![]() There is a mythical story relating to the origin of Kumbhakar. Lord Shiva is believed to have created a man and a woman during his marriage, from the beads of his garland and bade them to manufacture a 'Kumbha' or water pot, which was required during his wedding ceremony. Therefore the potters call themselves the dependent of Shiva and place his idol on the center of their wheel, leaving it unturned for the entire first of the Bengali Calendar. On the last day of the Bengali calendar, they worship the idol with devotion before immersing it. The Kumbhakar also worship Lord Viswakarma and believe that he had passed this exquisite art of pottery down to them. The Kumar or the potter makes a number of clay wares like kalshi (household water vessel), handi (cooking pot), jala (big water jar), hara/dhakna (pot covers), shanki (dish), sharai (jug), plates, cups, badna (water pot) and dhupdani (vessel for scented sulphur). Clay made toys and clay fruits like palm, banana, jackfruit or mango, are popular sale items in traditional fairs and festivals made by the potters. All the earthen wares are made by the hand and often display considerable ingenuity. All the Kumars or potters use a simple technology in making the earthenware. The clay dug from the earth's surface is prepared by beating and kneading with the hands, feet or simple mallets of stone or wood. There are a number of steps followed in making the ware. They include clay collection and preservation, preparing the clay for production, modeling the shape and size of the wares, drying the ware in the sun and lastly, firing and coloring it. In the ancient times, the clay was well tempered with water and was invariably used without any additional material. Earthen wares were shaped by digging out or cutting a solid lump or ball from this pure clay. Then it was done by building up piece by piece, or by squeezing cakes of clay on to some natural object or a mould or form. ![]() Kumars or the potters use two kinds of earth, 'bali' or sandy soil and 'kalamati' or blackish sticky soil. Both the ingredients are mixed in the ratio 1:2 for production of strong pottery. The red laterite earth from Bhowal is used for making the common red earthenware vessels. The cheap red and black earthenware are both prepared with the same clay, the latter being blackened by covering up the kiln at a certain stage and by adding oil-cake to the fire. Many potters cannot glaze or fix the colours on the wares, but are content to paint the vessel after it has been baked. The colours used in the earthen wares are always made from different chemicals and metals such as copper, manganese, lead, arsenic etc. Red paint are prepared with red leads, yellow with arsenic, green by copper, blue from manganese, and black with the combination of different chemicals. The Kumbhakar also manufactures bricks and tiles. |