MITHILA
ARTS IN NEPAL
( Janakpur)
Bihar boasts of
an enviable wealth
of rural handicrafts comprising of
hand - painted wall hangings,wooden
stools, miniatures in paper and leaves,
stone pottery, bamboo and leather
goods, and applique work. But Bihar's
most famous and fascinating indigenous
art forms, by far, are its Madhubani
Paintings. This art is a strict monopoly
of the women of Mithila. Done in primary
colours of natural origin on paper
and cloth, they narrate mythological
and religious events.
North of the river
Ganges, in the state of Bihar lies
a land called Mithila, shaded by old
mango groves and watered by melt water
rivers of Nepal and the Himalayas.
The men of the community have been
famous as priests and scholars. The
women largely illiterate, find cultural
expression through exquisite paintings
created for ritual occasions. They
cover their courtyard walls in abstract
images in brilliant colour, res
embling
in form and function the sand paintings
of the Navahos. In the 1960s some
local officials realised that if the
women would only put some of their
paintings on paper there might be
a worldwide market for their creations.
They proved to be correct and it is
a mild irony in Mithila that the fame
of the women has surpassed that of
the men, because Mithila Art, otherwise
known as Madhubani Paintings also,
is now recognised throughout the world.
The art of Mithila
is linked to religious ceremonies,particularly
marriage and its consequence, procreation.
Interspersed with the Vedic marital
rites, with the Sanskrit chanting
by the Brahmins, is a tradition controlled
by the women and devoted to female
deities Durga, Kali and Gauri. The
bride and groom are pulled away by
the women for their own ceremonies
devoted to Gauri in which men other
than the groom are forbidden. Gauri
is the goddess to whom the bride has
prayed since childhood to bring her
a good husband. These ceremonies are
performed in courtyards before painted
images of the goddesses. The function
of the paintings being ritualistic
the art is very symbolic.
The primordial
energy of the universe is embodied
in 
various
female forms, both living women and
Goddesses. Some common themes include
one of the Snake goddess, a form in
which snakes are worshipped at Nag
Panchmi during the monsoons, a time
when snakes abound. Durga astride
her tiger is another common representation.
Probably the most powerful symbolism
is the one associated with Duragoman
Puren. A single seed that is dropped
in the pond produces many lotus flowers,
an appropriate thought for the bride
and the groom at the time of their
wedding. Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess
of wealth, is a newer and common addition
to the repertoire of Mithila symbolism.
Among the male deities Ganesha, Krishna
and Shiva are more commonly depicted.
Trees, birds and animals are extensively
used in combination with other ritual
and religious paintings. Sometimes,
rarely, one will see these alone without
religious implication.
Wall
Paintings
The paintings on
wall have deeper themes, also narratives,
for they are the stories being told
sometimes in a series of panels. Apart
from their decorative purpose, they
also constitute a form of visual education
like picture books, from which ones
learns of ones heritage. Some outstanding
ones are done in the Madhubani area.
They have a naivete and simplicity
which perhaps is their attraction,
that both soothes and pleases the
eyes.
The multiarmed
DURGA riding the lion flanked by serpents,
with their upraised hoods, is awesome.
The subject matter varies according
to the occassion. The Gods and Goddess
are normally there to bless. Their
most elaborate picture is in the nuptial
chamber the "Kohbar Ghar"
designed to bless the couple. Here
there will be divine couples like
SHIV-PARVATI, RADHA-KRISHNA, then
the signs of fertility and prosperity
for good luck like elephants, fishes,
parrot, turtoil, the Sun, the Moon,
bamboo, shrubs in bloom and trees
laden with giant flower. The women
with very limited resources use indigenous
colours that they can make themselves
and find bamboo sticks wrapped in
cotton for painting. Painting on the
wall is communal act done by all the
women of a family or group.
