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The Kambaata & their artisan families
Members of the potter and tanner families are traditionally marginalized in Kambaata society, as they are in other societies. Although their handicraft products are vital for the farmers and they have indispensable ritual functions (e.g., in funeral rituals), they occupy the lowest social rank in Kambaata society. Although the term fuga is perceived as pejorative by members of these craft families, this term is still used today to refer to Kambaata potters and tanners, both among farmers and other status groups outside Kambaata society. To avoid discrimination, these groups should be referred to according to their traditional occupations.
Even today, the Kambaata artisan families are excluded from the farming community and live outside or on the outskirts of the village. Many farmers harbor traditional prejudices about the potter families, who in their opinion are constantly on the lookout for food or leftovers, consuming it lavishly and without regard for dietary laws and saving nothing for tomorrow. They are considered unclean because of their work and eating habits. They receive their status at birth ("they have it in their blood"); an official change of status within the village community was and still is absolutely impossible. Even today, the potter or tanner families participate in social life only to a limited extent. Old traditions, such as not being allowed to enter the homes of peasant families or eat at the same table with them, run deep. Even today, little interaction takes place, and marriages between these two status groups do not exist.
The artisan families are by far the poorest members of the village community. They live in the simplest of dwellings, have hardly any proper clothing, spend almost all their income on food and cannot send their children to school. Yet they should not be reduced to their marginalized status. After all, they too have their own history, their clan systems and their very own culture. Despite their blatantly subordinate social status, today there is a friendly atmosphere between them and the peasant village community.
