Bastar
Artisan Jagat Ram Dewangan, who owns a shop in Bastar district near the famous Chitrakote waterfall, has been working on Tuma for years.
But due to the influx of plastic water bottles even in tribal villages, the use of the Tuma to carry water has suffered a major setback. Dewangan considers this a sign of modernity as a result of which old lifestyle practices are ending.
“There is so much promotion of bottled water in plastic containers that people have started buying them in rural areas too. The new generation fears that Tuma containers will break and thus they are not deemed safe for carrying water anymore.
“Another reason is the use of bikes in villages. Plastic bottles are easy to carry while riding bikes. In such a situation, only a handful of people are trying to save the Tuma art and its usage,” Dewangan told The Indian Tribal.
The artisan makes lamps which take time and patience and are appreciated by customers due to its house décor value. But he has not forgotten the utility value of Tuma and also makes bottles out of them.
Dewangan’s lamps are priced at Rs 500 to Rs 3500 and bottles cost somewhere around Rs 400-Rs 500.
“In the olden days, Tuma water containers were used by people when plastic bottles were not available. People also used Tuma containers to carry millet pej, a type of liquid porridge,” he pointed out.
Dewangan said Tuma containers are tough on the exterior and soft on the inside which helps keeping water cool in the harsh summers. It also ensures that water does not leak.
A report, ‘Global Bottled Water Industry: A Review of Impacts and Trends published by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in 2023’, says that the current global bottled water sales are estimated at almost 270 billion US$ and 350 billion litres.
It goes on to say that in the Global South, bottled water is used primarily due to the lack of reliable public water supply.
As per the practice, after gourds come to fruition around September, some of them are not plucked for consumption and left just like that till February. This ensures that the gourd skin becomes thick and tough, ready for usage as water containers after the interior has been cleaned of contents.
Gourds used to make lamps need not be as tough as those used to make containers. Some people also keep dried gourds on the roofs of their houses so that they can make containers whenever they need.
Baliram Nag, who belongs to the Dhurwa Adivasi community in Bastar, said many people do not grow desi or indigenous varieties of bottle gourd anymore used mostly for making water containers. These were found in jungle areas but now many people use hybrid seeds instead. Though the usage of Tuma has reduced now compared to earlier days, still in some areas people use them. These are also used especially during rituals.
“As people have more money in their hands now, they often buy food and water bottles from shops during their journey. This was not the practice before when people set out from their homes after consuming pej and carried water in Tuma bottles,” said Nag.
