Clay Images of West Bengal

Jagaddhatri puja celebrations in Krishnanagar, Nadia District

The peak season for the kumars is the winter prior to the large scale winter fairs. The rest of the year the studios are dormant and artists make occasional images to commission.

The majority of festivals requiring clay images are Shakta although clay images are also made during the Vaishnava festival of Rasa Yatra in Kartik. The festivals of West Bengal take place all over the world where there are Bengali communities in sufficient numbers to organise them such as the Belsize Park Durga puja celebrations in London or the puja committee in Wales. Clay images are imported from Calcutta for these occasions and in some cases kumars are flown over to make them in situ.

The Bengali lunar calendar divides a lunar month into two fortnights one light and the other dark. It is a full moon ending rather than a new moon ending month. The months of the Bengali calendar correspond to English months as follows:

The ritual for these pujas is contained in the manuals for worship called pujapaddhatis and the most comprehensive of such manuals is the Purohita Darpan of Surendra Mohana Bhattacarya which includes details of most of the major Hindu festivals of Bengal. It is used widely as a puja manual during festivals.

Festivals are organised for the benefit of the family or the neighbourhood but the ritual is conducted by the priest or a number of priests who are elected by the patrons of the festival to perform it on their behalf. The priest follows the puja manual and recites the appropriate Sanskrit mantras and hymns and the patrons participate at certain points in the puja. The patron or worshipper appoints a pujaka (one who performs the ritual) and a tantradharaka (one who recites the texts) and may also appoint a hota to perform sacrifice. The usual number of priests is two.

Manasa Puja (July/August)

Clay images are used during Manasa puja which is held in honour of the snake goddess Manasa. Manasa puja takes place on the dark fifth day of Sravana in July-August otherwise known as Nagpanchami, nag meaning snake and panchami meaning fifth. The festival occurs in the rainy season when the risk of snake bite is high, especially in the remote villages of West Bengal. The Purohita Darpana recommends puja for a month right through to August-September. This, it says, removes the fear of snake bite. Manasa Mangal poems are recited and there are boat races, the whole festival being called Bhasan Yatra.

In Bengal and in South India Manasa is worshipped on the branch of a cactus plant which is regarded as a snake repellant. In Bengal it is the plant called sija and is associated with Manasa who is worshipped in this way by low caste peoples. Small brightly coloured clay images of groups of eight snakes representing Manasa are worshipped in village shrines and homes. It is not common to find Manasa being worshipped in the towns and cities.

As a clay image she is shown with four arms sitting upon a lotus with her mount the white goose. She is golden and dressed in a sari with all the usual ornamentation. She is said to be surrounded by eight snakes and holds four of these in her hands. The remaining four are in her crown and at her feet. Manasa is worshipped in medium sized hand modelled images rather than moulds. The clay images are usually immersed or left under trees.

It is said that whoever's parents have died of snake bite should do Manasa puja so that their parents may be released from snake bite and go to heaven. To do this the worshipper must offer milk to the eight snakes of Manasa.

The ritual of Manasa puja

Ganesh Puja (August/September)

In popular mythology, Ganesh is the son of Durga and brother of Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik. He is the four armed, pot bellied elephant headed god whose vahana or mount is a rat. In his hands he holds a mace, discus, lotus and conch, although sometimes he is shown holding sweetmeats in the bottom left hand. In classical mythology, Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvati who lost his head when Shiva cut it off in anger and then replaced it in remorse. He is usually painted pink and is worshipped for good fortune and at the start of any important undertaking, paricularly in business. His annual festival sees many clay images of varying sizes being worshipped either privately or communally.

The ritual of Ganesh puja

Biskarma Puja (August/September)

Biskarma puja is celebrated on the last day (sankranti) of Bhadra directly before Durga puja. The construction of the Biskarma image marks the peak season for kumars in urban areas since images are required for puja celebrations right up till November. Visvakarma the 'All-Maker' is originally the name of Prajapati the creator of the universe then a name of Tvasta the artisan of the gods. He is described as the 'guru of all artists' and in popular religious poetry he is called upon by the gods to build cities and temples for them. This is why he is regarded as the patron god of all craftsmen. Strictly speaking it is obligatory to perform Biskarma puja before an undertaking of religious art, especially image making. Biskarma is worshipped mostly in factories and garages all over Bengal and in Assam. Small temporary shrines are made for the day of worship either in or near a workshop and Biskarma is not worshipped in houses or puja pandals. Images are later immersed or kept in the workshops.

The ritual of Biskarma puja

Durga Puja (September/October)

The most famous festival of Bengal involving the use of clay images is the Durga puja festival the main part of which lasts five days: sasthi the sixth day, saptami the seventh day, astami the eighth day, navami the ninth day and dasami the tenth day. Durga puja is an autumnal festival that is celebrated all over India in one form or another from the first bright half of Asvina to the ninth. The tenth day is called Vijaya Dasami the victorious tenth day on which Ramachandra defeated the demon king Ravana. It falls on the tenth lunar day of the bright half of Asvina. Durga is called upon as 'remover of obstacles', the victorious goddess who destroys all evil and hardship in the world.

Once begun, Durga puja has to be celebrated annually. The worshipper follows scriptural authority and family tradition as well as any local customs. Celebrations begin with the recital of the Devi Mahatmya otherwise known as Chandi or Durga Saptasati which lasts a fortnight. The puja fortnight is known as Devipaksha and the non-stop recital of Chandi on the morning of each day until Mahanavami is part of the whole ceremony.

In Bengal Durga is commonly shown as a ten-armed goddess holding in her right hands a sword, discus, trident with which she spears the demon Mahisha, spear and arrows. In her left hands are noose, goad, shield and bow. She stands upon a lion who is attacking the demon. Durga stands with her left foot on Mahisha's right shoulder and right foot on the back of her lion mount. The lion bites Mahisha's right elbow and paws his leg. Durga's trident pierces Mahisha's chest and her snake encircles his neck. Mahisha bends under the weight of this two-fold attack and kneels on one leg, staring upwards at Durga who looks impassively outwards. Mahisha carries a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left. Sometimes he is shown helf emerging from the neck of the decaptitated buffalo below while other images show a buffalo head nearby to represent Mahisha as the buffalo demon. Durga is surrounded by her family of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, Kartik who is seated on a peacock, Laksmi to the left and Saraswati to the right. The painted backdrop or chalchitra shows Shiva and Parvati in the centre with their son Ganesha enjoying domestic bliss in their mountain home of Kailasa in the Himalayas. On either side are the 10 incarnations of Vishnu and Durga and the 10 female incarnations of Devi the goddess. Figures of Rama and Sita and Devi fighting demon armies are also common. This shows how Durga puja is a non-sectarian, non-denominational puja which is not just the monopoly of the Shaktas or those who worship Devi, the goddess.

In traditional families the construction of the image begins several months before the actual Durga puja. On the day of Rath Yatra the artist takes a piece of split bamboo into the room where the family images are kept. The family priest, after prayer to Vishnu, anoints it with sandalwood paste and invokes Durga's blessings on it. The bamboo remains in the family shrine from Rath Yatra (which is celebrated in June-July) until Janmasthami in July-August) when it is brought down by the kumar to make the framework of the Durga image. The base is worshipped on a special day with kathamo puja. Parts of the framework from the previous year's image or even the entire framework are retrieved from the river or pond and used for this ceremony.

The ritual of Durga puja

Lakshmi Puja (September/October)

In between Durga puja and Kali puja is Lakshmi puja which is celebrated a few days after Durga puja on the evening of the full moon day in Asvina. Lakshmi is associated with the harvest and prosperity and she is worshipped throughout Bengal in both rural and urban areas. There is a practice of leaving a lit lamp on the spot where Durga puja was held and for Lakshmi puja to take place on the same site. Puja pandals are usually dismantled after Durga puja and a smaller construction takes its place. Images of Lakshmi are not usually very large and are sometimes made from moulds. A popular alternative is to worhip her using a Lakshmi sara or clay plate painted with her image. This can be varnished or plain and is usually installed in the place of worship.

Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune. Images of Lakshmi show a two armed goddess holding a cornucopia or pot from which pours rice paddy in her left hand and showing abhaya or varada mudra in her right showing that she grants boons and offers protection to her worshippers. She is dressed in a sari, her hair flows down in ringlets and she is sweetly smiling. Her mount is the owl upon whose wings she is sometimes shown riding, although usually the owl is placed at Lakshmi's feet perched on a conch shell and she is shown seated on a lotus. Lakshmi is painted golden yellow or pink and there are variant images of Lakshmi such as Laskhmi Narayan and Gaja Lakshmi in which she is shown with two elephants either side of her. Although Lakshmi is referred to as Durga's daughter she is also the consort of Vishnu.

The ritual of Lakshmi puja

Kartik Puja (October/November)

Kartik puja is performed in honour of the god of war, Kartik also known as Skanda the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is shown riding on the back of a peacock which is his mount. He carries a bow and arrow in his two hands. Kartik is a bachelor god and his puja is celebrated on the last day of Kartik. A large number of clay images are made for private and communal worship in Bengal and immersed directly after puja. Most images are hand modelled and stand at about 4' tall.

The ritual of Kartik puja

Kali Puja (October/November)

The second most important festival is Kali puja held at the dead of night on the new moon of Kartik in October-November. Most forms of Kali are worshipped but the most common is that of Daksina Kali which shows Kali in her generous or boon-giving form. As Raksha Kali she give protection from epidemics or misfortune. In Bengal, Kali is connected with epidemics, especially cholera.The form of Raksha Kali shows here without protruding tongue or garland of human heads and she is only two-armed. She is worshipped if one's wishes have been fulfilled on the completion of a vrata or vow.

The convention is that, once begun, Kali puja has to be performed annually for five consecutive years. Kali is worshipped in households as well as communally in puja pandals. Many trantrics perform a tantric form of Kali puja such as Smashana Kali who is tha Kali of cremation grounds. She is similar to Raksha Kali in her appearance and is painted black standing diagonally across Shiva with her left foot forward instead of her right foot. Some Bengalis make a distinction between Daksina meaning right in this case and Vama meaning left according to which foot is placed on Shiva's chest. Images of Shmashana Kali are worshipped at night in a cremation ground and immersed before dawn.

Traditional images of Kali stand at about 4' tall and show a four-armed Kali standing with right leg forward and placed on the chest of Shiva who lies beneath her. Kali is naked and wears a garland of human heads and a girdle of severed arms. She carries in her bottom left hand a severed head, top left a sword dripping with blood while her other hands are open in blessing and offering protection. Her tongue lolls out of her blood-soaked mouth and her hair hangs dishevelled over her shoulders down to her knees. she wears anklets, armbands, bracelets and a large crown. She is usually given a stylised breast-plate. Kali as her name implies is usually painted black although it is common to see blue images also. If she is painted black, the eyebrows and lines around her eyes and mouth are painted red also. Flashes of red are painted on her arms, legs, torso, palms of the hands and soles of her feet. The red against the black heightens the already gruesome effect of Kali's appearance. In contract, Shiva is shown as a white, ash-smeared ascetic with matted hair, lying on a tiger skin, surrounded by snakes. Shiva's eyes are half closed in meditation and he lies on his back with arms behind his head or propped up on an elbow. He wears raksasa beads around his head and is dressed in a tiger skin. In one hand is his dumaru drum and in the other a horn.

The ritual of Kali puja

Jagaddhatri Puja (October/November)

Jagaddhatri is a form of Durga and her name means 'protectoress of the world'. She is four armed and rides on a lion which is sometimes shown standing on an elephant or attacking it. This represents a scene from the Devi Mahatmya in which Durga fights with the demon Mahisha who takes on many forms including that of an elephant. She is seated on a lotus on the back of the lion and in her four hands she carries a conch and a bow and a discus and arrow, showing her martial qualities. A snake is draped over her shoulder and she is traditionally coloured bright yellow or orange although the modern trend is to show her pink.

Jagaddhatri puja is celebrated on the light ninth day (sukla navami) of Karttika. Puja is performed in the morning, midday and evening combining the celebrations of astami, navami and dasami into one day's ritual. Jagaddhatri is another form of Durga the Protectoress of the World. Since her festival is an abbreviated duplication of Durga puja many families who perform the annual Durga puja do not celebrate Jagaddhatri puja as well. Jagaddhatri puja is celebrated communally and privately although it is not as popular as Durga puja or Kali puja nor is it celebrated in all areas of Bengal. It is popular in towns such as Krishnanagar in the Nadia District both in private homes and by puja committees.

The ritual of Jagaddhatri puja

Saraswati puja (January-February)

In the spring there are a few festivals requiring clay images. The first is Saraswati puja which occurs on the light fifth (sukla pancami) in Magh. Saraswati is the patron goddess of learning and the arts, consequently she is worshipped in schools and acedmic institutions throught Bengal. The name Saraswati means 'flowing' and refers to the sacred rivers of India as well as the goddess. In the Rig Veda she is associated with various deities but she is later identified with vac, speech. Later still she became the consort of the god Brahma and was regarded as the inventor of the Sanskrit language and patron goddess of the arts.

The ritual of Saraswati puja