Characters
- Sentila — The main character. A young girl with a deep passion for pot making.
- Arenla — Sentila’s mother. An expert pot maker who wants her daughter to learn weaving instead.
- Mesoba — Sentila’s father.
- Onula — A kind, middle-aged widow who supervises the girls’ dormitory. She helps Sentila learn pot making.
- Village Council — The elders of the village who intervene in family matters related to traditional skills.
Part I — Main Events
Sentila’s dream:
- Ever since she was old enough to go to the fields with her mother, Sentila dreamed of becoming a pot maker like her
mother and grandmother - Her mother Arenla, however, wanted her to become a weaver
- When her parents went to the fields, Sentila secretly visited expert potters to watch and learn
- Expert potters were amused at first, thinking she would soon lose interest
Why Sentila kept quiet at home:
- She had overheard her parents talking one night
- Arenla was complaining about Sentila’s lack of interest in weaving
Arenla’s complaints about pot making:
- Riverbank where clay is found is sixteen kilometres away
- She had to climb down a steep drop to reach it
- Carrying heavy clay uphill caused severe back pain
- Pounding the clay inside bamboo cylinders was very tiring
- Many times she dropped the mould out of exhaustion and had to start over
- It takes months to make one batch of pots
- The reward was only a few rupees
Arenla’s reasons for preferring weaving:
- Weaving earns much more money
- Provides cloth for the family too
- Can be done indoors in all seasons
- Time to make one shawl is less
- Returns (profit) are much better
Sentila observes pot making:
- Clay was mixed with water and pounded
- Left hand was pushed into a lump of softened clay
- The lump was rotated while a spatula in the right hand gave it shape
- The tap of the spatula on the clay was music to Sentila’s ears
- After two or three days, pots were given a final touch up and tested for proper shape
- Pots were then dried in the sun
- Then loaded into a kiln on a bed of hay and dried bamboo, covered with the same materials, and fired
- The fire had to be watched carefully — over firing or under firing would ruin the entire batch
Village gossip and village council:
- Arenla knew about Sentila’s visits to the potters but pretended not to know
- Sentila always came home before her mother returned from the fields
- The village started gossiping about why Arenla was refusing to teach her daughter
- People were worried that if all pot makers did the same, there would be no skilled potters in the future
- Mesoba was summoned by the village council
Mesoba’s reply to the council:
- Said Arenla had never refused to teach Sentila
- Said they were waiting for Sentila to become stronger after her illness
- Promised she would soon be the best pot maker in the village
The council’s message:
- It was Arenla’s duty to pass on the skill handed down from generation to generation
- Skills like pot making did not belong to any individual
- Pot making not only served the needs of the people but also represented their tradition and history
- Experts were obliged to pass on skills to their own children and to anyone who wished to learn
- Mesoba went home and discussed this with Arenla
Part II — Main Events
Arenla begins teaching:
- The following year, Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank
- Taught her to dig clay with a
dao
, load it into a basket, soak it in the trough, stuff it into bamboo cylinders, and pound it - Sentila was a quick learner and could prepare malleable clay dough
- But when she tried to shape the clay into a pot, she could not even hold the lump properly
- Arenla sat in a corner watching, then took over and made a beautiful pot
- These sessions continued for almost a year but Sentila could not learn
Sentila goes to the dormitory:
- When Sentila matured, according to custom, she was sent to stay in a girls’ dormitory
- The dormitory was supervised by a kind widow called
Onula
(Aunty) - Onula had heard about the discord in Sentila’s family and decided to help her
Onula helps Sentila:
- One evening when everyone else went to a musical event, Onula saw Sentila quietly taking out clay and tools from her
basket - Onula noticed Sentila’s clumsy attempts and that she was too tense, which was making the clay difficult to shape
- When Sentila gave up tiredly, Onula said:
“Don’t worry, little one, I shall teach you how to make a perfect pot.” - Onula made a beautiful pot in front of Sentila
- Sentila tried again with new confidence and made a beautiful pot
- But Onula pointed out the mouth of the pot was wrong
- She advised Sentila to watch her mother carefully when shaping the mouth of the pot
Sentila learns by observing:
- In the next pot making session with her mother, Sentila carefully observed:
- How her mother held the left hand and the spatula
- How she slackened (relaxed) the rhythm while shaping the mouth
- How a strip of elongated dough was added to make the rim
The turning point:
- On a sunny day, Arenla completed a batch and then asked Sentila to take over, complaining of headache and backache
- Sentila was surprised but reluctantly began
- She realised the first pot was ready
- Like a sprinter who found momentum, she continued making pots with speed and skill
- She made just one pot less than her mother’s total count
Arenla’s death:
- Exhausted, Sentila went inside to join her mother for lunch
- At the entrance, she found her mother lying on the floor, not breathing
- She ran for help
- Villagers came; Mesoba was sent for
Sentila’s words:
- When Arenla’s body was carried out the next morning, Sentila ran after it crying:
“Mother, I did not wish it to happen this way; it simply came to me. Please forgive me.” - No one understood what she meant except Onula
Onula’s discovery:
- Onula noticed the work shed door was slightly open
- She went in and stopped in shock — two neat rows of newly made pots stood side by side
- The pots were so similar she could not tell one batch from the other
- She was sure it was not the work of one person alone
- She stood there for a long time, realising she had witnessed something extraordinary
Conclusion:
- Onula sensed she had witnessed a profound revelation — Sentila had matched her mother’s skill exactly
- The story ends with the line: “A new pot maker was born.”
Themes
- Passion and perseverance in pursuing one’s dream
- Preservation of traditional crafts and cultural heritage
- The role of community in protecting traditional skills
- A skill belongs to all people, not to one individual
- The importance of a good teacher and mentor
- Mother-daughter relationship and conflict
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