JOIN USThe Sanskrit treatise on the dramatic arts, Natya Shastra, includes a section on masks, as they were considered a natural extension of the performing arts. Masked performances continue to play a significant role in transforming the performers’ identity to that of the character portrayed across rituals, carnivals, theatres and dances, whether in the classical, folk or tribal traditions.
One such continuing tradition is the ritual martial art dance-drama of chhau that depicts the epic battles fought between gods and demons, and enacts morality tales. The dance, celebrating the spring festival of Chaitra Parva, is performed annually over a period of 13 days in April in the Eastern states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Characterised by martial and acrobatic moves that form a part of the dramatic performances, the origins of chhau are hard to trace, although oral histories and interpretations by scholars point to its roots in ancient tribal war dance traditions. In Seraikela, Jharkhand, the ritual performance is highly choreographed and stylised, as it is patronised by the erstwhile royal family of the Singh-Deos. While in Purulia, West Bengal, the performance has been sustained over the years by the locals themselves. Governed by individual variants and distinct styles of performances, it is in Purulia and Seraikela that the individually handcrafted oversized masks are donned to depict the mythic attributes of the character being enacted. While in Mayurbhanj, Odisha painted faces and costumes are a substitute for the mask.
All in the family
It is in the village of Charida located in the Purulia district that over a 100 households, comprising about 300 artisans, are dedicated to the craft of mask making for performing troupes. These masks are crafted in close collaboration with choreographers and performers, by the traditional community of Maharanas, Mohapatras and Sutradhars, whose knowledge of mask making and its lore, has been transmitted orally and through apprenticeship over the generations. Working in their homes, entire families are involved in the work, with each member specialising in different tasks. As the themes performed include those from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, from local myths and legends and regional tales, the artisans skill needs to extend to an in-depth knowledge of not only the themes to be performed, but the particular attributes and symbolic iconography associated with each character. Combined with their expertise in the crafting, the masks make the dancers instantly recognisable.
The masks, whether of gods, goddesses, monsters, demons, heroes, birds, beasts and anthropomorphic representations, are all crafted in two distinct parts — the face and the headdress. The faces are modelled in clay in a mould, and finished with a small wood spatula — the thapi. Slits for the eye and nose are artfully cut out to ensure that the performer is comfortable donning the mask, as the face is completely covered by it during the performance. Layered with paper and cloth strips and smoothened with clay, the faces are brightly painted with bold features that are theatrically communicative. The headdresses are customised with feathers, beads, pearls, gold and silver tinsel, borders, flowers and all manner of accoutrements, to form a frame around the mask. These large decorative masks-cum-headdresses need to be light, yet have a lithe tensile strength to stand the rigours of the gravity-defying action-driven performances.
Rituals & more
Traditionally performed at night in an open air arena, the space demarcated for the performance — called either akhada or asar — is first sanctified by ritual offerings to the patron deities, ensuring success and setting the stage for the performances that follow. An all-male cast of masked dancers perform to the accompaniment of an orchestra of reed pipes (mohuri), bamboo flutes, the Indian oboe (shehnai) and a variety of drums from the cylindrical (dhol) to the large kettle drums (dhumsa / nagada). Lit with electrical bulbs and burning torches, arenas for ritual performances have been hosting growing crowds of locals and tourists each year.
Chhau dance is also gaining popularity beyond the borders of the eastern states, with the performers extending their repertoire beyond the traditional stories. As performers enact and adapt the stories of Rabindranath Tagore and William Shakespeare to the chhau style, the mask makers have also groomed themselves to create visages that suit the character portrayed. As their fame spreads, the artisans in Charida are now working through the year, continuing to create masks for performers — old and new — while fulfilling orders for innovative decorative purposes as well.
In 2010, chhau dance — it’s masks, costumes, music and instruments was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The 2014 hit Bollywood action-thriller Gunday, starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, has the protagonist in the climactic scene weaving his way through a dense crowd of worshippers; in the midst of the frenzy the audience is drawn to mask-wearing chhau dancers whose gravity-defying movements help define the scene.