TERRACOTTA AND POTTERY
THE FEW REMAINING potters in Vaghchhipa have been
practising for more than three generations since the time it was a
flourishing centre for pottery.Apart from the utilitarian products
and votive offering,the terracotta repertoire also consists of figures
of deities for ceremonial and auspicious occasions.The
ghumat,dome-shaped shrine with an opening to hold a lamp,is
offered to the departed person whose spirit is invited to reside in
it.A wheel-thrown water pot is transformed into a shrine by
adding a border,horse figures and a form resembling the
auspicious offering of kalash,pot and betel leaves.The tradition
of offering a ghumat or dhabu,shrine,is also prevalent in Chota
Udaipur in Gujarat and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh-with regional
variations in the size and design of the shrine.
Production Clusters
Silvassa
Vaghchhipa village
Products
Matka-kodiya-small
lamps
Tools
Nani gadvi-small pot
Panko-stone
Loti-glass
Tipni-beating tool
Taadi nu ghadiyaliquor container
Bhatti-furnace
Ghumat,Bonbhi
Tachka or Areetha polish
Baramdev-votive
offerings
Fishing net,Cloth
string
Choras bedhu-water
container
Kaplu-metal piece
Maatlu-containers
Taadi-pot
1. A part of the
process of
making a votive
offering out a
terracotta pot in
Dadra.
2. The artisan
makes scallops
by pinching the
wet clay,which
is added to the
por by scoring
and grooving its
surface.
3. Making a pattern
of small notches
with a scraping
tool on the pot.
4. A completed
ghumat,shrine.
FISHING NETS
THE MEN AND women of the Rahekar,Warli and Kokna fishing
communities have been residing in Dudhni Village for more than
three generations and making fishing nets that require minute
detailing.The women do the preparatory work that includes
making and mending nets.The knot forming sutar string is passed
through the crown of the pendant loop in the
previous row and round its two ends.The handmade fishing net
have been replaced by synthetic factory-made ones.Even in
contemporary times,monetary exchange is limited,and the barter
system is the primary economic mode among the communities
where fish is exchanged for grains.
Production Clusters
Silvassa
Dudhni village
Products
Detail of a handmade fishing net.
Fishing nets
Fishing net.
Tools
Bamboo stick