This paper discusses the decline of traditional pottery making in rural southwestern Ethiopia and its causes and looks at the potters’ responses to socio-economic and cultural shocks that have been instigated by the decline. Pottery making in southwestern Ethiopia forms a distinct female-only occupational identity, and potters are socially marginalized and forced into endogamous social groups. Recent government land policies have limited their already meager access to clay resources, while imported plastic and enamel objects offer comparative advantages over locally made ceramics. However, potters have not passively accepted the shocks brought about by the land policy and the influx of imported objects. Instead, they have devised strategies to obtain clay and have included imported foreign objects into their technology, despite the fact that these new objects are not part of their technological traditions.

本文讨论了埃塞俄比亚西南部农村地区传统陶器制作的衰落及其成因，并探讨了陶工对由于衰退而引发的社会经济和文化冲击的反应。埃塞俄比亚西南部的制陶业形成了一种独特的女性职业身份，陶艺家在社会上被边缘化并被迫融入内婚社会群体。最近的政府土地政策限制了他们已经很少获得粘土资源，而进口的塑料和搪瓷制品相对于本地制造的陶瓷具有相对优势。但是，陶工们并没有被动地接受土地政策和进口物品的涌入所带来的冲击。相反，他们制定了获取黏土的策略，并将进口的异物纳入其技术，