Shape an Aiyanar Puravi with Pudukkottai's Terracotta Potters

Guardians at the Village Edge

Across rural Tamil Nadu, Aiyanar — the guardian deity of the village — stands at the edge of the fields with his attendant gods and rows of clay horses (puravi), the mounts on which he is believed to ride out at night to protect the village. Pudukkottai district is especially known for its large terracotta horses, and Malaiyur, a village in Karambakudi taluk, is home to Velar potter families who have made them for generations.

The Potter as Priest

The Velars are not only the makers of these figures; in many villages they also serve as priests at the Aiyanar shrine. When a village vows to offer new horses — the festival known as Puravi Eduppu — it commissions a Velar family months in advance, and the finished horses are carried in procession to the shrine. Selvaraj Arumugam tells you how the orders come in, how a figure is planned for its height, and what the festival means to the families who make them.

Building a Horse

In the shaded yard you work the clay the way his family does: tank-bed clay mixed with sand and chopped straw so that tall figures can stand without cracking. Legs are formed as hollow cylinders, the body is built up gradually, and the head, bells, mirrors and ornaments are shaped separately and joined. You will build a small horse of your own, about 20 cm high, and decorate its harness with applied clay ornaments.

Fire and Festival

Large horses dry slowly for weeks before they are fired in an open kiln of straw and dried cow-dung cakes, sealed with mud. Depending on the season, you will see fired figures waiting for delivery and horses in progress taller than a person. Your own horse goes home shade-dried, along with a small fired puravi from the family kiln; larger figures can be ordered.