Handmade in India

LAC PRODUCTS
Nawrangpur, adjoining the Koraput district, is famous for its lac ware
made by the Shankari community. Once patronised by the king of
Jeypore, these boxes in graduated sizes are now made as gift items and
are even exported. Boxes and containers made by the bamboo craftsmen
are procured and women coat the box with lac. The decoration is also
done with lac mixed in powder colours. The lac-coatd box called lakho
pedi is an important article of dowry. Terracotta and wooden toys are
also lac-coated. Clay toys are bought from the kumbhars of Godugudda
and coated with lac. Lac is an insect-resin and the host trees on which
these insects deposit their secretion are kusum and barboti which gor in
Chandahani forest in Nawrangpur.
1. Terracotta and lac coated raja rani dolls
2. Lakho pedi - box made from bamboo strips and coated with
lac
3. Colour powder mixed with lac in the form of chappra and
wires.
4. Terracotta and lac coated figurines of Lord Jagannath,
Subhadra and Balabhadra.
Product Clusters
Nawrangpur
district:
Nawrangpur
Products
Terracotta with lac:
Jagannath idols
Jhumka - toys for
children
Bamboo with lac
Lakho pedi - a set of
five dowry boxes
Bichona - hand fun
Pengu noda -
peashooter
Kula - winnow
Tools
Kaati - knife
Sua - needle
Baason baddi -
bamboo stick
Umbai - utensil to
burn coal
Takudi - iron rod
Scissors
River stone
TERRACOTTA AND POTTERY
Terracotta utensils and ritual objects are integral to rural life and are in
demand perennially. Along with traditional utility items like pitchers and
utensils, the potters also fasion decorative items out of clay. Most of the items
that are made are thrown on a traditioal wooden wheel. A coat of red kola,
clay, is applied as a finish, and the items are fired in a community furnace.
Decorative items made for sale through emporia or craft melas mostly adhere
to traditional motifs like the fish or turtle. Locally, utensils and pitchers are
sold in weekly haats or hawked door to door. The tribal festival of Pous
Purnima or full moon in January adds a spurt in sales.
Inset : Paisa kundi - coin bank
1. Ghagri - pot for fetching and storing water.
2. Terracotta mask from Tandaguda.
3. Lamp used for doing aarti - ritual related to worship
4. Koroma - pot used for storing water and cooking
5. Terracotta products in Santeiput left in a shaded area
for drying.
6. A woman on her way to sell ghagris at the local haat.
7. The potter`s wooden wheel rotated by hand is still used
in most parts of Orissa.
Production Clusters
Koraput district:
Santeiput village
Nawrangpur
district:
Tandaguda village
Districts:
Puri, Ganjam,
Sambalpur, Bargarh,
Bhubaneshwar,
Cuttack, Mayurbhanj
Products
Water pitchers
Incense stands
Lamps, Foot Scrubs
Tools
Kumbhar chakko -
potter`s wheels
Pitua pathar - mugri
stone
Ugalni pitna, Majhia
pitna, Chiknaini pitna
- beating tools