Sabrina Rajan

The Warli are an indigenous tribe living in the hilly and coastal terrains of the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. Their art tradition stretches back to 2,000-5,000 BCE. Modern day artistes and designers have begun discovering Warli art and using their art forms involving a set of geometric shapes — a circle, triangle, and square — to paint and decorate contemporary objects such as lampshades, sarees and ceramic pots. Simple and beautiful, Warli art captures details of the social life of village folk, and was usually painted on walls of homes and other buildings.

Warli art basics

A few geometric patterns such as a circle, triangle and square are repeated over and over again. Two triangles joined together at their tips form people. Stick hands and legs are added. Triangles are used for mountains and trees. The circle often represents the sun or moon. Squares denote land and/or sacred places.

Materials

Traditionally, white pigments were used to paint on earthen or terracotta walls. The white pigments were made from a mixture of rice paste, water and gum. A chewed bamboo stick at one end was used as a paintbrush. Warli art was used to pass on folklore to the next generation. It often shows human figures in action — people hunting, farming or dancing.

History

Warli art was discovered in the 1970s in Maharashtra but dates back to as early as 3,000 B.C. It is named after the Warli tribe, the largest tribal population in Maharashtra.

Colours

Traditionally, natural colours were used for the background, and figures were in white. The colours used were henna, indigo, ochre, black, mud and brick red.

Warli art today

It is still used to paint eye-catching scenes on walls. In addition, poster colours can be used on handmade paper of different colours. A dark coloured handmade sheet (red, black, dark green) can be chosen, and a scene can be painted in white. Alternately, black painted on white or off-white handmade paper also looks great. Warli art forms are also visible on sarees, churidars, coasters, lampshades, pots and doors.

Also read: The Importance of Art Appreciation