Tales From Warli

Priyanka Rout

Tales From Warli

Walking in circles, the tribe held each other’s hands. Thatched roofs, mud houses, coconut trees, bullock carts, and animals adorn the brown walls of the mud houses. Portraying the circle of life and respect for nature, this art stands out, displaying its eternal glory and simplicity.

Of Dots And Triangles; Image Source: Dribbble

Jivya Soma Mashe in Tribals Art magazine, September 2001.

It was early in the morning when Raina and I decided to board our next flight to Mayanagari or the City of Dreams, Mumbai. I did miss my home, but we were not planning on visiting Thane. We had some other plans in mind. Today, we would be visiting the North Sahyadri Range, where lived one of the most vibrant tribes called the Warli tribe. Famous for their earthly and soothing nature, their painting has a unique touch of wet soil, calloused hands that paint the beautiful background, and last but not least, their meticulous brush strokes that brings life to the Warli masterpiece.

No wonder, why artists like us get so enthralled with such art forms, and people like Mr. Ferrero search for paintings that brings in more Indianness to their ultra-modern homes. Warli paintings fulfil this criteria with its elegance and charm. They have the ability to add elegance to almost everything, be it a rural hut or a five star hotel lobby.

While we were on our way to the North Sahyadri Range of Maharashtra, we saw traces of intriguing stick figures made with white paint on brown walls. It looked as if the stick figures were indeed alive and were walking in sync to reach their destination. Almost every house was decorated with white coloured paintings that enthralled me to such an extent that I convinced Raina to walk till we reached our destination. Most of the paintings depicted the ordinary lives of the tribe portraying hunting, fishing, farming, festivals, dances, animals, trees, gods and goddesses.

There are human beings, birds, animals, insects, and so on.. Everything moves, day and night. Life is movement…

As we entered the Ganjad village of Maharashtra’s Palghar district, we saw a dog barking loudly to break the deafening silence. I have been living in Maharashtra since the last thirty-two years, but never did I come across this beautiful art village situated on the foothills of the lush Sahayadris. Currently recognised as an art village where one of India’s most popular indigenous art thrives, this village consists of twelve padas or hamlets to house the entire Warli tribe.

We were invited by two brothers, Shailesh Vangad and Anil Vangad to their amazing hut. The thatched roof though was asymmetrical, it added to the beauty of the mud house. The walls were painted with Warli patterns, while the front door had a colourful Warli patterns and some traces of Madhubani art as well. I smiled thinking that every art form is related to each other, be it Madhubani, or be it Warli.

After an hour, we had two glasses of lemonade in our hands, and we were all ready to listen to the mystifying stories of the Warli tribe and art. “Why do we call this art form ‘Warli’? Is there any special significance?”, asked Raina. “Yes. This name has a bit of history behind it. The word Warli has been originated from the word Warla, which means ‘tilled land’.

We can say that Warli is the name of a tribal group that tills the land. While tilling land was their main occupation, making meticulous designs and figurines was an age-old tradition for the tribe and its origin perhaps dates back to 10th century, when art was nothing but a medium to narrate folk tales. Even today, when we go to the farms, we often think of some creative ways to bring more life to Warli art and introduce some patterns that might bring a revolution to this art form.”, said Anil, who has done live paintings and a visual performance art in some abroad countries.

Could you tell us something about the Warli tribe?”, I asked with a certain curiosity in my voice. “Long back, the Warlis were considered to be one of the largest tribal groups of Maharashtra. Largely concentrated in the Dahanu and Talaseri Talukas of Thane, and some areas of Nasik and Dhule, they also found accommodations in other areas like Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. Famous for their individualistic beliefs on animals, lifestyle, customs, and traditions, they have also adopted certain Hindu beliefs. They mostly spoke in Varli language, which is said to be a form of Konkani language. They were basically an agrarian tribe mostly engaged in agricultural activities. However, they possessed a secret that brought them to highlight. Their walls had beautiful patterns that was considered to be their greatest possession. This art form has two different kinds of motifs. The first one being ritual motifs traditionally made by Suvasini (a woman whose husband is alive) on the inside walls of the hut. The second being decorative motifs which are mostly painted by young girls on the external walls of the huts.”, said Shailesh.

“Warli art persuades us to look at our house from a different perspective, to see walls not as barriers but as a medium to express and communicate,” artist and journalist Sanjay Deodhar wrote in his book Warli Art World.

Journey from walls of tribal homes to household goods; Image Source: World Art Community

The Eternal Journey Of Warli; Image Source: Young Indian Revolution Journals Pvt. Ltd.

The Artists Behind Warli; Image Source: Warliartist

But there must be someone behind this art form who revived it and brought it to limelight?, Raina asked. “Yes. You’re right. Jivya Soma Mashe of Dhamagaon village has brought this art form to limelight. Born in 1934, Jivya not only reversed the age-old ritual of this women-oriented art form, but also transformed it into a modern art form. It is only because of him that the Warli tribe got its deserving place on the world map of art and culture. He started making this art form when his mother died. Initially, he did not talk to anybody and started drawing figures on sand to express his emotions. With time, he came across the Warli women who drew triangular figurines on the walls. Attracted to the art form, he began practicing the Warli art and introduced newer templates that inspired the budding artists of the Warli community.”, said Govind, Anil and Shailesh’s neighbour.

Unpretentiousness is rare in a world of excesses, and this art form maintains that notion. Buying and selling hand-painted Warli goods feels like an appropriate tribute to this one-of-a-kind art style. While you're at it, you might as well learn a thing or two about their way of life. Flowers, wedding rites, hunting sceneries, and other daily things have elaborate geometric patterns that are famous among fashionistas and home décor firms. Those from Gujarat and Maharashtra undoubtedly have a sentimental attachment to the art form, having seen this on the walls of countryside schools and homes long before it became fashionable on modern lifestyle items. The basic, yet exquisitely fine designs have a primal draw to them.

This basic allure has enticed designers such as Anita Dongre and James Ferreira to include the paintings into their designs. Warli paintings, which were created long before mobile phones and emoticons not only tug at your heartstrings with their rustic appeal, but they also convey a vivid tale. This old art is so appealing that it proudly adorns numerous hotel lobbies and rooms.

There's something about these paintings that transports us back to the time, location, and emotion behind the art, whether it's a funerary scene or the act of worshipping tribal gods. Presently, the Warli artwork is famous not just in major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Delhi, but also abroad.

In the way the Warli spread unassuming bits of wood on the ground, to dry them in the sun; the way they lay out their rice crops; and, just as simply, and among other examples, the way they clean the trodden earth floors of their huts, all this calls to mind, by way of the subtle, sensitive, and elegant attention paid to each of these actions, the fact that their sole deity is the mother goddess, goddess of the earth and fertility, Palaghata.

This cult, if that is what it is, inspired–and still to this day inspires–in them profound respect for nature. The Warli also express this respect for nature through painting. Through their themes, motifs, and rudimentary style, all Warli paintings–and more particularly the works of Jivya Soma Mashe, the first artist from this tribe to break free from ancestral rituals–seem to be in praise of the Earth, just like every work resulting from Land Art.”

Hervé Perdriolle in: Jivya Soma Mashe / Richard Long: an encounter, The Contemporary Indian “Other Masters” Collection.

“How is Warli painting usually made?, I asked. “These paintings are traditionally made on mud walls with with white rice paste as the paint. The white paste is usually made of rice, water, and gum that acts line a binding catalyst. The chewed bamboo sticks used for brushing teeth in olden days are used as paintbrushes. The frame of the walls are usually made up of a mixture of bamboo, reed and stick, smudged with a layer of clay and cow dug mixed together.”, said Govind.