Hunting Potters in South Asia

Jane Gibson

Description

Jane Gibson, an established potter, was determined to document the lives, skills and work of the traditional potters of South Asia before their disappearance. She argues that their largely utilitarian products, now being displaced by plastic, metal, and concrete, have an unappreciated simplicity and beauty. Describing the different styles and techniques of rural and urban potters, Jane delves into her encounters with these potters, visiting many places in India and Pakistan rarely seen by Western visitors after strenuous searching. Travelling with her doctor husband there are many incidental adventures; some hazardous, some amusing.Providing an informed retelling of the local surroundings, history and future of the art, Jane contrasts her observations with the more recent development of South Asian studio ceramics, emphasising the plight of traditional potters.

Sujets

• Pakistán
• Travel writing
• Pottery
• Pakistan
• India

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 janvier 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781803138572
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2022 Jane Gibson
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
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ISBN 978 1803138 572
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
Contents


Acknowledgements
Clay
Quote from a Potter Family in Goa
Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Afterword
Author Biography
Acknowledgements

I AM INDEBTED TO T ERRY, MY HUSBAND, WHOSE WORK AS A doctor took me on many of these travels. I am also grateful to him for editing, proofreading and reminding me of events recorded in his diaries. From a series of articles published in pottery magazines, plus memories of many adventures, this book morphed into a pottery odyssey.
My thanks must also go to my potter friend Jackie Richardson for proofreading and to potters worldwide. To the studio potters who took me to meet the traditional potters and the traditional potters who were so welcoming and generous. Lastly, to Hannah Dakin of Matador Publishers for her guidance and encouragement.
Ceramic Review kindly allowed me to use parts of articles I had previously published:

Issue178: Potters of Bindapur
Issue 211: Changing Times
Issue 242: Breaking Tradition
Issue 272: End of an Era
www.ceramicreview.com
Clay

C IVILISATION AS WE KNOW IT, STARTED WITH THE DISCOVERY of fired clay. The sticky, red earth found at riversides was discovered to be pliable when raw and water resistant when fired and therefore useful for storage. With that discovery, mankind switched from being nomadic hunter-gatherers, moving around close to waterbodies in search of food, to settlers on the banks of rivers, now able to cultivate and store grain, vegetables and fruit. It was an important turning point in the history of mankind.
Terracotta went on to be used for cooking, building, ornamentation, recreation, currency and trade in different ways, in different ancient civilisations. The methods of making and firing are similar even today, creating an enduring bond from the ancient to the contemporary potters.
Quote from a Potter Family in Goa

I N THE BEGINNING, THE PEOPLE WERE VERY SIMPLE. T HEY USED to use their earthenware for all their daily uses. First, there was only fish and rice. Alcoholic drinks were made from cashew nuts and coconut trees and purple-coloured wines from Zambuls. They used and still use toddy made from palm trees to make rice breads. Hunting animals and birds with slings and dogs was an occupation of almost all the Kumars . Raising of pigs, chickens, cows, buffaloes, and goats was also a source of income. They lived a very peaceful life and are still living a happy life. This is the lovely life I know.
Map of South Asia with places visited marked
Introduction

J ANE IS A PHYSIOTHERAPIST AND A POTTER. F OR OVER TWENTY years, she travelled to South Asia with her doctor husband when he was attending conferences. This allowed her to track down, visit and document village potters all over India and Pakistan.
Her interest began when the family lived in Karachi, Pakistan for a year in 1992 when her husband worked as a doctor at the Aga Khan Hospital and Jane worked as volunteer physiotherapist. She also taught ceramics at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. Whilst living there and subsequently, they travelled widely, and it was here that she started to appreciate the skills of the village potters. Due to cultural norms, the traditional potters are not viewed in the same way as studio potters. In the following years, they attended medical conferences all over South Asia, allowing Jane, with difficulty and perseverance, to continue tracking down the potters. She was struck by the contrast between the lavish hotels where the conferences were held and the poverty of the traditional potters. At first, it was difficult to find any traditional potters. Doctors, pharmaceutical representatives, local tourists and travel agents at the conferences usually had no idea. By spotting pots in shops then asking where they were made was the only way. Later, she was able to contact local studio potters by e-mail. They might know the location of the traditional potters since it was from them that they would buy their clay.
The aspiring young pottery student in South Asia has a tough road to follow. From the start, parents may dismiss pottery as an unsuitable profession. This deep-rooted objection stems from the fact that traditional potters have low status. Then, there is the difficulty of persuading the public that pottery is as much an art as painting. There has been no industrial revolution in Indo-Pakistan. The old ways have not melded with the new but run side by side. Ledgers sit beside computers and donkey carts beside cars. Similarly, the traditional potters are still making the same pots in the same way using the same wheels and kilns that they have done for four thousand years, while in parallel, studio potters exist on a different plane. Every area in Indo-Pakistan seems to have a different wheel, kiln, fuel and shape of pot, mainly unchanged over thousands of years. The advent of plastic and aluminium has condemned their skills and Jane was determined to document and learn from them before they became entirely extinct.
Although often described as village potters, a colony of them is nearly always found in the poorest sections of the cities. They do not want their children to be potters but hope education will help them aspire to a better life. Their work is unappreciated, and due to plastic and tin water and cooking vessels and concrete flowerpots, domestic ware is not in demand, and some colonies are dying out. However, their votive ware and pots for festivals are still popular, and their throwing skills are often used to make pots which studio potters then glaze. Jane noted that each area produced a distinctly shaped water-pot and started a unique collection.
Before Jane and her husband arrived in Pakistan, they spent Christmas in Goa, where they returned to the same hotel year after year after each trip. Jane had discovered a pottery village behind the hotel where they stayed and, over the years, spent many happy hours there until all the youngsters left to work elsewhere, not interested in continuing the tradition. By the time of her final visit, the last surviving potter had given up. The following chapters describe Jane’s travels and adventures as she pursued her quest to document for posterity the skills and hardships of the traditional potters in India and Pakistan before their eventual demise. She also describes the growth of studio pottery in these two countries, comparing and contrasting it with the ancient traditions soon to be lost.
Chapter One
1991: Christmas in Goa

O N OUR WAY TO SPEND A YEAR WORKING IN K ARACHI, WE stopped off in India. We stayed three days in Lucknow attending a conference and then journeyed south to spend Christmas in Goa. Just then, the Air India pilots decided to go on strike, so we had to travel the five hundred miles from Mumbai to Goa by bus. Not the most comfortable journey. The roads were rough or under construction, the roadside toilets indescribable and loud Hindi videos were played much of the time. It was nevertheless a good way to see the countryside and savour Indian culture. The Tamarind was charming, an oasis built in a Portuguese style with rooms constructed around an inner courtyard with a central swimming pool.
It used to be a Portuguese restaurant and had just opened as a hotel. It lay inland from the coast, near Anjuna, so we hired bikes and had a wonderful time exploring the countryside and beaches.
It was not until 1961, when the Indian army reclaimed the territory in an almost bloodless battle, that the Portuguese retreated, and Goa was finally to become part of the Indian union. The relics of the Portuguese occupation are clear in Goa today in the style of the buildings, the dazzling white churches and even the popular Goan surnames like D’Souza and Menezes.
Despite 451 years of Portuguese rule, Goa retains most of its earlier cultural traditions. The Portuguese may have introduced Christianity, but even the local Catholic population follows a caste system similar to that of Hindus. They also acknowledge the customs of Muslims and recognise and participate in each other’s religious festivals, which contributes to Goa’s relaxed atmosphere. The official language of Goa is Konkani, but English is popular as the only means of entering the wider world.
On our first day, the owner of the hotel drew us a map showing us where we were. After the main roads, he casually mentioned that the track running alongside