Traditional clay pottery of Odisha, India

Abstract

Pottery making is an important event of past. It has marked the beginning of the revolution in Neolithic period in human society. It all started with mud that indicates the emergence of civilization leading to development of culture. Pottery was introduced from different civilizations and was accepted, developed, changed and adapted. Few of the traditional communities in the world still maintain this tradition as their occupation. The present paper discusses the pottery making process and related activities in rural areas of Bhadrak district of Odisha, India. The field survey was conducted during the year 2015-2017 to access the present status of this unique clay-based craft as well as the condition of the artisans involved in this craft making. The information on pottery technique was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires, complemented by free interviews and informal conversations with 79 artisans. The result revealed that making artifacts from clay is exclusively the hand work of rural Kumbhara community. Most of these artisans are marginal farmers while making such craft is their primary occupation. They collect the raw material, i.e., clay from the nearby field, river bed or shallow land, process it and make varieties of attractive craft items for traditional domestic use as well as in socio-religious rituals. The existing conditions of this folk craft as well as the artisans were analysed. Some remedial measures are suggested to save this endangered craft from oblivion.