So here we are looking across a map of the world. With the exceptions of the North and South Poles, there is archeological evidence of personkind using gourds in every place they can grow. A myriad of uses appear such as musical instruments and dishes among them. Gourds have been used in sacrificial rites and part of bridal dowries, drums to communicate and of course decoration. Pieces have been found that could infer jewelry making or other body adornments.
In Africa they still use gourds for many purposes and even combining a gourd with grass weavings. Large gourds are used to carry water and food, smaller are used for drinking and even shards are used for cutlery. Gourds are used for hunting, fishing, and even wares to sell. It is wonderful to see such a versatile plant used in so many creative, simple, and practical ways.
“The depiction of real and the imaginary or the sacred and the whimsical are found in every place of human habitation where stones exist, or plants grow.”1 From the dawn of time humans have had a need to draw and create to explain so many things they didn’t understand. The gourd was evidenced in Egyptian tombs and even more ancient times to record a hunting trip, the birth of a child and even burials. It would seem humankind has always needed ways to tell their stories!
1 The Complete Book of Gourd Carving, 2014, Jim Widess and Ginger Summit