This week’s trip took us into the town of Ifè to see a blacksmith. It was such an interesting process. In Yorùbá culture, the work of a blacksmith is fulfilled by men only. The reason you see a woman in the picture is because she is operating a man made machine which heats up a hot bed of palm oil seeds. Like Americans use coal, the blacksmith uses the seeds from a palm oil tree to create an extremely hot space where he heats his blade. With the hot blade, he then pounds and creates various objects: knives, axes, smaller blades, etc. They did not wear gloves nor any sort of protective gear. Not surprisingly, they worked quickly and with precision.
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