Long-Handle and Short-handle Dipper Gourds

Long-handle dipper gourds are one of the most unique gourd shapes around. Obvious by their shape, it almost appears as though God himself designed this fruit to be advantageous to us. I mean, we have long fruits such as bananas and round fruits such as oranges, but a ball on the end of a stick? Anyone looking at one of these gourds would automatically see a function and purpose in these gourds.

In many cultures both the short-handle dipper gourds as well as the long handle dipper gourds have been used to reach into the stream to get water, or to ladle water from a drinking hole or a pot. Their shape and size are nearly perfect. There are two basic types of dipper gourds, the long handle dipper gourd and the small handle dipper gourd, also known as the Apache dipper gourd. Gourd artists have used these for everything from a painted wall hanging, to being a bird sculpture with the bowl portion of the dipper being the body, and the long handle being the neck.

Not only have long handle dippers been used for getting liquid from something, but they have also been used to get something out of the water. With the long handle and by drilling or poking a lot of small holes in the bowl area of the gourd, you could boil or poach meat or vegetables, then use the dipper gourd with holes in it to draw the solid materials out of the water and allow the excess water to drain off. Perhaps today we have metal or plastic ladles, but we are not so advanced as to make obsolete such a perfectly designed utility.

Today as with most gourds, modern society has replaced them with other materials and new designs, but the gourds are still around and quite popular with gourd growers and gourd artists. Today they make beautiful wall hangings, and long handle dippers are a test of a gourd growers patience as they try to slowly coax a knot into the handle of the dipper as they grow. once there, when the gourd dries, that knot is permanent and cannot be undone without breaking the gourd.

Gourds are an artistic medium. If you would like to learn more about gourds, please visit The Gourd Reserve, with over 800 pages of gourd related