Bhil Art of Rajasthan

Bhil Art of Rajasthan

The Bhils are the second largest tribal community of Rajasthan. In Rajasthan they are distributed in southern districts. The word Bhil is derived from the Dravidian word ‘vil’ mean the archer. They speak Bhilli which belongs to the Indo Aryan family of languages. In Rajasthan they are well versed with other regional languages like Hindi, Mewari, Vagdi and so on.

The Bhils decorate their houses, walls, temples and shrines with paintings and artistic drawings. The mud walls are painted with the vibrant red and other natural colours. The figures drawn on them are mostly sacred and ritualistic. The main purpose of these drawings is to promote fertility, avert diseases, and to propitiate the dead and the ghost sprits. They are stylistically austere and primeval.

As already stated brilliant Indian red colour is their most favourite colour, but they also use primary colours like green, black and white. Some of the Bhils now a day’s also uses other colours like blue, yellow, purple and so on.  Traditional colours are prepared mostly from rock or clay of their habitat and surrounding areas. Carbon of the used cell is utilised for preparing black colour while black berry and turmeric are used to prepare blue, purple and yellow colour. Lime is used as white colouring agent. Raw materials like vegetative material, clay and rock etc. are crushed to make powder and then it is often mixed with warm water to form paste. Rice powder is also mixed with water to use it as paint. Now days, acrylic or synthetic colours are also used by the members of the younger generations for preparing traditional and modern paintings.

Twig of bamboo or neem is used as painter’s brush for traditional painting. Sometimes middle or ring finger of right hand is used to prepare some ethnic drawings. Pencil and scales are also recently introduced to draw the outline. At the time of using mid vein of the twigs as painter’s brush, its front part is crushed to make the surface flat and the same is used as the working edge of the brush.

Bhil painting may thematically be classified into three major categories:

1. Painting drawn during marriage and ritual ceremonies.

2. Painting for ceremonial purpose not involving any ritual. It depicts everyday life scenario including paintings of the first category, relief work, mural work and so on.

3. Tattooing.

Painting of the first category is generally drawn during marriage, ceremonies like Holi, Deepawali, Govardhan Puja, Navratri and so on. Some of the examples of such paintings are Bharadi, Bheruji-Mataji ka Dewara, Tejaji ka Sajawat, Gotrej, Gotrej Ganapati ka sath, Gai ka upar chitra and so on.  Ritual paintings are sacred or secular in nature. Sacred paintings of the Bhils are group activities, repetitive in nature with predominant format of space and design. The same is drawn on the houses, temples or shrines as collective or individual activities. Secular paintings like Jungle aur pal ka Drishya, Bharadi, Khet Hakokam, Mach aur Prani, etc. are also drawn during rituals to decorate houses. Secular paintings often depict floral or faunal pattern, geometric designs as well as sceneries of Bhil society and culture including nature that surrounds them.  Modern paintings are often connected with abstract drawing of the individual creator, mural work, emboss paintings, relief work, etc. in one hand and all sorts of traditional drawings with modern touch on the other.

The Bhils are fond of tattooing their hand or body. During fairs and festivals or in market places they often go to the tattooist who artistically tattoo on their body with electric operated machines. Names of gods and goddesses, names of the person or their near and dear one, floral and faunal design, miniature painting of deities and geometric designs are commonly tattooed.

Motives are frequently found in the Bhil paintings. These may be classified into natural objects like sun, star, moon; abstract symbols like dots, geometric designs. khadi (vertical), ulti (reverse), sidhi (horizontal) layers; animal designs like cattle, snake, elephant, rat, tiger, wild boar, goat and birds specially peacock are commonly noticed. Floral motives like leaf, flower, plants, banyan tree are also the integral part of their painting cult. Sacred motives, for example, swastika, trident, temples, shrines, ritual sacrifices; cultural and other day to day life motives like hunting, ploughing of field, mulching of cow, carrying of water by females, churning of milk, dancing, marriage possession and so on are also commonly observed motives of their painting tradition.

During Khekra or Govardhan Puja or cattle caressing ceremony, paintings are also drawn on the body of the cattle. Paintings for commercial purpose are drawn by some of the contemporary Bhil artists with adequate training, knowledge and expertise in contemporary drawing and painting. This kind of painting amply demonstrates in the work of the school going children who are expert in drawing houses, road and natural sceneries.  Some of the Bhils are also experts in relief work, emboss painting, glass work and portrait making of varied nature. With the relief work they are able to show traditional method for preparation of base for traditional painting. The base is prepared by the Bhils before painting by plastering with mud and cow dung. The contemporary painters often decorate their paintings with cloths, beads, glasses, etc. to make the design more attractive.