We have seen a revival in the Pithora tribal art form, thanks to a renewed interest in the rich heritage of tribal art, with several artists becoming known through the art. Pithora is a truly tribal art form by origin, and was never created with aesthetic purposes. The generous use of bright colors in creating this ritualistic art that seems to move, was intended to celebrate an achievement and to praise gods and their gifts of nature. But we’ll circle back to this later.
According to folklore, the people of the Bhila (an ancient Indian tribe) kingdom had forgotten how to laugh. Their prince Pithora, went through perilous terrain on horseback and brought back with him laughter from the goddess Himali Harda. Pithora then became the reigning deity of every tribal household and it became almost mandatory for every house to represent Pithora devta (god) on their walls. Even today, Pithora paintings are considered auspicious and are believed to bring peace, happiness and prosperity to the home. That’s why traditional tribal houses, even today, display Pithora art on three inner walls. And it is their mildly childlike quality that lends a different personality and individuality to these paintings.
Pithora paintings also reflect the changing seasons, a very important factor for a community that relied on nature and agriculture for their life and livelihood. Another tribe, that of Rathwas, also practice Pithora art, and both the Bhila and Rathwa tribes are native to the state of Gujarat in western India.
A Technique Dipped in Beliefs
The walls are prepared for painting by plastering them with mud and cow-dung – only unmarried girls are allowed to collect and bring these materials – and the painting begins once this coating dries out. The walls usually selected in a large, front central wall flanked by smaller side walls. The colors used are made from natural ingredients such as leaves, flowers, stones, rice, milk, and so on. Usually the painting starts on a Tuesday or Wednesday, but no resident of the house is allowed to paint. Only Pithora painters, known in their native tongue as ‘lakhadas’, are allowed to create Pithora art. The tribute or the wish to be fulfilled is made to their deity, Baba Pithora. Once complete, the painting is celebrated by song and dance.
Symbols in Pithora
The main characters of Pithora paintings are a series of horses that represent the main Pithora god, and other deities of their pantheon. And in that lies its distinctiveness where horses are used to depict gods and goddesses. The focus of the painting are seven horses enclosed in a rectangular fence to represent the hills of the region where the Rathwas stayed. The wavy line we seen in the painting depicts the River Narmada.
Within Pithora art, there are two forms, i.e. ‘Akho’ and ’Ardho”, differentiated by the number of horses painted. In the Akho style, the entire painting usually has 18 celestial horses ridden by riders, while in Ardho there are seven horses without riders, except for the lead horse ridden by Baba Ganesh.
In addition to painting the colorful horses, Pithora artists also paint other characters from their folklore. Some of these are Ganesh, Barah Mattha, horses with two faces and various other animals. Being a tribal form of art, it is obvious that Pithora paintings depict objects of nature that the tribals revered, like farms, trees, fields, birds, etc along with their ancestors.
We can typically see a horse or a bull at the center to signify god. The bright colors and animated figures drawn around this reflect the joyful sentiments of the tribe and the artists, and very often, fresh paintings were used to mark an auspicious occasion like a wedding, festival or childbirth.
Themes in Pithora Art
The themes in Pithora paintings can be classified into three broad categories:
Thanking god for being a provider. Perhaps the most common theme expressed, where the village would share its problem with the head priest who would offer a solution. To get the problem resolved, the family facing it needs to commission Pithora painting on three inner walls of their house.
Displaying solidarity. Way back in the 11th century, trade in the village of Bharuch was getting affected because it was dangerous for traders and especially foreigners. The Rathwas and Bhilas saw this as a business opportunity, and would make money by escorting Indian and foreign traders through a region infested with bandits. They even had a map of codes – typically horses – that could be read and understood only by the tribe. For instance, seven horses depicted the seven hills while tigers symbolized the mouth of the River Narmada.
Tales of Baba Pithora.
A lot of Pithora paintings depict the colorful story of Baba Pithora and his origin. It is clear from the paintings that Baba Pithora is revered as a god, and is quite often shown in procession along with his wife, his parents and the rest of the family who are also on horseback.
In a focused effort to promote tribal arts of India on an international scale, the Government of India has been working with and helping Pithora artists get a platform to showcase their skills. We hope that this tribal art of India continues get the recognition it deserves, and evolves to incorporate themes that excite modern day art lovers, while maintaining its inherent rustic appeal.
About the author: Sushmita Vobbilisetty is the concept creator at Chitrapata. She has a deep understanding of old masters, modern, and contemporary artworks. Sushmita is an expert in evaluating the market value and fair value of art based on heritage, availability, sell-through rate, market performance over time, secondary sales track record, and other key factors. Sushmita frequently predicts the bidding prices for day sales and evening auctions hosted by leading art houses.
About us: Chitrapata is a digital atelier with an in-house generative art technology platform enhanced with machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities. Our vision is to spark thoughts, conversations, and debates among different groups. Visit “About us” section to know more about our philosophy, vision, bio, artist statement, story and technology process.
Image credit: DreamStudio AI, StableDiffusion.
