Reflection of art and culture

There are about 24 tribal groups including Bhatra, Chandar, Dora, Dravid, Munda, Halba, Ganda, Kolas, Madia and so on.

A few like the Nahar are nomadic tribes. They collect herbs and are hunter-gatherers. Others have settled down as farmers but still depend upon the neighbourhood forest for their daily needs of fodder, herbs, bamboos, and minor forest produce like roots, wild fruits and honey.

Not surprisingly, woodcraft comes naturally for tribals who are familiar with forests and trees. Tribal art can be seen in wooden models and masks with tribal motifs. Some of the wooden panels, with a wide range of motifs, are fascinating and infuse life into any modern living room. Tribals are quite adept at bamboo craft too.

They weave baskets that can be used either as decorative pieces or for functional purposes like storing food grains, fruits, vegetables, clothes and other items. Weaving of bamboo mats is in itself an art. Other bamboo items that are in demand include table mats, wall hangings and coasters. Bamboo is an ideal material that serves the tribals’ various needs.

Terracotta art flourishes among the tribals who are dexterous in shaping earth into any shape they like. Potters bring the finest clay from the Indravati riverbed and fashion out items like ornate elephants and horses, including the famous Bankura horse, bowls, urns and jars. Indigenous colours are used, where needed, that enhance the beauty of these terracotta objects.

Tribals hand-weave ordinary cotton into exotic saris, dress materials and drapes. They bring life to the material by use of intricate to simple hand printing using vegetable dyes extracted from raw materials found in the Bastar forests. Their designs reflect tribal artistic patterns in all their majesty.

However, the use of bell metal is not very well-known in tribal handicraft. The bell metal art originated for serving the needs of the erstwhile king’s horses that were decorated with bells and trinkets. Later on, the craft developed to make a wide range of products such as small and big idols that decorate a drawing room and bell metal animal designs depicting deer, horses, elephants and masks as well as heads of tribals that could be displayed in a showcase. Each piece is painstakingly crafted by hand using the vanishing wax technique. A few tribal families have taken to the designing of bell metal objects in a big way.

One might wonder how wrought iron becomes an art object? Innovative village blacksmiths have developed the knack of turning out wrought iron art objects that are not only attractive but affordable too. Whether it is a human figure or a deer with curved antlers, there is something magical in these simple objects that attract attention.

A wide variety of art objects are turned out one by one by skilled blacksmiths who love their creations. These might appear somewhat crude at first sight, but on closer examination, they stand out as pieces made by a person who is devoted to the handicraft. There is change as well as continuity in the design and execution of tribal handicrafts using different media. It is for us to encourage tribal handicrafts.