Kanji

Think you have a knack for foreign languages? Try picking up Japanese – all 2,000 characters of it!

In place of an alphabet, Japanese has an extensive set of pictograms called kanji. The Koujiten, an ancient dictionary, compiled between 1644-1912 during the Ching dynasty, lists a mind-boggling 47,000 kanji! Aspiring learners need not baulk – Japan’s Ministry of Education prescribes a mere 1,945 kanji for learning basic Japanese, enough to peruse a newspaper or book.

Japanese belongs to the Ural-Altaic group of languages that include Korean, Mongolian, Turkish and Manchu. An indigenous Japanese language existed around the 3rd century AD, but it was only much later that Japanese adopted a script from China, in the form of kanji. Unlike Chinese, the Japanese language is polysyllabic; consequently, two further sets of symbols developed in Japan, hiragana and katakana to adapt the original Chinese to local language characteristics.

A kanji is a symbol representing the root meaning of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Hiragana, added to kanji, act as modifiers (for example, adding hiragana to the kanji for “eat” changes the verb to “to eat”, “ate” or “is eating”.) Hiragana are also used as particles or link words, showing the relationship between words in a sentence. Katakana is for writing foreign language words such as names of places and people. They were invented in Japan by 9th century Buddhist students as shorthand for taking down lecture notes, a simpler alternative to the elaborate Chinese kanji.  Katakana is also employed for commonly used foreign words, though their pronunciation may change (for example, “television” in Japanese is “terebi”). Both hiragana and katakana are simpler than kanji, with 46 characters each. You can identify hiragana symbols by their rounded shape, while katakana is angular.

Apart from linguists, the elegant, aesthetically pleasing kanji is popular with tattoo aficionados and calligraphy enthusiasts!

Moroccan ceramics with metal and bone

In the fabulous melting pot of cultures that is Morocco, history and geography come together to produce a range of earthenware that is arresting in its beauty.

From the 8th-9th century, the 4,000-year-old indigenous Berber population knew the art of making glazed and enameled earthenware. Pottery was made entirely by women, for home use. In the 15th century, the Moors began arriving from Spain, bringing with them, advanced techniques. They settled in the cities of Fez, Safi and Marrakech, where they rebuilt their kilns. For the next 400 years, these centers produced some of the Islamic world’s finest pottery.

In the early 20th century, industrialization and the craze for mass-produced products nearly spelt the end of Moroccan pottery. It was revived under the French Protectorate, when Moroccan potters were sent to France to learn improved techniques. Ever since, guilds have been established in various centers where master craftsmen train apprentices in their craft.

While the distinctive Fakhari or Bleu de Fez pottery, with abstract, repetitive, geometric designs or Arabic calligraphy is virtually synonymous with Moroccan pottery, Safi and Marrakech also have made unique contributions to this art.

Safi has the oldest kilns in Morocco and is known for its use of camel bone in pottery design. Potters mix local red clay by walking on it. Pots are molded on foot-operated potters’ wheels and baked in the kilns, which as of old, continue to be fired with dried hardwood. After being painted with bright colors, plain or henna-stained camel bone designs are adhered to the earthenware, especially plates and vases.

Marrakech is famed for the skills of its metal workers. Soft metal is soldered on to ceramic ware, giving a filigreed effect; the metal outlines the finely painted abstract shapes and foliage of Islamic art or the stylized birds and animals of Berber origin.

Interestingly, basic techniques have changed little over the years. Painted brushes are made of bamboo and horsehair. A unique feature of Moroccan ceramics lies in the firing technique used, where one cannot predict the behavior of the glaze. Two pots coated with the same glaze therefore, can turn out in different shades.

Pottery here is intrinsically connected with local beliefs. A couscous steamer placed on a pole and pushed off to break into pieces, foretells the immediate future – a few large pieces signify a prosperous year, while several, small fragments are ominous signs of a hard winter and tough times!