R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell - The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 4

Kumhr, Kumbhr.The caste of potters, the name being derived from the Sanskrit kumbh, a water-pot. The Kumhrs numbered nearly 120,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911 and were most numerous in the northern and eastern or Hindustni-speaking Districts, where earthen vessels have a greater vogue than in the south. The caste is of course an ancient one, vessels of earthenware having probably been in use at a very early period, and the old Hindu scriptures consequently give various accounts of its origin from mixed marriages between the four classical castes. Concerning the traditional parentage of the caste, Sir H. Risley writes, assembled at Kails (Heaven). Then a question arose as to who should furnish the vessels required for the ceremony, and one Kullaka, a Brhman, was ordered to make them. Then Kullaka stood before the assembly with folded hands, and prayed that materials might be given to him for making the pots. So Vishnu gave his Sudarsana (discus) to be used as a wheel, and the mountain of Mandra was fixed as a pivot beneath it to hold it up. The scraper was Adi Krma the tortoise, and a rain-cloud was used for the water-tub. So Kullaka made the pots and gave them to Maheshwar for his marriage, and ever since his descendants have been known as Kumbhakr or maker of water-jars.

Potter and his wheel

The Kumhrs have a number of subcastes, many of which, as might be expected, are of the territorial type and indicate the different localities from which they migrated to the Central Provinces. Such are the Mlwi from Mlwa, the Telenga from the Telugu country in Hyderbd, the Pardeshi from northern India and the Martha from the Martha Districts. Other divisions are the Lingyats who belong to the sect of this name, the Gadhewl or Gadhere who make tiles and carry them about on donkeys (gadha), the Bardia who use bullocks for transport and the Sungaria who keep pigs (suar