and butter coolers were the earliest and best articles the potters produced."
Concerning the Kumbāras of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes,*[1] that they "seem to be a branch of the Telugu and Canarese potter castes, but many of them have Tulu for their home speech, and follow the aliyasantāna rule of inheritance (in the female line). Some of them officiate as pūjāris (priests) in the temples of the local deities or demons, and are employed to perform funeral rites. Unlike the Tamil potters, the Kumbāras do not wear the sacred thread. Infant and widow marriages are very common. On the birth of a child, the family observe pollution for fifteen days, and on the sixteenth day the village barber and dhobi (washerman) get holy water from the village temple, and purify the family by sprinkling it on their head. There are two endogamous sub-divisions, the Kannada and Tulu Kumbāra, and each of these is divided into exogamous balis. Their ordinary title is Handa, which is also sometimes used as the name of the caste. In Uppinangadi a superior kind of pottery is made (by the Kannada Kumbāras). It is made of clay powdered, mixed with water, and strained. It is then poured into a pit specially prepared for the purpose, where it is allowed to remain for about a month, by which time it becomes quite dry. It is then removed, powdered, moistened, and made into balls, which are one by one placed upon a wheel and fashioned into various kinds of vessels, including vases, goglets, teapots, cups and saucers. The vessels are dried in the shade for about eight days, after which they are baked for two days, when they are ready for sale.
- ↑ * Manual of the South Canara district.
