Kalighat

Much of the art from these Tribal villages in Jharkhand are religio-cultural, that is, they have fixed motifs symbolizing certain specific social situations. The Khovar art depicts the socio-religious tradition of preparing a marriage room. The Khovar is the decorated nuptial room in Tribal tradition. The decoration is done by the bride’s mother and aunts. The custom of Khovar decoration is carried out among the Tribal groups of Oraon, Santhal and Munda in Hazaribagh. The Sohrai is the art of the harvest festival, and celebrates the plough agriculture done by cattle as well as the domestication of the cow. The mandalas to welcome the cattle back from the jungle are made from rice flour and milk in a kind of gruel which when dried on the sparse brown earth is brilliant white. The mandalas are in the form of hoof-prints, and sacred dots of vermillion bindu are put at line junctions. The women’s role in the festival is crucial, and points back to an ancient matriarchal society.