Gandhara village and Rathwas tribals, Gujarat, India
the Pithora paintings :www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981124/32851...
`Babo Pithoro' is a ritual painting style of the Rathwas that springs from their faith in the village witch doctor's powers to heal all grievances. ``The witch doctor, or lakahara, is held in highest esteem by the Rathwas who seek his consultation for any ill that befalls a family. It is he who visualizes the Babo Pithoro and directs the family to organise the ritual to bade away the evil by invoking the gods,'' said Ghosalkar.
The five-day ceremony is extensive and expensive, sometimes costing the family as much as Rs 30,000. While the preparation starts 15 days in advance with the family going door-to-door with invitations, the first 24 hours are devoted to the painting, inside the host's house followed by the ind, a ceremony invoking the gods by carving sculptures of 11 teak wood pillars. Alongside, is song, dance, food, locally brewed wines, tadi and mahura and merry-making.
A small group of painters chitaras are assigned the job of completing the painting within 24 hours under the supervision of the lakhara who decides on the figures to be painted, their position and the colours to be used. An offering of a slain chicken and wine is first made to the deity (Gamdev) at the makund, the holiest site in the village. The work starts from the wall on the left side of the house with the figure of the evil bhootdev followed by sequential paintings of ancestors, warriors, horses, the sun and moon and traditional Pithora figurines. No shade of black is used in the paintings, as it is considered inauspicious by the tribals.
``The paintings depict the socio-economic conditions of the Rathwa life and emphasise their strong belief in religion. While the styles vary with every Bhil group, they hold a deep social relevance,
While revelry fills the air for the five-day period, Ghosalkar said this was also a time when murders were frequent in the community. ``The Rathwas are hot-headed people, with the Rathwa populated tribal areas recording 800 murders in a year, most following petty quarrels over crops or land,''
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pithora_(painting)
Pithora is a ritualistic painting done on the walls by the Rathwa and Bhilala tribes who live in central Madhya Pradesh. Pithora paintings are executed on three inner walls of their houses. These paintings have significance in their lives and executing the Pithora paintings in their homes brings peace, prosperity and happiness. There is never an attempt to imitate nature: a horse or a bull, which might be a vision of a god, impresses him with only one central quality.
Pithora paintings are more of a ritual than an art form. These rituals are performed either to thank God or for a wish or a boon to be granted. The Bhadwa or the head priest of the tribe is summoned and the problems are narrated. These problems can vary from dying cattle, to unwell children in the family. The concerned person is given a solution and is asked, by the Bhadwa, to perform the ritual and the painting. The presence of Pithora Baba is considered as a solution to all the problems. A Pithora is always located at the threshold, or the Osari, outside the first front wall or inside on the walls of the first room as one enters a house. The painting usually floods the entire wall with figures. Three walls are prepared for the painting, the front wall and the two on either side of it. The front or central wall is very large, twice the size of each of the sidewalls. These walls are treated with two layers of cow dung paste and one layer of white chalk powder. Unmarried girls bring in these materials. This procedure is called Lipna. The main wall of the verandah that divides it from the kitchen is considered sacred to the Pithoro. The wall paintings related to the legends of creation and Pithoro, are done on this wall. The two sidewalls of the veranda are also painted with figures of minor deities, ghosts and ancestors.
Gandhara village and Rathwas tribals, Gujarat, India
the Pithora paintings :www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19981124/32851...
`Babo Pithoro' is a ritual painting style of the Rathwas that springs from their faith in the village witch doctor's powers to heal all grievances. ``The witch doctor, or lakahara, is held in highest esteem by the Rathwas who seek his consultation for any ill that befalls a family. It is he who visualizes the Babo Pithoro and directs the family to organise the ritual to bade away the evil by invoking the gods,'' said Ghosalkar.
The five-day ceremony is extensive and expensive, sometimes costing the family as much as Rs 30,000. While the preparation starts 15 days in advance with the family going door-to-door with invitations, the first 24 hours are devoted to the painting, inside the host's house followed by the ind, a ceremony invoking the gods by carving sculptures of 11 teak wood pillars. Alongside, is song, dance, food, locally brewed wines, tadi and mahura and merry-making.
A small group of painters chitaras are assigned the job of completing the painting within 24 hours under the supervision of the lakhara who decides on the figures to be painted, their position and the colours to be used. An offering of a slain chicken and wine is first made to the deity (Gamdev) at the makund, the holiest site in the village. The work starts from the wall on the left side of the house with the figure of the evil bhootdev followed by sequential paintings of ancestors, warriors, horses, the sun and moon and traditional Pithora figurines. No shade of black is used in the paintings, as it is considered inauspicious by the tribals.
``The paintings depict the socio-economic conditions of the Rathwa life and emphasise their strong belief in religion. While the styles vary with every Bhil group, they hold a deep social relevance,
While revelry fills the air for the five-day period, Ghosalkar said this was also a time when murders were frequent in the community. ``The Rathwas are hot-headed people, with the Rathwa populated tribal areas recording 800 murders in a year, most following petty quarrels over crops or land,''
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pithora_(painting)
Pithora is a ritualistic painting done on the walls by the Rathwa and Bhilala tribes who live in central Madhya Pradesh. Pithora paintings are executed on three inner walls of their houses. These paintings have significance in their lives and executing the Pithora paintings in their homes brings peace, prosperity and happiness. There is never an attempt to imitate nature: a horse or a bull, which might be a vision of a god, impresses him with only one central quality.
Pithora paintings are more of a ritual than an art form. These rituals are performed either to thank God or for a wish or a boon to be granted. The Bhadwa or the head priest of the tribe is summoned and the problems are narrated. These problems can vary from dying cattle, to unwell children in the family. The concerned person is given a solution and is asked, by the Bhadwa, to perform the ritual and the painting. The presence of Pithora Baba is considered as a solution to all the problems. A Pithora is always located at the threshold, or the Osari, outside the first front wall or inside on the walls of the first room as one enters a house. The painting usually floods the entire wall with figures. Three walls are prepared for the painting, the front wall and the two on either side of it. The front or central wall is very large, twice the size of each of the sidewalls. These walls are treated with two layers of cow dung paste and one layer of white chalk powder. Unmarried girls bring in these materials. This procedure is called Lipna. The main wall of the verandah that divides it from the kitchen is considered sacred to the Pithoro. The wall paintings related to the legends of creation and Pithoro, are done on this wall. The two sidewalls of the veranda are also painted with figures of minor deities, ghosts and ancestors.