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 on the centre of the
wheel. The potter seats himself in front of the wheel and fixes his
stick or _chakrait_ into the slanting 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 moulds 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 fibre. [6] The
articles made by the potter are ordinary circular vessels or _gharas_
used for storing and collecting water, larger ones for keeping grain,
flour and vegetables, and _surahis_ or amphoras for drinking-water. In
the manufacture of these last salt and saltpetre 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, being
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
any one 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 _chilam_ or 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 _chilam_ is not touched by the
mouth, Hindus of all except the impure castes can smoke it together,
passing it round, 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 any one who watches the masses of mud on a whirling wheel growing
into shapely vessels in the potter's creating hands.