. We have visited the lady 3 times ever since, and her business is going steady and our kids are good friends now. The mother and father have started sending the kids to school, which made me very happy and i hope that when they are of age, i can help the kids apply to some school here in Switzerland and later on support their parents who have been sweating blood to provide for them. This is a magnificent documentary. Africa is a magnificent continent, and China is now ruining whatever is left of it. As of hundreds of years of colonialism wasn't enough.

With awe and pride I watched these black hands transform raw material into beauty and in doing so they transmitted ancient African knowledge to their families who are willing to learn. #BlackFirst @TheBlackChannel

You were on my thesis committee at Iowa. I think of you often and what you taught me. Thanks so much for this. I am a professor in WA and will be showing this to my students. Thanks it is GREAT! Chuck lives out here too...

thank you for such a respectful approach and documentary to the skill of a people often misrepresented, thank you for sharing the skills of my people

i followed a trail of videos to get here and i don’t regret watching the whole thing

Oh my - this was SUCH a pleasure to watch. The way they form the pots, with such fluidity and ease, gorgeous. I loved watching the whole process from the digging of the clay to the firing of the pots. There is nothing more beautiful than the earthy simplicity of an expertly crafted vessel. I'm enchanted!

It took me 2 days to make a bowl in poetry class and I didn’t have children or grandchildren to take care of.😔 They are amazing and hard working people!

I absolutely love this video. I've watched it 6 times and I fall asleep to it every night. I'm a beginner in earthen ware pottery and I love taking this in as I fall asleep. Ive learned and applied so much of this to my pots. Its just such a beautiful process, I'm in love.

every individual piece is made with hard work and is an individual potter's creative expression...

Thank you so much for this wonderful video. I'm a Potter living in New-Jersey, and I really needed to see these beautiful inspirational and innovative Artist Potters. I'm always one of the only women of color in class and it really is fantastic to see other black women potters. Now I don't feel bad when I break sacred pottery "rules". A Testament to doing your own thing and making it your own. I would love to see these women in person. You were blessed!

I first watched this video in 2016 and most recently again this morning. It is important to note every tool they use exists as a Kemetic (Ancient Egypt) artifact ... the adze, the mortar and pestle, the grinding board, even the hand-held shaping hammer. Also the ability to produce dark/black pottery at will and red elements by changing the heat. Finally the use of the pottery for storing wine and beer for storage and cooking are all the same. So, in terms African history this is not new. It is a living example of exactly what would be seen in predynastic through dynastic Kemet (Ancient Egypt). Now, a part II should be a focus on how Africans use clay for the construction of houses which too is a link to the classic past.

When I started watching this documentary I thought, I'll watch a bit. One hour later... One hour was not enough.

This is a beautiful documentary. It was so wonderful that that African lady was willing to live her country and travel around the world and show her craft and secrets

Well done Christopher Roy.The world is round. As a Ghanaian citizen,it has taken me many decades to see how these pots are made on youtube. My curiosity over many years has been satisfied. Bravo!

This was the most hypnotic thing I've ever seen. I just want to go to Africa now and sit there with my mouth hanging open staring at these artists work. But then I'd get jealous and want to play with the clay too. And probably get so frustrated....

What a spectacular video, the women featured in this video are with no exaggeration, absolutely amazing. It is a shame to those who buy the pots from these women, and sell them for such incredibly marked up prices. The prices paid for these pots should be fair and reasonable and reflect the amount of effort required by the families and individuals who collect the clay and work so hard to create such marvellous pieces of work

Thank you for this window into African pottery. Using a short description then allowing the viewer to see, hear and fully experience the making of clay is fantastic. This video is easily broken into segments which helps when attempting to emulate the technique. I homeschool my daughter; we will be using this in several subjects. It is also such a great way to show the role of children in the family and community. This video is such a wonderful teaching aid; we will be sharing a link to this video to other Homeschooling families.

I am very happy you like it. I try hard to communicate my love of art and how it is made to others like you. My current undergraduate class on African art has 240 students.

Christopher, thank you so much. your point of view is illuminating. there are many south American native potter skills that are never recognised and brought to light... only the most curious and restless people go after those people and their magnificent art and culture. i felt like you are one of these people and this video gave me so much inspiration and hope. thank you and thanks and blessings to the african artists.

Thank you Christopher for your research and sharing this film! These African craftsmen are real masters and pots shown in the movie are true pieces of art! I very much enjoyed watching. Cheers!

These women are real artists and their pots are truly art. Every one of them is unique and precious.

Africans the first Arch-i-techs Speechless! No tools such details. Age-time-and wisdom

Incredible. This teaches us that the finest "art" in the world is made by simple, yet vastly advanced people out of neccesity. My hat is off to these women!

one of the best things on KZfaq. amazing skills, creating beautiful and useful objects.

The western world will remain blindfolded to the high tech of African innovations by their ego-complex mind. Thanks for this good eye opening job. Stay bless man and take goodcare of yourself.

This is such a great video. thank you for posting it to KZfaq. Great to see there are over a million people who are interested in this. It gives me hope.

Many, many thanks for presenting a fascinating variety of traditional potters and hand-building techniques. It is not hard to imagine this level of sophistication extending thousands of years into the past.

A wonderful documentary that I watched from beginning to end. I sculpted in clay for many years but told myself that I could not make pots because I did not have a wheel!!!! Sure is humbling to see the marvelously creative works these women make. Thanks so much for this.

You have to respect de dedication, the craftsmanship, the camaraderie and above all, how humble all these women are.

Thank you so much Christopher for sharing your experiences. As an African American potter (way too dependent on fancy tools, gadgets and machinery), it is good -- and humbling -- to see these very basic, rural pottery traditions. Makes me shut the whining when I don't feel like wedging or get frustrated at the imperfect function of my foot pedal!!

African woman is not afraid of work, beautiful people.

This is the single most fascinating thing I've ever watched. Thank you for sharing it.

Everytime I watched this make me miss my grandmother so much ; I thank God I had the opportunity to see her doing stuff like that she was 101 year old miss her so much Yimnere from kaya Namsiquie I can't wait to go back ... there is so much land there for me and family waiting for me I left there since I was little... with God grace I will be there one day.

These Wonderful People have very good Skills Learned over a lifetime of Hands on Apprenticeship. Something not really done anymore in the USA. Very nicely produced Documentary. Thanks for the upload.

As a potter of the modern age. I am so impressed with the beauty and form created using such simple measures. Measures that could only be the work of art that these are by the hands of skilled artists.

Im not by any means an artist or pottery maker but this amazes me.

Thank you for making this video. Nice to see that you went there to learn about their techniques. Some idiots would think you went there to teach them, ha ha.

Its been a true education to someone who has never known much about techniques of pottery making

I especially liked the remark about low firing pots for reasons of cooking vs high firing pots which may crack under cooking... This displays the perfect understanding of their medium, clay - and how it transcends art as a spectacle to functional art.

WOW! So beautiful! 😮 I love how organic their processes are! That's why their pottery is so off the charts Amazing! 😮💞

African pottery is echoing the pottery of ancient Egypt (Kemet) especially the black top pottery. The craftsmanship is all so familiar of the classical African period of old.

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. I learnt some skills from it that I can use in my DIY projects. I loved witnessing the ladies using their hands so much. I am also a big proponent of using your hands when making things rather than always assuming you need an expensive tool.

I don't think am enough qualified to comment on their hard work and lifestyle.. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you. I am very pleased that you like it. There has been an amazing revolution in filmography in the past decade, so that amateurs/ scholars can make very good video of what is happening in Africa. Earlier we had to have a film crew costing thousands, but now we can carry a good quality camera in our pocket.

A Majestic..Beautiful..Strong & Humble People's with a Majestic Culture.. Aaamazing pottery..🌍🛖🙏🏼🥰🌟❤🖤💚💛🌟💥💫

Just goes to show you that you can make amazing pottery without fancy tools. Thanks for this video and commentary!

I wish i cud make a living playing with clay all day :) that would be truly amaizing. Thanks for shareing

Wow! So much beauty created from so few resources is simply amazing.

Thank u mr roy for filming these various methods of pottery making from so many countries. Maybe by showing ur films the tribes can use it as a marketing strategy 2 sell their wares. It amazes me that non-native ppl who dont know & havent lived there(which ever country made pots), try 2 give advice 2 make process quicker/better only 2 find out these women have already perfected it 2 suit their needs. They may not have advanced technologies like us but their knowledge level surpasses 1st world countries! Jus cuz they're living in poverty, in da middle of nowhere, maybe have no education, etc(whatever other stereotype we have associated w/them), it does NOT mean that they are dumb or stupid! I am even more pleased by da numerous stills u show of designs, decorations, & explanations from each of da villages & tribes. Though, i never thought some designs served another purpose, such as a roughened surface needed as a gripping/handling portion on pots w/out handles. I agree w/u on seeing different contrast colors, it creates eye catching beauty, as if 2 scream 'look at me'. I also agree in ur statement of seeing them painted or carved manually vs machine; u'd lose the authenticity & feel(in my opinion its more passion & love put into da pieces). Although these women may not feel that way & may believe anyone w/a brain can tell if 'A' tribe really made it or it was mass produced claiming its from 'A' tribe. I've seen this happen in some countries where they try 2 sell aboriginal art, clothes, baskets & its a scam. But i disagree w/u in that they'd need electricity for a wheel. I've seen vids from india & china(probly others places too) they have fashioned wheels which are powered by man. At least part of da pot making process could be sped up if these women had access 2 a wheel. Altogether wonderful vid, very informative & educational.

So much information packed into an hour. Thank you.

this had me mesmerized, very fascinating

Thank you for this informative video, very humbling for me,a ceramist, to see how much and yet how little has changed in hand-formed ceramics. That they can do so much with so little is very inspiring..

AMAZING THANK YOU! The sounds in the background... goats, children, chickens, birds, people.... wow. Beautiful

I am in awe. Not of just their ingenuity but of the speaker as well, you rarely see Tribal Africans given the amount of respect as you see in this documentary. The pottery is very beautiful, I can't make pots this well built even using a wheel.

I will treasure this video with my heart, and soul. Praise Allah, and thank you for posting.

This is so beautiful and the pottery are really charming , I do hope this art form survives the atrocious situations in most african countries today and for which we are mostly responsible in the west. , china is not helping either

Thank you so much for making and sharing this amazing artwork! I wish this type of documentary is on the television instead of the superficial reality shows we have these days. Especially when people in the west are not aware of these beautiful traditions that exist in Africa.

The skills of those women are incredible! I enjoyed the information narrated and the collection of the samples of pottery from different regions. Excellent documentary!

when he was like let me show you my way and they were like, we actually have a way already on purpose...

I love this video:Art: is cultural, traditional part of human generations everywhere world.

This is AMAZING, we live a luxury in tools and they use hands and stone to do the seemingly impossible...thank you so much for sharing. RESPECT to all of these unknown amazing artists!!!!❤

What a fascinating film. I'm in awe of their skill and the beauty of the pots. Thank-you so much for sharing it with us.

I am happy you enjoyed it. Perhaps "simplicity, admiration and respect" are why I have 240 undergraduates in my Monday/Wednesday class.

48:53 Little kid in the back had me cracking up... I can do this!! =)

Absolutely amazing - all these techniques! Thanks for documenting these material cultural gems!

I love this mama, she's a great mama very heart working, l hope mama is still living I would like all the young girls now our days to watch this. Love you sweet mama. 😘

Thank you... This is such a wonderful documentary! Your appreciation for these peoples age old skills impresses me to such great extent, thanks again for that too... I am from the southern part of India (from Tamil Nadu) and do share a similar skillful ancestry, yet my people are mostly unaware of the great talents their grand-grand-grand-people had! I wish someone make a documentary like this for us too... Warm Regards, Vijay

Excellent video. Very informative and fascinating!

Thank you so much. This is the first time I have seen African pottery. It's a human treasure. I watched, Philippine, Japan, and India made pottery and it led me to your channel. What a delight! Thank you.

We may work differently around the globe, but the tools stay the same and the basic forming methods are still in use. Enjoyed this video very much!

Thank you for sharing this extra ordinary film. It has made a deep impression on me. Thank you.

This is so satisfying to watch. Thank you for sharing this experience.

I can Imagine feeling very proud of my granny making pottery and to have my grandmas pots for display,

What a wonderful documentary, thank you, and made so much better than any other by the absence of the ghastly, ubiquitous background music that seems to accompany everything these days. This alone, makes this documentary stand out. Over and above this, the content fascinating and very informative. How ingenious and full of skill these people are.

I would have clay all over my clothes. This lady stays clean.

great education and inspiration. excellent video. thank you!

Pottery is one branch of civilization in its evolution. What a site, beautiful hands are at tireless work. Video creator took considerable time and interest to present the best. Thank you.

I have to say, this method of pot making looks more logical than the trickier rotating potter's wheel. The wheel may be faster, once you master it, but I really like this way myself 🙂🏺🍯🍵

I love it when people make suggestions that I have never thought of. Congratulations! Come study here at the University of Iowa.

quite extraordinary, such beautiful pottery, amazing skills and a lovely, honestly shot film, thank you

Gosh do I want to "do Pot(s)" with these amazing and beautiful WOMEN. Thanks so much for your BEAUTIFUL documentation of these peoples and their wonderfully made housewares. What lovely ❤️ and respectful treatment of the hardworking pottery families. Lisa Rae Rousseau

Wow, this was fascinating. I followed a few links after searching on how to make my own potters wheel. After sitting and watching this film in its entirety (at 5am!) I don't think I will bother making a wheel for a while. I'd half dreamt up/remembered from primary school the coil technique, but thought it would be too laborious. Clearly I was wrong! Those women are amazingly skilled. Thank you for such an informative, well made and properly inspirational film.

Thanks very much. As you can tell I don't like popular, contemporary, ignorant, platitudes and stereotypes of Africa.

i love this video .. watching for the second time .... these pots are beautiful i am living in Bulgaria now and hope to oneday be making pots and other earthen creation :) this is so expiring .. thankyou so much for creating this video and sharing with us all .. just beautiful ...

What a beautiful people and beautiful African potteries. And what a honest, decent man to narrate this peice of gem. He truly 'well said' in the last sentence of his film. Thank you for this film.

Amazing. Salute from US Army.

Loved this and all the sounds of life around them :)

Lots of brilliant innovations. I was really impressed!

I especially appreciate the point you made at 18:03 that the pottery in this region makes a "thump" when tapped instead of a "ring", because it is fired at a lower temperature so it can be used for cooking. I did not know that high-temperature-fired pottery would shatter over a fire, and I had wondered what was necessary to make a ceramic suitable for cooking! Thanks so much for this remarkable video, and thanks to these skilled artisans for sharing their knowledge.

I can't believe I watched the whole video showing different but unique techniques of making hand made pottery. This is truly an amazing art totally done with the hands only and some simple tools. I remember a long time ago making a bear-shaped cookie jar. Of course it did come from a mold. I partly hand shaped it, glazed it, fired it and then put some finishing touches on it with some paint. I really had fun doing this. I can see this old fashion method of making pottery fun too. Thanks for making this video.