TranslateTerracotta is the most widespread craft in Tamil Nadu, made in villages across every district. Potters throw water pots, cooking vessels and oil lamps on the wheel, and hand-build the towering guardian horses that stand at village shrines. The famous terracotta horse groves of Ayyanar temples are among the most striking folk art traditions in India.
Origin district
Statewide; Villianur, Panruti, Salem and Pudukkottai are notable centres
Materials
Local river clay, sand, rice husk; wood-fired kilns
Typical uses
Water pots, cooking vessels, lamps, votive figures, garden ware
Where to buy
Village potter settlements, Poompuhar emporiums, local markets
Clay is dug locally, cleaned of stones, mixed with sand and left to age. Small vessels are thrown on a heavy wheel; large forms such as storage jars and votive horses are built in sections using coils and slabs, then joined and smoothed. Pieces dry in shade before being fired in open or semi-open wood kilns.
Firing temperature and smoke control determine the final colour, which ranges from pale orange to deep red-brown and, in reduced firings, black.
Terracotta figures excavated at Keeladi and other Tamil Nadu archaeological sites show the antiquity of the craft. Ayyanar shrines on village outskirts hold rows of large terracotta horses offered by devotees to the guardian deity, some standing several metres tall. Panruti in Cuddalore district and villages around Pudukkottai are known for these votive figures.
Ayyanar horse shrines can be seen on the outskirts of villages across the Chettinad, Pudukkottai and Cuddalore regions. Potter settlements in Villianur near Pondicherry, Panruti and villages near Salem sell directly. Cooking vessels and water pots are widely sold in weekly village markets across the state.
