Warli
Bhil people |
The Warli or Varli are an indigenous tribe of western India there related ethnic groups are
Demographics
Warlis are found in
Language
The Warli speak the
Varli is classified under Marathi by Grierson (Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India) as well as A.M. Ghatage (Warli of Thana, vol. VII of A Survey of Marathi dialects)
Warli painting
In the book The Painted World of the Warlis
Their extremely rudimentary wall paintings use a very basic graphic vocabulary: a circle, a triangle and a square. Their paintings were monosyllabic. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. So the central motive in each ritual painting is the square, known as the "chauk" or "chaukat", mostly of two types: Devchauk and Lagnachauk. Inside a Devchauk, we find Palaghata, the mother goddess, symbolizing fertility.[5] Significantly, male gods are unusual among the Warli and are frequently related to spirits which have taken human shape. The central motive in these ritual paintings is surrounded by scenes portraying hunting, fishing and farming, festivals and dances, trees and animals. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe, and of the couple, and has the practical and amusing advantage of animating the bodies.
The pared down pictorial language is matched by a rudimentary technique. The ritual paintings are usually done inside the huts. The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth and cow dung, making a
Tribal cultural intellectual property
Warli painting is the cultural intellectual property of the tribal community. Today, there is an urgent need for preserving this traditional knowledge in tribal communities across the globe. Understanding the need for intellectual property rights, the tribal non-profit organisation "Adivasi Yuva Seva Sangh" initiated efforts to start a registration process in 2011. Now, Warli painting is registered with a geographical indication under the intellectual property rights act. With the use of technology and the concept of social entrepreneurship, Tribals established the Warli Art Foundation, a non-profit company dedicated to Warli art and related activities.
Culture
The Warli were traditionally semi-nomadic. They lived together in small-scale groups with a headman leading them. However, recent demographic changes have transformed the Warli today into mainly agriculturists. They cultivate many crops like rice and wheat. Warli women wear toe-rings and necklaces as a sign of being married. Some Warli practice polygyny.[7]
References
- ^ a b Division, Publications. Yojana July 2022 (English): A Development Monthly. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
- ^ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Government Central Press. 1880.
- ^ Census of India 2001, The Scheduled Tribes of Gujarat
- ^ Census of India 2001, The Scheduled Tribes of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.they are now dead .
- ISBN 81-7141-644-6.
- ^ "Coca-Cola India celebrates ancient Warli folk art form - Launches". Business Standard India. 12 October 2010.
- ISBN 0-7566-0520-2.
External links
- Warli art home page Warli Art is Tribal Cultural Intellectual Property
- History of the Warli community and their art
- The Warlis and the Dhangars: The Context of the Commons
- Warli Folk Painting Summary of Warli art by the Indian government
- The Warlis by K. V. Save
Further reading
- Dalmia, Yashodhara, (1988). Painted World of the Warlis: Art and Ritual of the Warli Tribes of Maharashtra, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi.
- Dandekar, Ajay (ed.) (1998). Mythos and Logos of the Warlis: A Tribal Worldview, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, ISBN 81-7022-692-9.