Notes

This 50-year-old basket is made with undyed Hypheane palm leaves using only an overstitch to create the pattern. Importantly, the overstitch makes the basket stronger, which is necessary for carrying the mahangu (pearl millet) from the fields after harvesting. Grain is refined at two stages after harvest: sifting after threshing and winnowing after pounding or grinding. After threshing, a woman typically sifts standing up, using a medium-sized flared basket. Grain is gently poured from the flared basket into a larger open basket on the ground, allowing the chaff to blow away with the wind as it falls. After pounding, winnowing is done while sitting. Three different-sized baskets are used. Pounded grain in the winnowing basket is rhythmically tossed into the air using a vertical flicking motion of the wrists. Grain falls back into a basket like this one, while the chaff is blown away in the breeze.

- Dr Elizabeth Terry

Provenance

Dr Elizabeth Terry Collection.