![]() Distribution of Warli population in the then Bombay Presidency, 1945 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
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Maharashtra • Gujarat | |
Languages | |
Varli | |
Religion | |
Animism • Hinduism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
The Warli or Varli are an indigenous tribe (Adivasi) of western India, living in mountainous as well as coastal areas along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and surrounding areas. They have their own animistic beliefs, life, customs and traditions, and as a result of acculturation they have adopted many Hindu beliefs. The Warli speak the unwritten Varli language which belongs to the southern zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. Waralis have sub castes such as Murde varli, Davar varali.
Warlis are found in Jawhar, Vikramgad, Mokhada, Dahanu and Talasari talukas of the northern Palghar district, parts of Nashik and Dhule as well as Navapur taluka of Nandurbar of Maharashtra, Valsad, Dangs, Navsari and Surat districts of Gujarat, [1] and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. [2]
The Warli speak the Varli language, classified as Marathi, with some degree of influence from Bhili.
Varli is classified under Marathi by Grierson (Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India) as well as A.M. Ghatage (Warli of Thana, vol. VII of A Survey of Marathi dialects)
In the book The Painted World of the Warlis Yashodhara Dalmia claimed that the Warli carry on a tradition stretching back to 2500 or 3000 BCE. Their mural paintings are similar to those done between 500 and 10,000 BCE in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, in Madhya Pradesh.
Their extremely rudimentary wall paintings use a very basic graphic vocabulary: a circle, a triangle and a square. Their paintings were monosyllabic. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature, the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to obey a different logic and seems to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. So the central motive in each ritual painting is the square, known as the "chauk" or "chaukat", mostly of two types: Devchauk and Lagnachauk. Inside a Devchauk, we find Palaghata, the mother goddess, symbolizing fertility. [3] Significantly, male gods are unusual among the Warli and are frequently related to spirits which have taken human shape. The central motive in these ritual paintings is surrounded by scenes portraying hunting, fishing and farming, festivals and dances, trees and animals. Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe, and of the couple, and has the practical and amusing advantage of animating the bodies.
The pared down pictorial language is matched by a rudimentary technique. The ritual paintings are usually done inside the huts. The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth and cow dung, making a Red Ochre background for the wall paintings. The Warli use only white for their paintings. Their white pigment is a mixture of rice paste and water with gum as a binding. They use a bamboo stick chewed at the end to make it as supple as a paintbrush. The wall paintings are done only for special occasions such as weddings or harvests. The lack of regular artistic activity explains the very crude style of their paintings, which were the preserve of the womenfolk until the late 1970s. But in the 1970s this ritual art took a radical turn, when Jivya Soma Mashe and his son Balu Mashe started to paint, not for any special ritual, but because of his artistic pursuits. Warli painting also featured in Coca-Cola's 'Come home on Diwali' ad campaign in 2010 was a tribute to the spirit of India's youth and a recognition of the distinct lifestyle of the Warli tribe of Western India. [4]
Warli Painting is the cultural intellectual property of the tribal community. Today, there is an urgent need for preserving this traditional knowledge in tribal communities across the globe. Understanding the need for intellectual property rights, the tribal non-profit Organisation "Adivasi Yuva Seva Sangh" initiated efforts to start a registration process in 2011. Now, Warli Painting is registered with a Geographical Indication under the intellectual property rights act. With the use of technology and the concept of social entrepreneurship, Tribals established the Warli Art Foundation, a non-profit company dedicated to Warli art and related activities.
The Warli were traditionally semi-nomadic. They lived together in small-scale groups with a headman leading them. However, recent demographic changes have transformed the Warli today into mainly agriculturists. They cultivate many crops like rice and wheat. Warli women wear toe-rings and necklaces as a sign of being married. Some Warli practice polygyny. [5]
Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the north-west, and the smaller enclave of Dadra, which is surrounded by Gujarat. Silvassa is the administrative headquarters of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east. The hinterland east of the coast has numerous river valleys, riverine islands and the hilly slopes known as the Western Ghats; that lead up into the tablelands of the Deccan. The region has been recognised by name, since at least the time of Strabo in the third century CE. It had a thriving mercantile port with Arab tradesmen from the 10th century. The best-known islands of Konkan are Ilhas de Goa, the site of the Goa state's capital at Panjim, and the Seven Islands of Bombay, on which lies Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the headquarters of the Konkan Division.
Palghar is a town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, India and a municipal council. It is in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and since 2014 it has been the administrative capital of the Palghar district. Palghar lies on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway in the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail corridor. The town is located about 87 kilometers north of Mumbai, about 35 kilometers north of Virar and about 24 kilometers west of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway at Manor.
Bhil or Bheel refer to various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. They speak various languages of Indo-Aryan origin, owing to language shift, collectively referred to as the Bhil languages. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages.
Jawhar is a city and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division of India. Jawhar was a capital city of the erstwhile Koli princely state of Jawhar. Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar is known for its picturesque setting and a vibrant cultural heritage. It is one of the few remaining tribal regions of Maharashtra and is known for its vibrant Warli painting that are a characteristic landmark of this place. Established in 1918, Jawhar is one of the oldest municipal councils in the state of Maharashtra and tourist spot near Mumbai.
Dahanu is a coastal town and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is located 110 km from Mumbai city and hosts Adani Power’s thermal power station. It is the site of the approved Vadhawan Deep Water Port.
Kaparada is a taluka in Valsad district, Gujarat, India, near the border to Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. It is a predominantly Adivasi tribal district. The major tribes are Kokna and Warli. Kaparada is called Cherrapunji of Gujarat receiving highest rainfall in the state.
Jivya Soma Mashe was an artist of the Maharashtra state in India, who popularised the Warli tribal art form.
Dhodia are an Adivasi people who have been placed in the Indian communities recognition, under Schedule Tribes. The majority of the Dhodia tribes are located in the southern part of Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan. In Maharashtra, they are found mainly in the district of Thane. They speak Dhodia language, which has some unique words, as well as some words influenced by Gujarati and Marathi.
Warli painting is tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra, India. Warli paintings exist in cities such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and Vikramgad of Palghar district, and originated in Maharashtra, where it is still practiced today.
The following outline is provided as an overview of, and topical guide to, India:
The Marathi—Konkani languages are the mainland Southern Indo-Aryan languages, spoken in Maharashtra and the Konkan region of India. The other branch of Southern Indo-Aryan languages is called Insular Indic languages, which are spoken in Insular South Asia.
Nagar Haveli is one of the two talukas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli District, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. It is surrounded by the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The Rathva or Rathwa is a Subcaste of the Koli caste found in the Indian state of Gujarat. Rathava Kolis were agriculturist by profession and turbulent by habits but now lives like Adivasis such as Bhil because of their neighborhood
Kokni, Kokna, Kukna is an Indian Adivasi tribal community found in Sahyadri-Satpura Ranges of Maharashtra and in Gujarat and is believed to have originated in the Konkan patti of Thane district. It is also known as Kokna, Kokni, and Kukna. There are various opinions regarding the origin of this tribe since no adequate research has been made. They are recognized as a scheduled tribe in the Indian states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Saura painting is a style of wall mural paintings associated with the Saura tribals of the state of Odisha in India. These paintings, also called ikons are visually similar to Warli paintings and hold religious significance for the Sauras.
The Katkari also called Kathodi, are an Indian tribe from Maharashtra. They have been categorised as a Scheduled tribe. They are bilingual, speaking the Katkari language, a dialect of the Marathi-Konkani languages, with each other; they speak Marathi with the Marathi speakers, who are a majority in the populace where they live. In Maharashtra the Katkari have been designated a Particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), along with two other groups included in this sub-category: the Madia Gond and the Kolam. In the case of the Katkari this vulnerability derives from their history as a nomadic, forest-dwelling people listed by the British Raj under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, a stigma that continues to this day.
Palghar District is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. The headquarters of the district is the town of Palghar. Other major cities in the district are Vasai-Virar, Talasari, Jawhar and Dahanu.
Jangarh Singh Shyam (1962–2001) was a pioneering contemporary Indian artist credited with being the creator of a new school of Indian art called Jangarh Kalam. His work has been exhibited widely the world over including Bhopal, Delhi, Tokyo and New York. His most notable exhibitions include the Magiciens de la terre in Paris (1989) and Other Masters curated by Jyotindra Jain at the Crafts Museum, New Delhi (1998). His 1988 piece Landscape with Spider sold for $31,250 at Sotheby's, New York, in 2010—a first for an adivasi artist. Jangarh had also painted the interiors of the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh, the Vidhan Bhavan, and the dome of Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan—one of the most prestigious museums of tribal and contemporary Indian art. He was among the first Gond artists to use paper and canvas for his paintings, thereby inaugurating what is now known as Jangarh Kalam.
Tarpa is a tribal instrument originating from Western India. It is a wind instrument, played by blowing into a reservoir chamber that is connected to two bamboo pipes which are attached to a resonating chamber. The makers and players of this instrument primarily belong to the Warli tribe of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Tarpa, alongside the Dhol is the primary instrument played at Warli gatherings and festivities. Other associated aspects of Warli life and culture pay heed to the Tarpa playing a significant role for the community- the dance form performed with the music of the instrument, is also referred to as Tarpa-dance, and the Tarpa event is a prominent motif featured in Warli paintings.