Reviving Indigenous Clay Pot Production for Students' Entrepreneurial and Vocational Inspiration

Introduction

Research has shown a growing concern among African scholars about the need to return to indigenous arts (Mugovhania, 2012; Ndubuisi, 2022; Zondi, 2021). The recognition of the gradual extinction of the history, knowledge, relevance, and practice of African traditional art and culture in modern African society may occasion this. For instance, it is argued that poor documentation of the rich and cherished art and cultural heritage of the African people has hindered the growth of African culture and the poor practice of indigenous art among Africans (Ekong, 2018). This cultural impoverishment affects indigenous art's historical, social and technological relevance and the economic and entrepreneurship opportunities associated with ancient African artefacts. It is also obvious that most of the works on African indigenous art and craft are merely artistic writing which only focuses on presenting to students their historical antecedents, styles, and techniques and neglects their economic potential (Elebute & Odokuma, 2016). Pottery is one of the indigenous arts that has been in practice for ages and is still relevant in modern society due to the wide usage of pots within traditional African settings. For instance, it is reported that clay wares are used for traditional religious rituals, traditional worship, cooking, eating, fetching and preserving water, and storing and preserving food items and clothes in ancient traditional Sub-Saharan African society (Busari & Odetoyinbo, 2021). Umoru-Oke (2017) argued that indigenous clay pots have innate functions in African culture which cannot be replaced by modern synthetic products such as rubber, enamel, and plastics and that indigenous pottery is an ongoing, dynamic and viable art used in many Yoruba communities in Nigeria to empower young girls in modern times. Contrary to the view of potters that indigenous clay pot art is no more financially rewarding due to modernity (Ayuba, 2009), one cannot deny the fact that clay pots still have many uses and functions in contemporary society. In the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the 'evwere” is used to quickly thicken banga soup and speed up the cooking time for any soup, stew, or broth (Ugboma, 2021). Researchers have argued that cooking with indigenous clay pots, which are produced from natural materials, makes food taste better, healthier, and juicier than cooking with modern cookware because it almost preserves all the micronutrients present in the food (Khan & Banerjee, 2020; Saxena et al., 2021).

There are huge entrepreneurial opportunities for clay pot art in modern society. It is not enough to expose students to the historical perspective of indigenous arts and analyse their styles and techniques to promote their knowledge, practice and relevance in modern society. Students should be made to see entrepreneurial and economic opportunities in indigenous arts and develop indigenous vocational skills for self-reliance (Major & Leigha, 2019). Okonkwo (2014) reported that more than eighty (80) per cent of students interviewed had the perception that ceramics education is not economically viable and thus may not guarantee vocational opportunities in society. This may be because the indigenous traditional arts curricula do not provoke entrepreneurial and vocational inspirations among students but merely analyse the arts' antecedent, history, relevance and practice.