Traditionally, the Adyghe people used ceramic products, however, copper utensils were more convenient, which is why they became very popular. During the forging process, brass utensils were tinned — covered with a thin layer of tin inside and out to protect them from corrosion.
In Adygea, the kumgan was the most popular brass vessel. It was decorated with various water symbols. Circles and bumps symbolized drops, stripes — jets and streams.
In the old days, kumgans were made of metal and ceramics. Nowadays, they are also made of plastic. A kumgan can be distinguished from other vessels by the following features: a long narrow spout, a handle, and a narrow neck.
The Adyghe paid great attention to the decoration of the guest room. A brass jug with a narrow neck and a folding spout, and a brass basin stood in one of its corners. The French diplomat Aubrey de la Mottre, who visited Taman in 1711 and the Circassians in the North Caucasus, wrote: “They live in their villages and houses very cleanly.” Many of them had bathhouses and bathed in them on Thursdays. Those who did not have a bathhouse heated the water at home and washed using a kumgan and a large basin.
The spread of kumgans and other ritual utensils was a consequence of the introduction of Islam into the Adyghe culture. Ablution always took place before prayer, for only those who had undergone wudu (ritual cleansing) could appear before Allah. A small jug with a narrow spout was very convenient for this. In the Islamic tradition, pouring water from a jug on the hands and feet of another person during ablution is considered a sign of respect and custom.
Kumgans appeared in Russia in the 16th–17th centuries. In Adygea, kumgans are used in everyday life to this day but mostly by older people.
The kumgan, presented in the exposition of the Adygeysk Museum of Local Lore, was found by the museum staff during an expedition to the Pchegatlukai village of the Teuchezhsky district in July 1992. It belonged to Yunus Ismailovich Khuada, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War. According to him, he got the kumgan from his mother, Turkuhan Khuada.
