Warli Paintings – Fine Tribal Art Of India

Warli painting is a style of tribal art created by the people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra India, where it originated. This range encompasses cities such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and Vikramgad of the Palghar district of Maharashtra.

Background

The tradition of Warli Painting in Maharashtra is among the finest examples of folk styles of paintings.  The Warli tribe is one of the largest in India, located outside of Mumbai. Despite being close to one of the largest cities in India, the Warli tribes follow their culture, rejecting much of modern contemporary culture.
The tribal art dates back as early as the 10th century A.D. Warli tribes greatly respect nature and the wildlife for the resources that they provide for life. So their culture is centered around mother nature and their paintings depict the same. Warli artists use their clay huts as the backdrop for their paintings, similar to cave paintings.

Painting technique

The paintings use a set of basic geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, and a square. These shapes are symbolic of different elements of nature. The circle represents the sun and the moon, while the triangle is derived from mountains and pointed trees. The square, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land.
The central motif in the ritual painting is surrounded by scenes portraying hunting, fishing, farming, trees, and animals. Festivals and dances are common themes in ritual paintings. Tarpa dance is one of the central aspects depicted in many Warli paintings. The tarpa, a trumpet-like instrument, is played by different village men. Men and women hold hands and move in a circle around the tarpa player. The circle formation of the dancers is said to resemble the circle of life.
Another main theme of Warli art is the large triangle at the top, representing a man, and a wide triangle at the bottom, representing a woman. Apart from ritualistic paintings, the day-to-day activities of village people are depicted in the paintings.

Materials used

The ritual paintings are usually created on the interior walls of village huts and are painted only during special occasions such as weddings or harvests. The walls, constructed with a mixture of branches, earth, and red brick make a ‘red ochre’ background for the paintings. The Warlis paint only with white pigments made by mixing rice paste and water, with gum as a binder. And the brush is a bamboo stick that is chewed at the end.
Nowadays, Warli art is adapted in a wide range of products like hand-painted terracotta pottery, wall clocks, paintings, other decorative and utility items. We are proud to bring these home decors to you.