Introduction
If you ever find yourself wandering deep within the tribal heartlands of Gajapati and Rayagada districts of Southern Odisha, don’t get surprised if you ever encounter walls that talk. Well, not literally, but with the paintings that have been made with intricacy over the wall surfaces, each of which conveying a unique tale of dance and festivities, spiritual offerings, ancestral memories and many other aspects through which, life can be celebrated to its fullest, yet the basis of these paintings lies over the most common types of stick figures and elongated rhythmic patterns. This is the world of “Saura Paintings”, a unique yet simple art form in Odisha, which is no only the oldest, but also a sacred visual language, passed down through generations of the Saura Tribe.
Origin of Saura Art
The history of Saura paintings have been deeply associated with the cultural and spiritual aspect of Saura tribe, which is considered as one of the oldest tribal community in the Eastern part of India. While there is a paucity of evidential facts supporting the exact origin of this tribal practice, archaeologists and anthropologists estimate its antiquity based on several aspects such as the oral traditions, ritualistic significance and the continuity in their cultural practices to roughly a period of the pre-literate tribal societies, approximately around 2500-3000 years old, but the similarities between Saura painting and rock art of Odisha have raised many questions, which will be discussed in the following sections. Surviving as a part of the sacred customs of the Saura tribe, this art is often linked to the ancestral worship, animistic beliefs and other ceremonial practices, which are elements of the early tribal societies in the Indian Civilization and its longevity is also reflected in the seamless inheritance of this art form over generations without executing any effective documentation processes, making it not only Odisha’s, but also one of India’s longest surviving indigenous traditions.
Why Makes It Unique?
Like their other counterparts across the Indian Subcontinent, Saura paintings are known for their deep ritualistic and symbolic significance. These paintings are not just an art for art’s sake, but each stroke deployed for making this art carries a purpose, with each of the motif having a meaning, reflecting the manifestation of their tribal cosmology. Traditionally, the Saura murals were painted over the mud plastered walls by applying a special paste made of grounded rice powder(locally known as Chaula Chuna) and lime juice to make the painting prominent and long lasting, but this practice has taken a modern turn, through which, you will be able to find these artworks not limited to walls, but have expanded on canvas, clothes, wooden surfaces and even pottery, making this age old tradition available to urban households and global platforms.
Shamanism and Spiritual Practices in Saura Art
Saura art has a certain incorporation of shamanistic practices per se, which not only emphasizes upon their ritualistic and cosmological practices, but also elevates this tribal art’s identity as more than just a mere decoration. The Kudan, or the tribal priest-shaman, plays the central role in manifesting and creating these painting, which are believed to bridge the gap between the human and spirit world. Also known as Ikons or Iditals, these artworks are meant to be sacred and are made during special occasions, which are then accompanied by chanting, fasting and praying, transforming the wall surface into a canvas of spirituality that is often reflected in the animistic belief system of the tribe.
Motifs as The Vocabulary of Saura Art
Saura paintings are pretty much known for the numerous amounts of motifs that they carry on each set of painted surface, it’s just like the motifs speak for themselves. These motifs are stylized symbols and figures that narrate a plethora of aspects such as their daily life, cosmology and community values. The following section will briefly describe every motif, that has made its way to the domain of Saura paintings:
- The Tree of life: Often depicted as the central figure, the tree of life symbolizes growth, fertility and connections between worlds(sky, earth, underworld). The branches often hold birds, hands, humans, showcasing interconnectedness.
- Human Figures(Ikons): These stylized stick figures with triangular torsos and limbs in motion, often depict scenes like dancing, farming, praying and hunting, symbolizing life events like birth, harvest and marriage as a part of community life.
- Sun and Moon: These celestial motifs are portrayed as the divine witnesses of the ceremonial and ritualistic practices, which are part and parcel of Saura life, which displays their emphasis on their relation with cosmic entities.
- Animal and Birds: The depictions of animal figures such as cows, deer, peacocks, elephants and hens symbolize their livelihood, ecological setting and the spiritual projections. Birds are portrayed as a sacred being, who is considered as a messenger between human and gods.
- Fishing Nets and Bows: Tools like fishing nets, bows and arrows shares us a peek of the subsistence and survival patterns of Saura tribe.
- Dancers and Drummers: Figures of people dancing and playing drums signify joy, celebration as part of the collective life of Saura tribe.
- Spiral or Circular Frame: The primary compositions of Saura art are often framed within spirals or concentric circles, which denotes the eternal cycle of life, which are painted at the centre outwards.
- Ladders and Steps: These figures often represent the journeys between realms, such as the material and spiritual ones, along with the accession and transition within the passage of time.
- Ancestral figures: Also known as Jodisum among the Sauras, these consist of a special set of motifs, created to pay homage to the ancestors, which are painted with reverence during rituals for receiving blessings and protection from them.
- Modern Transportation Mediums: The most peculiar aspect of Saura art is the depiction of modern transportation mediums such as four wheeled vehicle, railways and even planes, which displays their adaptability with the age co-terminus to them. Many ethnographical studies have been conducted both archaeologists and anthropologists to understand the logic behind this nature of Saura art.
Saura Paintings and The Rock Art Heritage of Odisha
The scope of Saura paintings has also been expanded to rock art studies, where these paintings are considered as a living continuation of the prehistoric lithic art that are found in Southern Odisha as well as in the adjoining states of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Having many such striking similarities such as the stylized human figures, geometric patterns and ritual scenes, the Saura art has found its place within the practices of Mesolithic and Neolithic period of Odisha. Such elements from the rock art panels still remain central to Saura iconography even today. While direct evidence linking these two is still under study, but the visual and stylistic elements of those rock art site seen echoing in the Saura paintings.
The Saura Way of Seeing Life
For Saura people, each and every symbol has a certain meaning which carries out the memory associated with it. Painting is not only considered as a skill, but a ritualistic performance, performed during the festivals, marriage, child birth and even housewarmings. Each of these aspects has a very important place among the Saura cultural practices, where they are expected to bring fertility, protection and most importantly, a perfect balance to their life. One interesting thing about Saura art is that traditionally, only men were allowed to paint these depictions over any surface, but with changing times, women have also come forward to showcase their skills and keeping this tradition alive by incorporating their age old motifs with modern contexts.
A Journey from Wall to World
When perceived from a traditional perspective, Saura paintings were pretty much ephemeral in nature, gradually fading with the course of time, then erased and superimposed with another form art. But now, thanks to the increased amount of recognition it has received has brought waves of support, through which, modern artists are creating Saura style of art on paper, fabric and canvas, increasing the permanence of these artwork and making it accessible to a larger global audience. Moreover, many organizations like TRIFED, Lalit Kala Academy and Odisha’s Tribal Research Institute have helped Saura Artists to connect with a larger audience.
In a world moving towards modernity, these kinds of art remind us take a break and remember our ancestral antiquities, which depict sacredness within simplicity, so if you are ever witnessing a piece of Saura art, try to look at it closely, because it’s not just an art form, but a kind of language, a way of life, a medium of preserving the past and lastly, a bridge between humans and nature, predecessors and successors, traditions and everyday life.
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