WARLI ART

Warli art is an ancient Indian folk art, tradition of painting of a Maharashtrian tribe called warli. They build their square bamboo huts coated with mud and cow dung and these mud walls are painted at the time of ritual functions and marriage ceremonies. The Warli tribe is fond of folk art and they worship gods, goddesses and ritual culture too. They depict their traditional lifestyle and their customs and traditions through this art of painting. Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings. Warli art is known for its monochromatic depictions that express the folk life of socio-religious customs, imaginations & beliefs. The Warli Tribe has still preserved their independent existence through Warli art and folk dance “Tarpa Nrutya”.  Earlier Warli paintings used to be etched out on walls of Warli’s houses, but nowadays they are being painted on papers, vases, mugs, bed sheets, textiles and apparels too. The wall paintings are done only for special occasions such as weddings or harvests. These paintings do not depict social life. Images of human beings & animals, along with scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. Nested at the foot of the western ghat range in Maharashtra, India is the settlement of an ancient tribe known as the warli’s. These tribal people, who survive on forest produce & worship nature, have carved an international niche for themselves by virtue of their artistry. The name of the clan has given the name to the art form & today we know it as the warli painting.