Folk and Tribal Art

India had always been known as the land that portrayed cultural and traditional vibrancy through its
conventional arts and crafts. The 35 states and union territories sprawled across the country have their
own distinct cultural and traditional identities, and are displayed through various forms of art
prevalent there. Every region in India has its own style and pattern of art, which is known as folk art.
Other than folk art, there is yet another form of traditional art practiced by several tribes or rural
population, which is classified as tribal art. The folk and tribal arts of India are very ethnic and simple,
and yet colorful and vibrant enough to speak volumes about the country's rich heritage.

Folk art in India apparently has a great potential in the international market because of its traditional
aesthetic sensibility and authenticity. The rural folk paintings of India bear distinctive colorful designs,
which are treated with religious and mystical motifs. Some of the most famous folk paintings of India
are the Madhubani paintings of Bihar, Patachitra paintings from the state of Orissa, the Nirmal
paintings of Andhra Pradesh, and other such folk art forms. Folk art is however not restricted only to
paintings, but also stretches to other art forms such as pottery, home decorations, ornaments, cloths-
making, and so on. In fact, the potteries of some of the regions of India are quite popular among
foreign tourists because of their ethnic and traditional beauty.

Moreover, the regional dances of India, such as the Bhangra dance of Punjab, the Dandiya of Gujarat,
the Bihu dance of Assam, etc, which project the cultural heritage of those regions, are prominent
contenders in the field of Indian folk art. These folk dances are performed by people to express their
exhilaration on every possible event or occasion, such as the arrival of seasons, the birth of a child,
weddings, festivals, etc. The government of India, as well as other societies and associations, have
therefore made all efforts to promote such art forms, which have become an intrinsic part of India's
cultural identity.

Tribal art, like folk art, has also progressed considerably due to the constant developmental efforts of
the Indian government and other organizations. Tribal art generally reflects the creative energy found
in rural areas that acts as an undercurrent to the craftsmanship of the tribal people. Tribal art ranges
through a wide range of art forms, such as wall paintings, tribal dances, tribal music, and so on.

Madhubani Painting
Madhubani painting, also referred to as Mithila Art (as it flourishes in the Mithila region of Bihar), is
characterized by line drawings filled in by bright colours and contrasts or patterns. This style of
painting has been traditionally done by the women of the region, though today men are also involved
to meet the demand. These paintings are popular because of their tribal motifs and use of bright
earthy colours. These paintings are done with mineral pigments prepared by the artists. The work is
done on freshly plastered or a mud wall.

For commercial purposes, the work is now being done on paper, cloth, canvas etc. Cotton wrapped
around a bamboo stick forms the brush. Black colour is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; yellow
from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves; blue from indigo; red from the kusam
flower juice or red sandalwood; green from the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder;
orange from palasha flowers. The colours are applied flat with no shading and no empty space is left.

Figures from nature & mythology are adapted to suit their style. The themes & designs widely painted
are of Hindu deities such as Krishna, Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon, Tulasi
plant, court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings etc. Floral, animal and bird motifs, geometrical
designs are used to fill up all the gaps. The skill is handed down the generations, and hence the
traditional designs and patterns are widely maintained.

In order to create a source of non-agricultural income, the All India Handicrafts Board and the
Government of India have been encouraging the women artists to produce their traditional paintings on
handmade paper for commercial sale. Madhubani painting has become a primary source of income for
scores of families. The continuing market in this art throughout the world is a tribute to the
resourcefulness of the women of Mithila who have successfully transferred their techniques of bhitti
chitra or wall painting to the medium of paper.
Tanjore Painting

Folk art is linked with the forgotten art of story telling. Paintings are used to depict the visual
counterpoint in narration in every region of India. Art forms of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bengal narrate
the myths and legends of local heroes and deities and construct a kaleidoscopic image of our glorious
past and rich cultural heritage. Each work is a complete narration in itself, giving us a glimpse of the
past, which has been kept alive by talent and devotion of our artists.

'Religious paintings with a royal heritage' is the best definition for Thanjavur paintings, now better
known as Tanjore paintings. Tanjore painting ranks among the greatest traditional art forms for which
India is noted worldwide. Their themes are fundamentally mythological. These religious paintings
demonstrate that spirituality is the essence of creative work. Few art forms match the beauty and
grace of Tanjore paintings.

Originating in Tanjavur about 300 kms from Chennai, this form of art
developed at the height of cultural evolvement achieved during the rule of
mighty Chola empire. The art form evolved and flourished under the patronage
of successive rulers. These magnificent paintings adorned the royal dwellings
and later found their way into every household.

An extraordinary visual amalgamation of both art and craft, Tanjore paintings

mainly consist of themes on Hindu gods and goddesses, with figures of Lord
Krishna in various poses and depicting various stages of his life being the favourite. The characteristics
of the Tanjore paintings are their brilliant colour schemes, decorative jewellery with stones and cut
glasses and remarkable gold leaf work. The liberal use of gold leaf and precious and semi-precious
stones presents a splendid visual treat. These give life to the pictures such that the pictures come alive
in a unique way. Adorned with rubies, diamonds and other precious gemstones, and trimmed with gold
foil, Tanjore paintings were true treasures. Nowadays, however, semi-precious stones are used in place
of real ones, but the use of gold foil has not altered. The shine and glean on the gold leaves used by
the Tanjore style paintings, lasts forever.

Tribal Paintings
 Tribal Paintings give an insight into basic human
nature and lifestyle. The tribal’s have a down to earth
existence and give due importance to the Mother
Earth and its vital elements. Tribal paintings are
drawn on positive themes and ideas such as birth, life,
harvest, journey, celebration and marriage. Each
tribal painting narrates an important principal of life.
If you wish, you could purchase a tribal painting from
our site on line and let it adorn a wall or a corner of
your place. The tribal painting will greatly enhance
your personality and value as being in your room, it
certainly co relates to your life principles and
existence. At some point of life or the other, the tribal painting will bring you closer to nature.  
Warli Painting

Maharashtra is known for its Warli folk paintings. Warli is the name of the largest tribe found on the
northern outskirts of Mumbai, in Western India. Despite being in such close proximity of the largest
metropolis in India, Warli tribesmen shun all influences of modern urbanization. Warli Art was first
discovered in the early seventies. While there are no records of
the exact origins of this art, its roots may be traced to as early as
the 10th century A.D. Warli is the vivid expression of daily and
social events of the Warli tribe of Maharashtra, used by them to
embellish the walls of village houses. This was the only means of
transmitting folklore to a populace not acquainted with the
written word. This art form is simple in comparison to the vibrant
paintings of Madhubani.

Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings.

These paintings do not depict mythological characters or images
of deities, but depict social life. Images of human beings and animals, along with scenes from daily life
are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. These tribal paintings of Maharashtra are traditionally done in
the homes of the Warlis. Painted white on mud walls, they are pretty close to pre-historic cave
paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting,
dancing, sowing and harvesting.
 Stylistically, they can be recognized by the fact
that they are painted on an austere mud base using
one color, white, with occasional dots in red and
yellow. This colour is obtained from grounding rice
into white powder. This sobriety is offset by the
ebullience of their content. These themes are
highly repetitive and symbolic. Many of the Warli
paintings that represent Palghat, the marriage god,
often include a horse used by the bride and groom.
The painting is sacred and without it, the marriage
cannot take place. These paintings also serve social
and religious aspirations of the local people. It is
believed that these paintings invoke powers of the
Gods.

In Warli paintings it is rare to see a straight line. A series of dots and dashes make one line. The artists
have recently started to draw straight lines in their paintings. These days, even men have taken to
painting and they are often done on paper incorporating traditional decorative Warli motifs with
modern elements such as the bicycle, etc. Warli paintings on paper have become very popular and are
now sold all over India. Today, small paintings are done on cloth and paper but they look best on the
walls or in the form of huge murals that bring out the vast and magical world of the Warlis. For the
Warlis, tradition is still adhered to but at the same time new ideas have been allowed to seep in which
helps them face new challenges from the market.

Saura painting:
 

The Sauras are one of the oldest tribes of India. Saura paintings are called “ikon” consisting of human being, horse,
elephant, sun, moon etc and symbolic meaning. It is elaborately drawn on their walls because of their religious
association. 

Pithora painting:

Pithora is the name of the wedding deity in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It is considered auspicious to
paint the house walls wit the images of deity during family functions like wedding. 

Pichhwai painting:

Pichhwai painting portrays Lord Krishna, in various costumes and moods. It is painted with dark and
rich colors on the cloth and hung mostly in the temples. 
Santhal painting:

Santhal painting is painted by Santhal tribes, located in Bihar. It is painted freehand and reflects their
perception of life. Santhal painting have the simplest themes like the harvest, a field, a happy family,
dance, beating wife, quarrel, wine party, gods and goddess on the canvas.

Pattachitra Painting

Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most

popular art forms of Orissa. The name Pattachitra has evolved
from the Sanskrit words
patta, meaning canvas,
and chitra, meaning
picture. Pattachitra is
thus a painting done on
canvas, and is manifested
by rich colourful
application, creative
motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly
mythological in depiction.

Some of the popular themes represented through this art form are Thia Badhia - depiction of the
temple of Jagannath; Krishna Lila - enactment of Jagannath as Lord Krishna displaying his powers as a
child; Dasabatara Patti - the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu; Panchamukhi - depiction of Lord Ganesh
as a five-headed deity. More than anything, the themes are clearly the essence of the art form,
conceptualising the meaning of the paintings. It is no surprise therefore that the process of preparing
the paintings engages undeterred concentration and careful craftsmanship, stretching the preparation
time of the patta alone to around five days.

Making the patta is the first thing that comes in the agenda, and the painters, also called chitrakars, go
about their work in preparing a tamarind paste, which is made by soaking tamarind seeds in water for
three days. The seeds are later pounded with a crusher, mixed with water, and heated in an earthen
pot to turn it to a paste, which is called niryas kalpa. The paste is then used to hold two pieces of cloth
together with it, and coated with a powder of soft clay stone a couple of times till it becomes firm.
Soon as the cloth becomes dry, the final touch of polishing it with a rough stone and then a smooth
stone or wood is given, until the surface becomes smooth and leathery, and is all ready as a canvas to
be painted on.
Preparing the paints is perhaps the most important part of the
creation of Pattachitra, engaging the craftsmanship of the chitrakars
in using naturally available raw materials to bring about indigenous
paints. The gum of the kaitha tree is the chief ingredient, and is
used as a base for making different pigments, on which diverse raw
materials are mixed for diverse colours. Powdered conch shells, for
instance, are used for making a white pigment, while lamp soot is
used for a black pigment. The root of the keya plant is usually used
for making the common brush, while mouse hair is used on the
requirement of finer brushes, to be attached to wooden handles.

The creation of the Pattachitra paintings is a disciplined art form, and the chitrakars maintain rigidity
in their use of colours and patterns, restricting the colours to a single tone. Limiting themselves within
the boundaries of some rules, the chitrakars come up with such remarkable paintings depicting stark
emotional expressions that it is a surprise shading of colours is a taboo. In fact, it is this display of
emotions of the figures expressed in the paintings, which is the crème de la crème of the art form, and
the chitrakars put in their best to bring out the most through their rich colourful motifs.

With the passage of time, the art of Pattachitra has gone through a commendable transition, and the
chitrakars have painted on tussar silk and palm leaves, and even created wall hangings and showpieces.
However, this kind of innovativeness has never proved to be a hindrance in their customary depiction
of figures and the use of colours, which has remained intact throughout generations. This constancy is
the key factor that has maintained the effervescence of Pattachitra, backed with the fact that the
setting up of some special centres for the art form in Orissa speaks
volumes for its popularity.

Rajasthani Miniature Painting

The art of Miniature painting was introduced to the land of India by

the Mughals, who brought the much-revealed art form from Persia.
In the sixteenth century, the Mughal ruler Humayun brought artists
from Persia, who specialized in miniature painting. The succeeding
Mughal Emperor, Akbar built an atelier for them to promote the
rich art form. These artists, on their part, trained Indian artists
who produced paintings in a new distinctive style, inspired by the royal and romantic lives of the
Mughals. The particular miniature produced by Indian artists in their own style is known as Rajput or
Rajasthani miniature. During this time, several schools of painting evolved, such as Mewar (Udaipur),
Bundi, Kotah, Marwar (Jodhpur), Bikaner, Jaipur, and Kishangarh.

These paintings are done with utmost care and in minute details, with
strong lines and bold colours
set in harmonious patterns.
The miniature artists use
paper, ivory panels, wooden
tablets, leather, marble,
cloth and walls for their
paintings. Indian artists
employed multiple
perspectives unlike their European counterparts in their
paintings. The colours are made from minerals and vegetables,
precious stones, as well as pure silver and gold. The preparing
and mixing of colour is an elaborate process. It takes weeks, sometimes months, to get the desired
results. The brushes are required to be very fine, and to get high-quality results, brushes even to this
very day are made from hair of squirrels. Traditionally, the paintings are aristocratic, individualistic
and strong in portraiture, where the plush court scenes and hunting expedition of royalty are depicted.
Flowers and animals are also the recurrent images in the paintings.

The Kishangarh province in Rajasthan is known for its Bani Thani paintings. It is a totally different style
with highly exaggerated features like long necks, large, almond shaped eyes, and long fingers. This
style of painting essentially depicts Radha and Krishna as divine lovers, and beautifully portrays their
mystical love. Kishangarh miniature painting reached a peak in the eighteenth century, during the rule
of Raja Sawant Singh, who fell in love with a slave girl, Bani Thani and commanded his artists to
portray himself and her as Krishna and Radha. Other themes of Bani Thani paintings include portraits,
court scenes, dancing, hunting, music parties, nauka vihar (lovers travelling in a boat), Krishna
Lila, Bhagavata Purana and various other festivals like Holi, Diwali, Durga puja, and Dussehra.

Today, many artists continue to make miniature paintings on silk, ivory, cotton, and paper. However,
with the passage of time, the natural colours have been replaced by poster colours. The schools of
miniature have also been commercialized, and the artists mostly replicate the work produced by the
old painters.

Kalamezhuthu
Names like Rangoli, Kolam etc are not new to us, and neither is the tradition of drawing them at the
entrance of homes and temples. In fact it is part of the domestic routine in Hindu households, who
consider it auspicious to draw certain patterns at the doorstep and courtyard to welcome a deity into
the house. This art form is a harmonious blend of
Aryan, Dravidian and Tribal traditions.

Kalam (Kalamezhuthu) is unique form of this art found

in Kerala. It is essentially a ritualistic art practiced in
temples and sacred groves of Kerala where the
representation of deities like Kali and Lord Ayyappa,
are made on the floor. Various factors need to be
considered when deciding the nature or figure on the
'Kalam', which include the presiding deity of the temple
or sacred grove, the religious purpose that calls for the
ritual of Kalamezhuthu and the particular caste that
does it. In each case the patterns, minute details,
dimensions and colour choice are decided in
observance with strict rules. The patterns vary considerably depending on the occasion, but rarely by
the choice of the artist.

Kalamezhuthu is practiced using natural pigments and powders, usually in five colours. The drawing is
done with bare hands without the use of
tools. The pictures are developed from the
centre, growing outwards, patch by patch.
The powder is spread in the floor, letting it in
a thin stream between the thumb and the
index finger. The figures drawn usually have
an expression of anger or other emotions.
The powders and pigments are all extracted
from plants - rice powder for white, burnt
husk for black, turmeric for yellow, a mixture
of lime and turmeric for red and the leaves of
certain trees for green. Lighted oil lamps
placed at strategic positions brighten the
colours. Kalamezhuthu artists are generally
members of communities like the Kurups,
Theyyampadi Nambiars, Theeyadi Nambiars and Theeyadi Unnis. The 'Kalams' drawn by these people
vary in certain characteristics.

Ritual songs accompanied by a number of instruments (namely ilathalam, veekkan chenda, kuzhal,
kombu and chenda) are sung in worship of the deity, on completion of the 'Kalam'. These songs form
part of an oral tradition; the rituals being performed by the artists themselves. The type of song varies
considerably, from folk to classical depending on the deity being worshipped. The drawing of a 'Kalam'
is started at an appointed time and it is erased immediately after the rituals related to it are over.