Loading the Water Supply

Sculpture of two African women helping each other load water pots onto their heads

Bronze Africa ‘Loading the Water Supply’

Loading the daily water supply where it takes two women to help each other get those big clay pots onto each other’s heads. The pots are filled from the creek using the gourd carried by one woman to decant the water into the pots. Woman number one is helped by woman number two to load the first pot onto her head. Then the second pot is loaded by both the women only this time woman number one is already loaded, and she has to balance her load while helping woman number two load the second pot onto her head. The whole exercise is centred around strength, dexterity, cooperation, and balance. They dare not drop those pots because it’s back to the potter and the kiln for a new pot and no doubt comments from the other women in the village. Nowadays it’s four-gallon plastic jerry cans or metal buckets that are carried. There is no running water in many African villages – even today.

People Sculptures

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