How Vangai River clay mixes with mud from three places to make Manamadurai pottery

The pottery-making tradition of Manamadurai village in Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district is now globally renowned, thanks to the use of unique clay collected from the local water bodies.

The craft, which has received the Geographical Indication or GI tag, incorporates the Panchamahabhutas -- five elements of nature. They are earth (prithvi), water (jalam), air (vayu), fire (agni), and space (akasha). The basic material for pottery is mud (earth) mixed with water. The air permeates the clay's pores, and the pot’s cavity represents space while it is baked in fire. 

What makes Manamadurai pottery unique is the use of three types of mud. This mud comes from three places in Manamadurai -- Seikullathur, Kurumangalam, and Nathamperuki. 

The clay used to make Manamadurai pottery comes from the Vaigai River and other water bodies in the area including Nedunkulam, Nathapurakki, Sundaranadappu and Seikalathur.

Also Read: India’s 4 little-known pottery traditions 

The potters only use water from the nearby untouched clean wells. The different kinds of mud are mixed with water and blended with legs. A machine is used to exert more pressure to attain the required texture.

Pottery in Manamadurai includes hereditary pots, water pots, garden pots, firewood ovens, saw dust ovens, nursery pots, and decorative red clay pottery. 

Manamadurai pottery making requires expertise as the bottom has to be perfectly round. The circumference of the pot and the neck should be proportionate so that the pot sits on flat ground. 

This pottery is a product of mud and clay in the right proportion and the right amount of heating, which makes the pots very strong. Clay figures are primarily cast in moulds; some are fired, while others are painted in the raw form.

Also Read: Manipur’s Longpi Pottery: Made using stone without the potter’s wheel

The process of making Manamadurai pottery

The potters use different methods to analyze soil samples. Hand analysis is an easy and effective way to detect the physical properties of soil and follow the traditional sequence of steps for accurate assessment. The collected soil is dried for two days and sieved. The slurry is mixed with the sand, resulting in a mixture rich in calcium lime, ash, red lead, sodium silicate, manganese and iron.

The mixture is kneaded with legs for six hours and then kept aside for two days. 

After two days, when the clay gets strong, it is used for casting the pot, and the lump of clay is thrown in the centre of the pottery wheel. 

Also Read: Andro: Manipur’s ancient village where only married women make pottery

As the wheel starts turning, the earth is shaped with hands. When the pot develops, it is taken out from the wheel and set for tempering. The pots come hollow when the wet clay is shaped and taken from the rotating wheel. It is the women who manually work with a stone and a piece of wood to beat the clay and give it a round shape.

The pots are painted with slurry containing calcium lime, ash, red lead, sodium silicate, manganese, iron, and plasticizing agents. 

The products are sold wholesale and retail and reach markets all over Southern India. Though the artisans face stiff competition from machine-made products, they continue to practice the centuries-old craft. A GI tag will help preserve the unique identity of Manamadurai pottery.

Also Read: Blue Tales of Pink City: How Jaipur’s GI-tagged Blue Pottery moved from palaces & tombs to living rooms across the world

Look up our YouTube Channel