Santals are renowned for their architectural craftsmanship and the domestic mural art practices. While the architecture of indigenous communities across central and eastern India share many similarities in the terms of layouts, building material and technology, Santal houses are distinct on the account of their painted walls. Each year, after the departure of monsoon rains women in the Santal villages paint colourful and often elaborate murals on the walls of their houses. In this chapter, I explore the production of domestic murals within the wider context of Santal domestic architecture. I focus particularly on analyzing the design, materiality and the aesthetic considerations of the women artists, and how these have transformed over time. By comparing mural art across different villages in south Jharkhand, the chapter reveals, how this practice, rather than being a fixed tradition, varies from region to region. It also reveals, how the very act of painting, the design sensibilities, and the material ecosystem are shaped and transformed by the pushes and pulls of the women’s lives but also the history of the region at large. In this way, Santal mural art, in spite of being intimately bound to domestic space, becomes an index of the lives, and identities of Santal women.

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The Transformation of Santal Domestic Art

  • Gauri Bharat

摘要

Santals are renowned for their architectural craftsmanship and the domestic mural art practices. While the architecture of indigenous communities across central and eastern India share many similarities in the terms of layouts, building material and technology, Santal houses are distinct on the account of their painted walls. Each year, after the departure of monsoon rains women in the Santal villages paint colourful and often elaborate murals on the walls of their houses. In this chapter, I explore the production of domestic murals within the wider context of Santal domestic architecture. I focus particularly on analyzing the design, materiality and the aesthetic considerations of the women artists, and how these have transformed over time. By comparing mural art across different villages in south Jharkhand, the chapter reveals, how this practice, rather than being a fixed tradition, varies from region to region. It also reveals, how the very act of painting, the design sensibilities, and the material ecosystem are shaped and transformed by the pushes and pulls of the women’s lives but also the history of the region at large. In this way, Santal mural art, in spite of being intimately bound to domestic space, becomes an index of the lives, and identities of Santal women.