 In rural areas it is fairly common to see terracotta animal figures placed under pipal trees or in shrines. The clay figurines, animals and spirit houses carry marks of sindoor, auspicious red powder, the maoli thread, as well as the other offerings to the deities. In most cases, these terracotta figures are made by potters, the Kumbhars, but in some cases, the worshippers create their own deities. In some area it is the women of the household who create these forms as part of their prayer. It is common sight in the villages around Delhi to see the sanjhi figures made on the walls of clay huts during Navratri celebrations. The goddess is created out of clay pieces and is worshipped by the people.
In Bihar, Bengal and Gujrat, there are a number of festivals in which women create clay figures to propitiate gods and goddesses. The Shyama Chak festival of Bihar is one of its kind. Even deepavali necessitates the making of clay figures of Goverdhan, almost all over India made by women themselves, while the professional potters makes millions of images of Lakshmi and Ganesh, which is worshipped in many Hindu households.
This continuation of tradition by women over the ages, points to manner in which clay has formed an integral part of our lives as a medium of self expression and as a form of ritual. This very tradition has been developed further in certain areas into a more classical expression and is reflected in the terracotta's of the region.
 The clay Bankura horse of West Bengal is one such form. In Bankura district, each village has its own distinct form. The Bankura horse, whish is well known in Delhi and other cities for it is used as a logo by the Cottage Industries Emporium, actually comes from village Pachmorah, whereas another village five miles away, Rajasthan, has a distinctly different style of its own. Similarly in Orissa, the horse created in the northern part of the State are different from those which are made in the southern tribal belt of Koraput.
The relief-worked plaque of Molela, a village near Udaipur, Rajasthan, specialized in a distinctive style of its own. Creating local deities with hand-moulded clay on a flat clay surface. These are fired and then painted in brilliant colors. It is the Bhil, the forest people who come on a pilgrimage to the village to ask the potters to create their ritual need. They camp in the village singing, dancing, praying. As soon as the deity has been created they carry it ceremoniously back to their village where it is installed with great ceremony. It may be powerful Mahishasura Mardini, Durga - the powerful goddess in red created by all the gods to destroy the black buffalo demon. She rides on a golden yellow striped tiger as with her trishul she destroys the demon, who had shaken the Mount Kailasha where the gods lived. It would be Shiva, it could be Naga, the snake or many other deities. Besides the relief-work plaques, interesting clay Ghanghore and Ganesha figures are prepared in the round, which are brought by the city dwellers and the presents of all communities.
 Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh has a few village where large clay figures of animals are made by local potters. The basic form is created by the potter by throwing separate pieces on the wheel and joining them together. Life is then infused into the forms by the potter's wife, when she makes the eyes and decorates the figures with coils of clay. These figures are an essential part of the wedding decoration.
Tamil Nadu has an ancient tradition of the Aiynar figures. These are placed outside the village precincts to protect the village from evil spirits. Many of the figures are large and half-hidden in mango groves. Gujrat also has a rich range of votive figures such as the horses with riders of Poshina. These are offered by the Bhil tribes. Each area of India produces its own distinct ritualistic form. In fact, it has been observed that each village has a definite style, even where the ritual is the same, for it is the living belief which invests these forms with such distinctive characteristics.
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