It is thought that the first pottery makers shaped their vessels after gourds. The gourd is even mentioned in the Bible and has been found in Egyptian Tombs. Very early specimens of gourd shells discovered (for example, in Peru) indicate the use of gourds as means of recording events of the time.
Generally, gourds are used more for utilitarian uses than for food. Because gourds come in so many shapes and sizes, they were, and still are used for spoons, bowls, ladles, musical instruments and containers.
Drying gourds, which takes months in some cases, causes the internal contents (seeds and fruit matter) to dry out completely. The shell of the gourd, once dried, has a wooden appearance. Gourd "wood" is essentially cellulose that has no grain, varying in thickness from paper-thin to well over an inch.
The process of cleaning a gourd, which involves soaking, scrubbing, and cutting, then cleaning the inside of pulp and seeds, involves many hours of preparation before embellishments are added.
The most interesting ancient use of gourds the artist has come across recently is the following:
It has been found that gourd skins were used to replace missing parts of skulls back in the Neolithic times as part of primitive surgery. This is seen as evidence of prostheses, that is, artificial bones made of very fine gold sheet and gourd skins, which were inserted in the skull under the skin or to cover the hole left by the operation.
When you touch your first gourd, you will now know the patience, love and care that went into making your one of a kind,
unique gourd art that is very special indeed.
