RNI Title Code: TELENG/2017/74418 ISSN: 2581-6322 SPWI Journal For Social Welfare (A Multi-Disciplinary Peer-Reviewed Bi-Quarterly Social Science Research Journal) Volume : 1 Issue : 2 October-December 2018 An ISO 9001-2015 Certified Journal Contents

1. The Effectiveness of 498-(A) IPC- A Study 1 ------Dr. S. Balabrahma Chary

2. Working System of One Stop Centre Scheme- A Study 21 ------Dr. D. Suresh

3. Problems Facing By Women Bank Managers in Public and Private Sector 33 ------Dr. A. Kishore Kumar & Dr. M. Kavitha

4. Transgenders in India and Their Characteristics 42 ------Dr. Ch. Ravinder

5. Education and Tribal Development: A Study in Mahabubabad District 63 ------Dr. Gugulothu Kavitha

6. Pot Makers in India 71 ------K. Krishnaiah

7. Performance of Childline Service- A Case Study 78 ------Ragi Krishna Murthy

8. Agriculture Production Patterns in Telangana State- A Study in 84 Tribal Areas ------Kumara Swamy Moutam

9. Consequence of the Health Problems on Scheduled Tribes - 105 A Study in Telangana State ------P. Ravi Kumar 10. Women Policing in Telangana State- A Study 119 ------R. Shobha Rani

11. Protection of Women’s Human Rights Role of Judiciary in India 135 ------Marka Kiran

12. Socio, Economic and Educational Status of Lambada Tribe Women- 143 A Study ------B. Vijaya

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 71

RNI Title Code: TELENG/2017/74418 ISSN: 2581-6322 SPWI Journal For Social Welfare (A Multi-Disciplinary Peer-Reviewed Bi-Quarterly Social Science Research Journal) Volume : 1 Issue : 2 October-December 2018 An ISO 9001-2015 Certified Journal

POT MAKERS IN INDIA

K. Krishnaiah Lecturer, Government Junior College, Alere, Yadadri (Bongir), Telangana 9441184666 [email protected]

Abstract: Those vivid eyes gazing and cautious hands moving relentlessly in synchronization on the wheel as a mass of clay gets transformed to a pot and one who sees it happen sings praise for the mesmerizing skills, these people who are known to be potters, possess. Pottery being an age-old prominent handicraft in India, its roots here can be traced back to the earliest times of civilization. It has sustained for eons and is a massive employment creator in both rural and urban areas. The present paper explains the Kummari or Potter community history.

Keywords: Kummari history, distribution, caste,and customs.

Introduction A man should be known for its work, the virtue and ability one puts in its work but this proclamation doesn’t always hold in some scenarios. In a developing country like ours which has shown unprecedented growth in almost all major sectors, we are still struggling to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and everyone doesn’t seem to share the piece of cake.One such left out the community in India is that of potters. Pottery is an art of making different objects by carefully molding clay. The sheer hard work they put and the skills through which they design those very pots are magnificent. But their fate seems to be sailing in choppy waters as most of the industries are shut and most of the craftsmen are either unemployed or paid too little. It feels perplexing to see their plight today as they used to be a major revenue generator in the country and as the modernization of the nation began, they started losing their sheen.

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 72 Pot Makers in India

As the modern ways of plastic made crafts forayed into our household people living in urban areas started relying on them and the traditional handicrafts lost their cluster. People don’t recognize the haphazard of these artificial products all they care is about affluence. The government has tried to revive the industry by offering incentives for the handicrafts industries to avert their death and also by conducting fairs and seminars where they can showcase their skilled labour but the scenario doesn’t seem to have improved.It’s appalling to see that they don’t get the same recognition, respect,and remuneration as one should get after putting so much effort into their work.

Kumhar or Potter Kumhar is a caste or community in India and Pakistan. Kumhar literally means potter in Indian languages. Depending upon the subgroup or region, in India, they are classified as both OBC and the SC.

Etymology The Kumhars derive their name from the word Kumbhakar meaning earthen-pot maker. Dravidian languages conform to the same meaning of the term Kumbhakar. The term Bhande used to designate the Kumhar caste, also means pot. The potters of Amritsar are called Kulal or Kalal, the term used in Yajurveda to denote the pottery class.

Mythological Origin A section of Hindu Kumhars honorifically calls themselves Prajapati after Vedic Prajapati, the Lord, who created the universe.

According to a legend prevalent among Kumhars Once Brahma divided sugarcane among his sons and each of them ate his share, but the Kumhara who was greatly absorbed in his work forgot to eat. The piece which he had kept near his clay lump struck root and soon grew into a sugarcane plant. A few days later, when Brahma asked his sons for sugarcane, none of them could give it to him, excepting the Kumhara who offered a full plant. Brahma was pleased by the devotion of the potter to his work and awarded him the title Prajapati. There is an opinion that this is because of their traditional creative skills of pottery, they are regarded as Prajapati.

Divisions The Potters are classified into Hindu and Muslim cultural groups. Among Hindus, the inclusion of Artisan castes in Shudra Varna is indisputable. The potters belong to

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 K. Krishnaiah 73 the Shudra group of artisans of Hindu society. They are further divided into two groups- clean caste and unclean caste. Among the Kumhars are groups such as the Gujrati Kumhar, Rana Kumhar, Lad and Telangi. They all, bear these names after different cultural-linguistic zones or caste groups but are termed as one caste cluster.

Potters Distribution in India Chamba (Himachal): The Kumhars of Chamba are expert in making pitchers, Surahis, vessels, grain jars, toys for entertainment and earthen lamps. Some of these pots bear paintings and designs also. Gujarat: Kumhars are listed among the Other Backward Classes of Gujarat, where they are listed with the following communities: Prajapati (Gujjar Prajapati, Varia Prajapati, Sorthia Prajapati), Sorathiya Prajapati. : Hathretie and Chakretie (or Challakad) Kumhars are found in Madhya Pradesh. Hathretie Kumhars are called so because they traditionally moved the “chak” (potter’s wheel) by hands (“hath”). Gola is a common surname among Kumhars in Madhya Pradesh. They are categorized as an SC in Chhatarpur, Datia, Panna, Satna, Tikamgarh, Sidhi, and Shahdol districts but elsewhere in the state, they are listed among Other Backward Classes. (Marathe): Kumhars are found in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Sholapur, and . They speak in Marathi among themselves but in Marathi as well as with outsiders. They use script for communication. There are Kumbhars who do not belong to Maratha clan lives in Maharashtra and have the occupation of making idols and pots. They are aware of the Hindu Varna hierarchy and consider themselves to be the Shudra, the lowest rank. Orissa and Bengal: In Bengal Kumhars are one among the ceremonially pure castes. The Jagannatha Kumhars of Orissa, who provide vessels for the rice distribution in Jagannath temple, have a much higher rank in the society than the Kumhars of Central India. Rajasthan: In Rajasthan, Kumhars (Also known as Prajapati) have six sub-groups namely Mathera, Kumavat, Kheteri, Marwara, Timria, andMawalia. In the social hierarchy of Rajasthan, they are placed in the middle of the higher castes and the Harijans. They follow endogamy with clan exogamy. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: The Kannuaja Kumhars are considered to be a Shudra caste in both Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Although they sometimes use the term Pandit with their names, they do so as a suffix rather than prefixing it in the

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 74 Pot Makers in India honorific style that is used by Brahmins. The Magahiya Kumhars are treated little inferior to the Kanaujias and the Turkaha (Gadhere) Kumhars rank with untouchables. The Prajapati are among 17 OBC communities that were proposed for Scheduled Caste status by the Samajwadi Party-controlled Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2016. However, this proposal, which relates to voting bank politics, has been stayed by the courts; the prior attempt had been rejected by the Government of India.

Kummari in Telangana Kummari caste The Kummari caste (also known as Salivahana) comes under BC category. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Salivahana caste is recognized by Government of India and Government of Andhra Pradesh as per GO. Ms.No. 28 BCW (M1) Dept., dated 2 1995. It has been used in many Indian inscriptions and in ancient Sanskrit inscriptions in Indochina and Indonesia. The reformed calendar promulgated by the Indian government from 1957 is reckoned by this era. It is alleged to have been founded by King Kanicka. Salivahana era The Shalivahana era, also known as the Saka era, is used with Hindu calendars, the Indian national calendar, the Balinese calendar, the Javanese calendar, and the Cambodian Buddhist calendar. Its year zero begins near the vernal equinox of the year 78. The Western Kshatrapas (35–405 BC) were Saka rulers of south-western India (Saurashtra, Malwa modern Gujarat, Southern Sindh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka). They were successors to the Indo-Scythians who invaded and established the Saka era and calendar, marking the beginning of the Saka kingdom. The Satavahana king ( was titled as Shalivahana) is credited with the initiation of the era known as Shalivahana Saka to celebrate his victory against the Sakas in the year 78CE. Prior to this, in 56 BCE the Vikrama Samvatera was founded by the emperor of Ujjain in a similar fashion following his victory over the Sakas. Some scholars contend that the Saka era was founded by Kushana ruler Kanishka to commemorate his victory over Western Kshatrapas. Dating of Kanishka’s accession remains contentious.

Social Customs Girls are married at an early age when their parents can afford it, the matches were usually arranged at caste-feasts. In Chânda parents who allow a daughter to become adolescent while still unwed are put out of caste, but elsewhere the rule is by no means so strict. The ceremony is of the normal type and a Brâhman usually officiates, but in Betûl it is performed by the Sawâsa or husband of the bride’s paternal aunt. After the wedding, the couple is given kneaded flour to hold in their hands and snatch from each other as an emblem of their trade. In Mandla a bride price of Rs. 50 is paid. SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 K. Krishnaiah 75

The Kumhars recognize divorce and the remarriage of widows. If an unmarried girl is detected in criminal intimacy with a member of the caste, she has to give a feast to the caste-fellows and pay a fine of Rs. 1–4 and five lacks of her hair is also cut off by way of purification. The caste usually burns the dead, but the Lingayat Kumhars always bury them in accordance with the practice of their sect. They worship the ordinary Hindu deities and make an offering to the implements of their trade on the festival of DeothanIgaras. The village Brahman serves as their priest. In Balaghat a Kumhar is put out of caste if a dead cat is found in his house. At the census of 1901, the Kumhar was ranked with the impure castes, but his status is not really so low. Sir D. Ibbetson said of him: “He is a true village menial; his social standing is very low, far below that of the Lohar and not much above the Chamar. His association with that impure beast, the donkey, the animal sacred to Sitala, the smallpox goddess, pollutes him and also his readiness to carry manure and sweepings.” As already seen, there are in the Central Provinces Sungaria and Gadheria sub castes which keep donkeys and pigs, and these are regarded as impure. But in most Districts the Kumhar ranks not much below the Barhai and Lohar, that is in what I have designated the grade of village menials above the impure and below the cultivating castes. In Bengal, the Kumhars have a much higher status and Brahmans will take water from their hands. But the gradation of caste in Bengal differs very greatly from that of other parts of India.

The Kumhar as a village menial The Kumhar is not now paid regularly by dues from the cultivators like other village menials, as the ordinary system of sale has no doubt been found more convenient in his case. But he sometimes takes the soiled grass from the stalls of the cattle and gives pots free to the cultivator in exchange. On Akti day, at the beginning of the agricultural year, the village Kumhar of Saugor presents five pots with covers on them to each cultivator and receives 2½ lbs. of grain in exchange. One of these the tenant fills with water and presents to a Brahman and the rest he reserves for his own purposes. On the occasion of a wedding also the bridegroom’s party take the bride to the Kumharin’s house as part of the Sohag ceremony for making the marriage propitious. The Kumhar seats the bride on his wheel and turns it around with her seven times. The Kumharin presents her with seven new pots, which are taken back to the house and used at the wedding. They are filled with water and are supposed to represent the seven seas. If any two of these pots accidentally clash together it is supposed that the bride and bridegroom will quarrel during their married life. In return for this, the Kumharin receives a present of clothes. At a funeral also the Kumhar must supply thirteen vessels which are known as Ghats, and must also replace the broken earthenware. Like the other village menials at the harvest, he takes a new vessel to the cultivator in his field and receives a present of grain. These customs appear to indicate

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 76 Pot Makers in India his old position as one of the menials or general servants of the village ranking below the cultivators. Grant-Duff also includes the potter in his list of village menials in the Maratha villages.

Occupation The potter is not particular as to the clay he uses and does not go far afield for the finer qualities but digs it from the nearest place in the neighbourhood where he can get it free of cost. Red and black clay are employed, the former being obtained near the base of hills or on high-lying land, probably of the laterite formation, and the latter in the beds of tanks or streams. When the clay is thoroughly kneaded and ready for use a lump of it is placed in the center of the wheel. The potter seats himself in front of the wheel and fixes his stick or chakra into the planting hole in its upper surface. With this stick, the wheel is made to revolve very rapidly, and sufficient impetus is given to it to keep it in motion for several minutes. The potter then lays aside the stick and with his hands molds the lump of clay into the shape required, stopping every now and then to give the wheel a fresh spin as it loses its momentum. When satisfied with the shape of his vessel he separates it from the lump with a piece of string and places it on a bed of ashes to prevent it sticking to the ground. The wheel is either a circular disc cut out of a single piece of stone about a yard in diameter or an ordinary wooden wheel with spokes forming two diameters at right angles. The rim is then thickened with the addition of a coating of mud strengthened with fiber.The articles made by the potter are ordinary circular vessels or Gharasused for storing and collecting water, larger ones for keeping grain, flour and vegetables, and Surahisor amphoras for drinkingwater. In the manufacture of these last salt and saltpeter are mixed with the clay to make them more porous and so increase their cooling capacity. A very useful thing is the small saucer which serves as a lamp, is filled with oil on which a lighted wick is floated. These saucers resemble those found in the excavations of Roman remains. Earthen vessels are more commonly used, both for cooking and eating purposes among the people of northern India, and especially by Muhammadans, than among the Marathas, and, as already noticed, the Kumhar caste musters strong in the north of the Province. An earthen vessel is polluted if anyone of another caste takes food or drink from it and is at once discarded. On the occasion of a death all the vessels in the house are thrown away and a new set obtained, and the same measure is adopted at the Holi festival and on the occasion of an eclipse, and at various other ceremonial purifications, such as that entailed if a member of the household has had maggots in a wound. On this account, cheapness is an indispensable quality in pottery, and there is no opening for the Kumhar to improve his art. Another product of the Kumhar’s industry is the Chilamor pipe-bowl. This has the usual opening for inhaling the smoke but no stem, an impromptu stem being made by the hands and the smoke inhaled through it. As the

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322 K. Krishnaiah 77

Chilamis not touched by the mouth, Hindus of all except the impure castes can smoke it together, passing it around, and Hindus can also smoke it with Muhammadans. It is a local belief that, if an earthen pot is filled with salt and plastered over, the rains will stop until it is opened. This device is adopted when the fall is excessive, but, on the other hand, if there is drought, the people sometimes think that the potter has used it to keep off the rain because he cannot pursue his calling when the clay is very wet. And on occasions of a long break in the rains, they have been known to attack his shop and break all his vessels under the influence of this belief. The potter is sometimes known as Prajapati or the ‘The Creator,’ in accordance with the favourite comparison made by ancient writers of the moulding of his pots with the creation of human beings, the justice of which will be recognised by anyone who watches the masses of mud on a whirling wheel growing into shapely vessels in the potter’s creating hands.

References 1. Bharati, Ke. Ara (2001), Chamba Himalaya: Amazing Land, Unique Culture, Indus Publishing. p. 178. 2. Khan, I. A. (2004), Kumbhar/Kumhar, In Bhanu, B. V. People of India: Maharashtra, Part 2, Popular Prakashan, pp. 1175–1176. 3. Mandal, S. K. (1998), Kumhar/Kumbhar, In Singh, Kumar Suresh. People of India: Rajasthan. Popular Prakashan. pp. 565–566. 4. Saraswati, Baidyanath (1979), Pottery-Making Cultures and Indian Civilization, Abhinav Publications. pp. 46–50. 5. Vidyarthi, Lalita Prasad (1976), Rise of Anthropology in India, Concept Publishing Company, p. 293

SPWI Journal For Social Welfare, 1 (2), October – December 2018. ISSN: 2581-6322