The women called “savasin” meaning married women whose husbands are alive, paint a “chauk”. The paintings, which were the preserve of the womenfolk until the late 1970s took a radical turn when a man, Jivya Soma Mashe started to paint, not for any special ritual, but on regular basis.
Tribesmen shun all influences of modern urbanization. Warli Art was first explore in the early seventies. when the practice of embellishing the walls of the house was the only means of transmitting folklore to a general populace not versed in the written word. In many important respects, this highly ritualistic art form differed greatly from the folk and tribal art known to urban India until then. It did not narrate mythological stories in vibrant tones nor did it contain the robust sensuality of the paintings found in Eastern India. Usually the Warli paintings are done during the marriage ceremony and they call them as “Lagnacha chauk” meaning marriage paintings.
An Indian folk art painting, has traveled across borders and are now the cherished possessions of many a collector and art lover. This painting are traditionally done by the tribals from Thane district. The Tribals are primarily an agriculture-dependant tribe and their houses are made of thatched mud-huts, which are constructed in such a way so that they all surround a central cell. During the harvest season, happy occasions like weddings and births, their houses are adorned with a vocabulary of patterns. This custom gave rise to what we now know as the Warli Painting.
