Since the early 19th century, Catawba potters have conserved the traditional technique of ceramics from their ancestors, despite the increase in modern influences. In North Carolina, the Catawba tribe populated the Piedmont region, gaining access to the red, clay-rich soils. Due to the continuous and recent erosive events, the “soils generally have heavy red or yellow subsoils …. produced by the oxidation of iron or aluminum in the parent rock” (Read, 1988). Unfortunately, farmers struggled to manipulate the red soil to their advantage, finding the clay limiting for plant health and growth. Since the Piedmont is predominantly clay, the ground remains virtually impermeable as water collects in a film on the surface (Read, 1988). As a result, the clay “increases the rate of runoff from fields with clay soils,” restricting the capacity for plantation farming (Read, 1988).
Although the red clay did not allow for intensive farming practices, the soil provided the Catawba tribe with ample opportunity for ceramics. In the upland region of the Piedmont, the grounds are heavily leached of any organic matter, creating a greater volume of clay below the surface (Read, 1988). Fewkes (1944) explains that “within the physical environment of the Catawba there are no serious handicaps to finding adequate beds of clay suitable for the needs of the potter”. For Catawba potters, the ground was a gold mine. The constant erosion only benefitted their practices and exposed the multitude of clay pits easily accessible to the tribe (Fewkes, 1944).
To begin the process, Catawba women led the men to the clay pits for extraction (Fewkes, 1944). Even though clay remained abundant in the region, “Catawbas passed down the location of clay holes from one generation to the next,” hiding their sites from other tribe members (Bauer, 2016). Women spearheaded ceramics, but occasionally they enlisted men to complete the strenuous work for them (Fewkes, 1944). Once arriving at the site, the men began the extraction process, digging around five to six feet into the ground to reach the red clay (Bauer, 2016). While farmers would fight for that depth of topsoil, Catawba women openly identified the layers of sand and silt as “trash” covering their resource (Bauer, 2016). The men gathered the raw material into one large heap beside the put and the women slowly picked through the undesirable sediments and “impurities” as they arose (Fewkes, 1944). When they finished the preliminary process of sifting, they packed the clay for transportation in sacks and baskets. Before leaving the site, the group dumped the sand and silt back into the pit to protect the clay from weathering and conceal it from other potters (Fewkes, 1944).
In the Piedmont, the soil provides two distinct types of clay, each with its own texture and purpose: “pan” clay, also known as “blue clay”, and “pipe” clay (Fewkes, 1944). Pan clay, or blue clay, is dry, compact, and courser in texture. Sand and mica are mixed throughout the material, creating the course texture. Unlike pipe clay, pan clay is found at lower elevations, usually in river bottoms and gullies (Fewkes, 1944). Opposite to pan clay, pipe clay possesses a much finer grain with a stiff, moist texture and butter-like color (Fewkes, 1944). Since the Catawba commonly extract it from elevated surfaces, pipe clay does not hold a lot of sand and instead keeps only particles of mica interspersed throughout. Dye to their immense differences in texture and moisture, the Catawba usually employ the two types for very different creations. However, when creating traditionally pots, the women mix different proportions of both clays to achieve the perfect consistency (Fewkes, 1944).
Once the group unpacks the clay at the ceramics site, the women allow the clay to air dry for a bit before they begin manipulation (Bauer, 2016). Then, they treat the raw material first by pounding it with a wooden pestle to soften the clays and mix them, depending on the vessel (Bauer, 2016). When combining the two clays for their pots, they use around one third pipe clay to two thirds pan clay (Fewkes, 1944). Similar to the extraction process, the women can opt to delegate the pounding process to the Catawba men, allowing the women to weed out any larger impurities in the clay they missed at the clay pit (Bauer, 2016). Now, the women dominate the remainder. They continue pounding the clay with the wooden mallet and sift the mixture through fine sieve or screen in a final act to catch all lumps (Fewkes, 1944).
Continuously pounding, the potters slowly dribble water onto their mixture until they find the correct texture (Fewkes, 1944). However, there is no proper recipe to create the correct quality; the manipulator decides whether the texture fits their criteria or not. After achieving the desired consistency, the Catawba then move on to shaping the clay into vessels, building blocks, or pipes, stamping on the designs and motifs specific to their personal ancestry (Bauer, 2016). The entire shaping process requires a few hours at least, depending on the mastery of the potter and the type of product created. “After building, washing, scraping, and rubbing” to polish their pots, the women leave their pots to dry out under the strong run rays and later scorch them outdoors over an open fire (Bauer, 2016). The season for ceramics lasts from the early spring to late fall to avoid the frost of the winter months and to take advantage of the summer’s ability to naturally dry the clay (Fewkes, 1944).
Even though the Piedmont is simply a region of land, the rich clay soils allowed Catawba women to create and continue the community-based activity of ceramics. According to Bauer (2016), “women gathered and talked about their lives and families while preparing clay and making pots,” fostering strong bonds within the tribe. While they protected the locations of their clay pits, they openly exchanged pottery techniques with one another. They talked and “helped one another with their pottery skills. They shaped ideas about how to improve their pottery – what did or did not work” (Bauer, 2016). Although children did not help create the pots as clay was highly revered, the young girls watched their mothers and grandmothers to learn the process for themselves (Bauer, 2016). When girls reached a mature age, they began working alongside the skilled family potters in apprenticeships. The teacher would work alongside the girl, “forming different types of pots, bowls, and cups” until she reached a level of mastery for the craft (Bauer, 2016). The apprenticeship process ensured the girls inherited the precious tradition of Catawba pottery while also providing them with a useful and commodified skill to support her future family (Bauer, 2016). Today, Catawba women continue to create the traditional pottery and sell it to buyers for profit. When purchasing pots, collectors can listen to stories about how the pots were created from the potters themselves.
Overall, Catawba ceramics is “based on the principles of an ancient technique and certainly appears to be neither formant nor decadent,” highlighting the respect the tribes have for the ancestral origins (Fewkes, 1944). Without the unique soil of the Piedmont region, the Catawba tribe would not be able to sustain their lineage of potters. The Piedmont clay may have deterred farmers, but it instead developed the hereditary tradition of ceramics full of skill, community, culture, and purpose.
Works Cited
Bauer, B. M. (2016). Being Catawba: The World of Sally New River, 1749-1840 (Order No. 10119872). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1805898074). Retrieved from https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.davidson.edu/docview/1805898074?accountid=10427
Fewkes, V. (1944). Catawba Pottery-Makingm with Notes on Pamunkey Pottery-Making, Cherokee Pottery-Making, and Coiling. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 88(2), 69-124. Retrieved December 7, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/985665
Read, B. S. (1988). Bright Leaf and Red Clay: Family Farming and Soil Conservation in Piedmont North Carolina (Order No. 8823468). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (303684976). Retrieved from https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.davidson.edu/docview/303684976?accountid=10427