Warli is the name of a tribe which resides in Thane district in Maharashtra, north of Mumbai. The main villages where this tribe is located are Dahanu, Talasari, Mokhada, Vada and Palghara. Artist Subash N. Sutar's village Raithali is 2 km from Dahanu (Tal) in Maharashtra.
People in the Raitali are primarily agriculturists and thus their paintings are influenced by the seasonal cycle. They worship Nath Dev, the God of Agriculture, Hiranya Dev, the imperishable, referring to Lord Brahma and Palghata Devi, deity of fertility.
It is customary among the people of Raithali to make Warli painting on the walls of the house before marriage. These paintings are executed by artists, traditionally restricted to women, specially trained to create these "LAGNA CHA Chowks". The paintings, using symbols, highlight key ceremonies like the 'baaraat' (when the bridegroom reaches the place where the ceremony is taking place) and 'puja' (ritual of worship) of the wedding.
People in the Raitali are primarily agriculturists and thus their paintings are influenced by the seasonal cycle. They worship Nath Dev, the God of Agriculture, Hiranya Dev, the imperishable, referring to Lord Brahma and Palghata Devi, deity of fertility.
It is customary among the people of Raithali to make Warli painting on the walls of the house before marriage. These paintings are executed by artists, traditionally restricted to women, specially trained to create these "LAGNA CHA Chowks". The paintings, using symbols, highlight key ceremonies like the 'baaraat' (when the bridegroom reaches the place where the ceremony is taking place) and 'puja' (ritual of worship) of the wedding.
The warli women called Savasini meaning married women whose husbands are alive, paint a chowk or a square on their walls of their kitchen as they believe this is the most sacred wall in the house and therefore where the gods are placed.
Before painting the wall surface is cleaned and polished, first with cowdung followed by Geru Mitti (red mud). The wall is polished by hand. With the help of a brush, the painter paints 'Shaadi Ka Chowk' on the polished wall and white colours are specially used for this. Apart from painting on the wall they are even drawn on clothes.
For the warlis, life is cyclic repeating itself eternally. Circles best represent the art of warli, which has neither an end nor a beginning. At all occasions - birth, marriage, and death they draw circles, symbol of Mother Goddess. Apart from wedding ceremonies warli paintings depict the stories Dhann Ki Mela, Manir Ki Puja, which pictorialize and narrate special and specific occasion Apart from these.
DETAILS www.craftrevival.org/Ahtml/WarliPaint.ht
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