Traditional craftsmanship
Page 1 of 1
1
Handlooms Weaving In Tripura
Handloom weaving is an important craft in Tripura. Tripuri women in the rural households prefer to weave their own risa and rinai which are part of their traditional dress. Other handloom products which are woven include lungi, sari, chaddar, and scarves. The motifs are different and one can identify whether it is woven by the Chakma, Kuki, Lussai or Reang tribes. The main feature of Tripuri handlooms is vertical and horizontal stripes with scattered embroidery in different colours. The artistic handloom industry is concentrated in a number of places in the rural areas, in the sub-divisions of Sadar, Sonamura, Khowai, Kailasahar and Belonia.
Hingan - Votive terracotta painted plaque
Hingan- or the votive terracotta painted plaques of Molela, Rajasthan, India are craft works of Asawala sub castes of the Kumhar caste in Rajasthan. Votive terracotta painted plaques produced by the terracotta artisans of Molela are actually hand modelled hollow relief of Hindu deities, especially of the neo-Vaishnava deity, Dev Narayan. Made from clay, mixed with rice husk and donkey dung in required proportion, the plaque is sun dried and baked in an indigenous kiln before it is painted with mineral colours and eventually coated with a local made lacquer, called 'jala'. Several tribes in Gujarat and Rajasthan travel for more than 200 km once in a year to buy these plaques from Molela and bring them to their villages. These deities are installed and worshipped for 3 to 5 years in the shrines located in their villages till they are replaced by the new ones. Terracotta artisans from Molela are the only community entitled to meet this requirement of the tribes. This system has provided sustenance to the traditional craftsmanship for several generations.
Source IGNCA Inventory of ICH, Janapada Sampada Division, IGNCA
Contributed by Aditya, CEE Ahmedabad
Horn Works
Creating objects of decoration from horns of animals is a craft of Orissa practiced for many years by the tribes of Santhals, Oraons and Marijas. The craftsmen of Cuttack and Paralakhemundi in Orissa skillfully fashion horns into various objects that are functional and representational of natural objects - birds arrested in flight, animals of prey caught prowling, fighting bulls, fish-guzzling cranes, deer nuzzling their young, elephant rolling logs, combs, pen stands, pipes, lamp shades and others.