How the Pueblo People Learned to Create Pottery

A Pueblo Story to Share with Your Students:

A long time ago, Clay Old Woman came to the Pueblo People from Shipap, the Underworld. She gathered together clay and sand, added some water, and mixed them all together. She took small amounts and rolled them out into long coils that looked like snakes.

Clay Old Woman wound them around and around and around until she made a container about eighteen inches tall.

In the meantime, Clay Old Man danced around her. At one point, Clay Old Man's foot knocked down the container Clay Old Woman had made. She was very angry and chased Clay Old Man throughout the village.

Later she returned to the broken container and gave each of the Pueblo People a part of it. They began to use the clay to create containers the way that Clay Old Woman had taught them.

This is possibly the first contemporary storyteller, made by Cochiti Pueblo potter Helen Cordero for Alexander Girard, based on her memories of her grandfather. It is on display at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and we will see it this summer during our seminars. Click here to learn more and to register for our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC summer seminar in Santa Fe.