Old scraper, Gamo, Ethiopia

Description

Old scraper for hide working (cow, goat)
Gamo, Gurage, Oromo, Ethiopia

Wood, flint remains
Height 26 cm

Today, hide working using stone tools is only practised in certain parts of North America, Siberia and Ethiopia.
This type of scraper is used in Ethiopia by several populations, including the Gamo, Gurage and Oromo. The Gamo call it a zucano.
It consists of a more or less oval handle carved from a thick piece of wood. At its heaviest end, one or two carved flints are fitted and held using acacia resin.
The hide (cow or goat) is stretched over a wooden frame before being scraped.
One hide requires several scrapers, the flints of which are regularly trimmed and replaced.

Additional information