Dumka Santhali Pottery Terracotta Craft

Dumka district in the Santhal Parganas is the cultural heartland of the Santhali tribe, and Santhal women potters (kumhar community) produce terracotta ritual vessels, storage jars, and cooking pots from local clay on hand-built coiling technique rather than wheel-throwing. Santhal pottery is distinctive for its black-burnished finish achieved by applying a solution of rice water and then firing in open pit kilns fuelled with paddy straw and cow dung. The pots are sold at haath weekly markets and used in the Santhal baha and sohrae festivals; Dumka's craft cooperative markets Santhal pottery at the Surajkund mela and through Jharkhand state craft emporia.