Part II — Two Teachers and a Mystery
A year of failure, a stranger's kindness, and the day everything came together
Part II — Learning, at last
The village has spoken, and Arenla agrees to teach. But teaching and learning are not the same thing. For a whole year Sentila tries and fails. Then a stranger — a kind widow named Onula — notices what her mother could not. Watch how Sentila finally learns. And read the ending slowly; it is the kind that rewards a second reading.
The following year, Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank where the grey and red clay was found. She taught Sentila how to dig the clay with a , load it on to her carrying basket and soak it in the trough in the work shed before stuffing it into the bamboo cylinder in the right proportion to pound it. Sentila was a quick learner and turned the clay into dough. But when she tried her hand at the shaping of the lump into a pot, she could not even hold the lump of dough properly. The mother simply sat in a corner and watched the girl try again and again. While Sentila hung her head in shame and frustration, Arenla took over the job, and transformed the lump into a beautiful pot. These sessions continued for almost a year but Sentila was unable to learn anything from her mother.
The next year, when Sentila matured, according to custom, she was sent to stay for some nights in one of the girls' supervised by a kind, middle-aged whom the girls called 'Onula' or Aunty. She had heard of the in Sentila's family and to help the girl in every possible way. One evening, when everyone except Sentila went to attend a musical evening, Onula saw her taking out some clay and the from her basket quietly. She watched Sentila's clumsy efforts to make a pot and noticed that Sentila was too tense. As a result, the clay seemed unable or unwilling to the right shape. When Sentila let the misshapen lump fall flat on the ground, Onula went to her and said, "Don't worry, little one, I shall teach you how to make a perfect pot." Sentila watched in amazement as Onula a beautiful pot and asked her to try again. Sentila took another lump of clay and with a confidence she had never felt before, started the process all over again following the instructions she had just received. She created a beautiful pot! When it was done, she sat there admiring her work but Onula said, "The mouth of the pot is all wrong." Sentila looked at Onula in frustration who smiled and said, "When you work with your mother next time, watch her carefully when she is shaping the mouth of the pot. You are a quick learner and you will do well."
Pause and check before the ending.
Why could Sentila not learn pot making from her own mother, even after a year?
What does Onula notice that Arenla missed — the real reason Sentila kept failing?
During the next pot making session, Sentila observed how her mother held the left hand and the spatula, how she the rhythm when fashioning the mouth of the pots and how a strip of elongated dough was added to the mouth to make the rim. Then, on a bright sunny day, Arenla told Sentila that they should try to make as many pots as they could, otherwise they would not have enough days of sunshine to dry them. They went to the shed quite early to begin. As usual, Arenla completed a batch quickly and asked Sentila to take over. Complaining that she had a headache and a backache, she went out telling Sentila to try and make as many pots as she could. Sentila was surprised and began to beat the dough in perfect coordination with her left hand. Before long, she realised that the pot was ready. She started on the next one, and like a sprinter who had suddenly found , she continued making pot after pot with the same speed and that she had noticed in her mother's hands. Finally, when she looked at her row of pots, she saw that she had made just one short of her mother's .
Exhausted from the labour, she decided to go into the house and join her mother for lunch. When she reached the , she found her mother lying on the floor. She was not breathing. Sentila ran towards the common area in the village for help. The villagers raced to the house, and sent for Mesoba. When Arenla's body was being carried out of the house the next morning, Sentila ran after it, shouting, "Mother, I did not wish it to happen this way; it simply came to me. Please forgive me." Those who heard her, did not understand what she meant, except for Onula. She sensed that something had happened. On her way back, Onula noticed that the door to the work shed was slightly . Out of curiosity, she stepped inside and abruptly stopped in her tracks; two neat rows of newly-made pots stood side by side. She could find nothing to tell one batch from the other. She was sure that it was not the handiwork of one person alone. Onula stood there for a long time as if trying to absorb a new . Slowly she walked away from this place of wonder, as she considered it to be, because she believed that she had just witnessed a in the two batches of still moist pots, standing side by side in perfect symmetry inside the shed. A new pot maker was born.
The story ends on a deliberate mystery. On the very day Sentila first makes perfect pots — matching her mother's skill — Arenla dies, and Sentila cries, 'it simply came to me.' Temsula Ao never explains how the skill 'came.' Why might she leave it unexplained — and what do the two identical rows of pots suggest without the story ever saying it directly?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.How does Sentila FINALLY learn to shape the mouth of the pot correctly?
Part II — Learning, at last
The village has spoken, and Arenla agrees to teach. But teaching and learning are not the same thing. For a whole year Sentila tries and fails. Then a stranger — a kind widow named Onula — notices what her mother could not. Watch how Sentila finally learns. And read the ending slowly; it is the kind that rewards a second reading.
The following year, Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank where the grey and red clay was found. She taught Sentila how to dig the clay with a , load it on to her carrying basket and soak it in the trough in the work shed before stuffing it into the bamboo cylinder in the right proportion to pound it. Sentila was a quick learner and turned the clay into dough. But when she tried her hand at the shaping of the lump into a pot, she could not even hold the lump of dough properly. The mother simply sat in a corner and watched the girl try again and again. While Sentila hung her head in shame and frustration, Arenla took over the job, and transformed the lump into a beautiful pot. These sessions continued for almost a year but Sentila was unable to learn anything from her mother.
The next year, when Sentila matured, according to custom, she was sent to stay for some nights in one of the girls' supervised by a kind, middle-aged whom the girls called 'Onula' or Aunty. She had heard of the in Sentila's family and to help the girl in every possible way. One evening, when everyone except Sentila went to attend a musical evening, Onula saw her taking out some clay and the from her basket quietly. She watched Sentila's clumsy efforts to make a pot and noticed that Sentila was too tense. As a result, the clay seemed unable or unwilling to the right shape. When Sentila let the misshapen lump fall flat on the ground, Onula went to her and said, "Don't worry, little one, I shall teach you how to make a perfect pot." Sentila watched in amazement as Onula a beautiful pot and asked her to try again. Sentila took another lump of clay and with a confidence she had never felt before, started the process all over again following the instructions she had just received. She created a beautiful pot! When it was done, she sat there admiring her work but Onula said, "The mouth of the pot is all wrong." Sentila looked at Onula in frustration who smiled and said, "When you work with your mother next time, watch her carefully when she is shaping the mouth of the pot. You are a quick learner and you will do well."
Pause and check before the ending.
Why could Sentila not learn pot making from her own mother, even after a year?
What does Onula notice that Arenla missed — the real reason Sentila kept failing?
During the next pot making session, Sentila observed how her mother held the left hand and the spatula, how she the rhythm when fashioning the mouth of the pots and how a strip of elongated dough was added to the mouth to make the rim. Then, on a bright sunny day, Arenla told Sentila that they should try to make as many pots as they could, otherwise they would not have enough days of sunshine to dry them. They went to the shed quite early to begin. As usual, Arenla completed a batch quickly and asked Sentila to take over. Complaining that she had a headache and a backache, she went out telling Sentila to try and make as many pots as she could. Sentila was surprised and began to beat the dough in perfect coordination with her left hand. Before long, she realised that the pot was ready. She started on the next one, and like a sprinter who had suddenly found , she continued making pot after pot with the same speed and that she had noticed in her mother's hands. Finally, when she looked at her row of pots, she saw that she had made just one short of her mother's .
Exhausted from the labour, she decided to go into the house and join her mother for lunch. When she reached the , she found her mother lying on the floor. She was not breathing. Sentila ran towards the common area in the village for help. The villagers raced to the house, and sent for Mesoba. When Arenla's body was being carried out of the house the next morning, Sentila ran after it, shouting, "Mother, I did not wish it to happen this way; it simply came to me. Please forgive me." Those who heard her, did not understand what she meant, except for Onula. She sensed that something had happened. On her way back, Onula noticed that the door to the work shed was slightly . Out of curiosity, she stepped inside and abruptly stopped in her tracks; two neat rows of newly-made pots stood side by side. She could find nothing to tell one batch from the other. She was sure that it was not the handiwork of one person alone. Onula stood there for a long time as if trying to absorb a new . Slowly she walked away from this place of wonder, as she considered it to be, because she believed that she had just witnessed a in the two batches of still moist pots, standing side by side in perfect symmetry inside the shed. A new pot maker was born.
The story ends on a deliberate mystery. On the very day Sentila first makes perfect pots — matching her mother's skill — Arenla dies, and Sentila cries, 'it simply came to me.' Temsula Ao never explains how the skill 'came.' Why might she leave it unexplained — and what do the two identical rows of pots suggest without the story ever saying it directly?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.How does Sentila FINALLY learn to shape the mouth of the pot correctly?