THE
HUMBLE CLAY POTS OF OUR MOTHERLAND
BY
ARMAND RODRIGUES
Clay emerges from mother earth, and
the pot is likened to a child that comes from the womb of a woman. For millennia, women made clay pots, by
hand. Then the wheel got invented and it
gave birth to the potter’s-wheel, and the role of pot-making shifted to
men. Women would collect and prepare the
clay, and embellish pots with designs, after men had shaped them. In archaeological digs, shards of pottery
become historical treasure troves. Ancient
civilizations were adept at working with clay.
It is believed that man’s introduction to the art of making clay pots
was a huge fire that destroyed everything in its path, except for a piece of
burnt clay. This piece was as hard as
stone and did not absorb water. It led
early man to making pots and jars of clay, drying them in the sun and then
firing them in a crude kiln. Hey Presto! Vessels capable of holding liquids
securely, a pot to cook in, a dish, bowl or container, were born.
But first, a potter had to find
suitable clay, then dampen it and knead it like flour, roll and flatten it with
his knuckles. He then had to mould and
shape a glob of clay into a symmetrical utensil. A water pot is pretty thin but has a strong
curled lip to take the noose of a rope and haul the full pot up from a
well. Other pots are a little thicker
and have to be able to withstand high temperatures. Bowls for feeding pigs or dogs, are really
thick and heavy. Curry-pots were akin to
the Chinese woks, but without a handle.
They were wide, had rounded bottoms and thick rims for grasping. These
round-bottomed pots sat firmly on fireplaces that consisted of three laterite
blocks, and could be stirred safely with a coconut-shell ladle. Pots that had a
nice patina when fired, turned black when used as curry-pots or for
cooking. So also, did heavy pots in
which rice was cooked.
As any Goan worth his salt knows, food
cooked in an earthenware pot has a flavour all its own. Goan potters(kumbars) turned out pots for cooking rice and canjee (burkolo/podgo), curry, meat, fish,
vegetables (khundem). Large pots like
amphorae were used to store water, grains or salted meats. They also made
platters, bowls (matul) to drink
from, pots (bindool) for drawing
water from a well, heavy bowl-shaped pots(khodem)
to feed pigs and dogs, water decanters (gurgulet),
flowerpots (jarin), Roman roofing
tiles (nolle). With no ovens in the past, three large
curry-pots were piled on top of each other, with coconut-shell coal in the top
and bottom ones, and bebinca in the
middle one. Bowls for smoking pipes were also made by the potter, and a hollow
bamboo stem attached to it. Our
ancestors enjoyed their tobacco (dungti) in
these clay pipes. No village fair was complete, without the fruits of a potter’s
handiwork offered for sale. And, rich
folks may have had fancy crockery in their dining rooms, but behind the scenes,
rich and poor alike found identical pottery utensils indispensable.
Many moons ago, Anjuna had a famous
restaurant called the Haystack. It had a
live band and folkloric plays in Konkanim and Portuguese. But the real draw was the unique hot buffet
actually served in large curry-pots set in a row, from which people served
themselves with a ladle. Police presence
was required to control the crowds drawn in by the enticing aromas wafting from
the “potted” banquet.
If for a moment you thought that clay
pots had little value, think again. My
doctor uncle got paid in pots when he treated a kumbar or his family!
And when its purpose has been served,
a crumbling or broken pot reverts to where it came from. In biblical parlance,
it was pre-destined: “Dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return”.
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