Iron Smelters of Eremi, The

Synopsis: Shows in the traditional methods of iron smelting and forging used by the Madi of Uganda. In Eremi only one old man knows how to smelt iron. A younger man goes digging some eight miles away for iron ore, carrying it back to Eremi in a basket. Meanwhile, good fire clay and logs are collected and a fire lighted. This begins the long process of keeping the fire going with bellows worked by two men in the heat of the sun, until finally, after a hard day’s work, the smelting is complete. The iron emerges in a coating of clay which has to be chipped away to leave a lump of crude iron. The iron is taken to a homestead about six miles away to be forged. This requires two people, the smith and a helper who pounds the iron with a stone, all day to complete the task of shaping it into a bride-price hoe. The film provides a unique record of a virtually obsolete smelting technology, and gives a clear idea of the toil and skill required to smelt and forge iron in this traditional manner.
Language: English
Country: Uganda
Medium: Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 25 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of production: 1963
Availability: OUT OF DISTRIBUTION
Uses: Undergraduates, postgraduates.
Subjects: Anthropology; Technology
Keywords: ironmaking; Madi; Uganda

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