Pithora

Etymology: 'Pithora' paintings get their name from the deity Baba Pithora, in whose honour these paintings are made.

Origin: Pithora paintings are made by the Rathwa community who originally dwelled in Rath Vistar of Madhya Pradesh and later migrated to Gujarat.

Location: The Rathwa tribe is spread in multiple districts of Gujarat, namely, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Chhota Udaipur, and Dahod, and in the areas along the borders of Madhya Pradesh.

Community: Pithora paintings are practised by the Rathwas, Bhilalas, Nayaks, and Tadi tribes. These paintings are exclusively made by men. Women are not allowed to create or help create these paintings. Currently, Pithora paintings are primarily created by the Rathwa and Bhilala tribes.

Relevance: These paintings are essentially a means to invoke Baba Pithora or Babo Pithoro, who is their most important God.

Historical background: Since it is an art form that is mainly practised by the highly ritualistic Rathwa and Bhilala communities, these paintings hold more ritualistic significance than artistic. These paintings are made under the supervision of a priest who sings hymns to bless and protect the wall painting and artists from evil spirits. The young unmarried girls of the community help prepare the walls for the commencement of the wall paintings by a process called Lipai which involves natural raw materials like cow dung, white clay or white lime powder, and water. Once the young girls are married, they take these materials from their father's house to the house they are married in.

Culture and societies: In the Rathwa tribe, the priest or Badwa supervises the Pithora paintings, and the artist who paints these designs is called Lakhara. While the lakharas paint, the badwas chant and sing. When their god grants their wish, they paint pithora art on the three inner walls of their houses as a symbol of thanksgiving and gratitude. They also make these paintings to welcome prosperity, safety, and good health. The completion of the Pithora paintings is celebrated with ceremonies.

Religious significance: The Rathwas are heavily influenced by their mythology and the same reflects in their rituals, ceremonies, beliefs, and art practices.

Legends: King of Gods, Raja Indra had seven sisters, one of whom named Rani Kandi Koyal heads to the forest to meet Raja Kanjurana. They had a romantic arc in the myth. They conceive a child and since it was out of wedlock, Rani Kandi Koyal decides to set the child afloat in a stream. This child catches the attention of the two other sisters of Raja Indra, Rani Kajal and Rani Makher, who nurse the child and bathe him. *Rani Kajal *named the abandoned child 'Pithora' and gave him shelter in their palace.

Central motifs and their significance: All of the characters that are painted by the artists are linked to their mythology and legend. They always paint elephants and horses with gods along with Pithora and Pithori (names given to the royal bride and groom, as per their legends), as in their legend the abandoned child Pithora grows up to marry Pithori who the chosen bride for him by Raja Indra.

The Pithora paintings are divided into two parts, the upper half and the lower half and are segregated by a wavy pattern made in blue which represents the river. The upper half of the painting portrays the heavenly cosmos and deities, and the middle part and corners of the painting are heavily filled. The central area of the painting is seen with the illustration of the wedding process of 'Pithora and Pithori', whereas the corners are adorned with Lord Ganesha who is always the first one to be painted and other local deities. The lower half of the painting depicts wildlife, forestry, harvests, the iconography of cows and bulls and modern transportation. Everyday scenarios are also seen painted in the lower half of the wall painting.

Medium used: Although these have originated from cave paintings, Pithora paintings are now made on a variety of surfaces such as walls, textiles, and paper. They use cow dung and a mixture of either water and white clay called pandurya or water and a white lime powder called chuna. They utilise both, natural and synthetic colours and make these paintings with the help of twigs, stems, hands, and artificial brushes.

Style: The entire painting is framed in such a way that it represents a sacred enclosure. There are two types of Pithora paintings. The first one being ardho pithoro which means half Pithora and has five to nine horses with no riders except Lord Ganesha. And the second one is akho pithoro meaning complete Pithora which has eighteen horses with riders. These paintings follow the primary colour scheme, although they do use other vibrant colours, they primarily utilise earthy tones of these colours. The characters created in these paintings have less to no bodily anatomy. They are more expressive than technical in their craft. The elements painted are usually in a pattern or series and they illustrate a story.

Process: The method of making these wall paintings is simplistic and ritualistic. Firstly, the wall is prepared by unmarried young girls as it is considered auspicious. The young girls smear the wall with cow dung, water, white clay or white lime powder. This process is called Lipai, they prepare the wall over the course of seven to eight days by adding two or multiple coats of the mixture. The wall is left to properly dry for two or more additional days. Once the wall is dry it mimics a white blank canvas, the surface is painted in vibrant colours like green, orange, blue, and pink. Motifs of birds, animals, trees, the cosmos, deities, and mythology, all find their place on these wall paintings. These paintings are usually created by a group of six or seven men.

The artists now utilise readily available, store-bought colours/paints and they have switched from using delicate tree stems to synthetic brushes. Although the tribes consider Pithora paintings to be divine and do not see them as a commodity, pithora designs are nowadays printed on textiles and are exhibited as wall hangings. Contemporary symbols and elements such as railway tracks, buses, aeroplanes, and computers are now incorporated into their visual vocabulary.

1. Shah, H. (1980). *The ritual painting of the God Pithora Baba: a tribal ritual in Central Gujarat. Zurich: Ethnologisches Zeitschrift.