This yellow clay is used for making pottery. According to Silvia Ogwang, a local farmer, the color is mixed with the black clay to help a pot be strong and resistant. That there are many different colors of such clay that does the same function, but this community is blessed with yellow, while other people use cream and gray.
In June 2024, the Paintmakers and David visited Oloo Adwong, a village in Alebtong district (Alio subcounty, Amuria parish) about 30 km outside of Lira, Uganda. After collecting some green earth by the river, we went to a farm where we had collected yellow ochre before. This time, we knew to look for thicker, cleaner deposits of ochre. Jacky started carving away the mixed, sandy ochre the team had found before, while David rambled up the hill, looking for pockets of cleaner, denser color.
He found them in an under-hanging area protected a tiny pool of water. Jacky, Halmon, and the farmer’s son gently carved out pieces of yellow into the waiting shovel (so they didn’t fall in the water). Jacky carried the bag back to the car on her head, which is common here.
The farmer, David Ogwang, told us how the color was discovered:
“You would like to know how our local people found this color? One day, a certain an old woman came. She was in need of a color called yellow. She came with her horse and other equipment for digging. She started making a hole. In fact, she dug the hole. Reaching just two feet, she got a rock. It was a something like a rock. And she started hammering it. She found out that the color which was seen was yellow. After she got yellow, she went back and claimed to and proclaimed to our nearby and surroundings. Then my local people in large number started coming there to pick yellow. That is how my local people got this yellow. Thank you.”
The site is past the fields and across a stream. Boys drove by small herds of cows as we foraged. David had to be carried over on someone’s back to avoid possible worm infections!
(Apii Oguru Yellow: 20 ml = 20 g; 35 ml = 40 g; 55 ml = 50 g; sample = 2 g)