TRIBE – KUTIA KONDH
Breif Introduction
Kutia Kondhs are generally found in the Phulbani district.In the Kondh language the word Kuttia means a pit or a hole.They inhabit in the Belghar and in the villages like Bulubaru, Madalkuna, Rangabaru, Tuakela, Deogada, Talampadar, Ushabali etc.and in the nearby areas. The head of each village is called ‘Jani’. They obey and perform all the traditional festivals directed by jani.
Love for Art - In the different times of the year they worship the deity (Penu) as per set rules and offer worship and promise sacrifices. In their social life each possesses more or less some sort of art acumen. The festivals they observe accompany the promises they make for sacrifices to different deities . For the same a sacrificial post is used.It is seen that in those posts various designs are carved. These express their love for art and paintings. The young ladies of the Kutia Kondhs have always fascination for putting on dresses and ornaments. During the festivals they enjoy dancing and singing and sometimes decorate their house by painting their door jambs and walls.
Art - The art presentation on the door jambs and walls seem to be inferior than the Dongaria Kondhs.These Jhoti paintings are very general in nature. In the language of the Kutia Kondhs picture is called “Tikangkuda” . For each festival they sweep the wall clearly some how or other and over it draw cross lines paintings in rice powder paste through a stick brush.At places they spill rice powder paste by their finger on the wall which resemble that of the rice plants with ripe rice bunch. Alongwith the same they role graphite stone with water and apply drops of the same through their finger on the wall.
In the outer wall and door jamb of the house this type of painting is visible.In their pictures branches, flowers, creepers, etc are marked by their absence.Only the women folk prepare these Jhoti paintings. There is no special paraphernalia in beginning the Jhoti art. The painting is also devoid of any subject.Another sample of the kutia Kondh Painting is tattooing of the body.Step their own bodies they engrave different designs . Their love for art is exemplified in this body decoration.They believe that when man dies the tattoo will go with him to heaven.With that belief the male and female both willingly tattoo their body.
Some opine that tattooing is a liking with the Kondhs and as such they are called Kutia Kondhs from the meaningless wall paintings they paint and tattoo flowers, leaves, branches, quadrangles etc. on different parts of the body in a well-developed manner.In various parts of the body, such as face, arm, lower arm, breast, foot and thigh etc. they tattoo and get immense pleasure in so doing. Thus the tattoo may be taken as a hobby art of these people and that may be considered as such.In these tattoo signs they express their excellence in art creation.Some scholars have said that the tribal women tattooed their body solely for the purpose of ornamentation. Some others say that they were tattooing on the body to be identified in the life after death.
Tattooing in different parts of the body is a painful work. They get much pleasure in drawing different figures daring pain only to enhance the beauty of the body at the cost of hurting their person. In this case the women outstep the men for the love of art. They bear much pain with ease. On the face and on both the hands much of tattooing is seen. In the tattooing process they sing various songs. By that way they forget pain to the muse of the song. They believe that no one take anything with him after death but he or she will take the art of tattooing to heaven. This indicates that how they intimately love art. The intimacy of tattoo with the way of life is honourably mingled with the folk belief and they can not forget or separate it even if they could try.
From the words of the people many thing come out relating to tattooing.In the past during the invasion of the Moghuls, Maratthas and the English the tribal women were raped at random. To escape such torture the tribal women willingly deformed their faces taking resort to tattooing. If there is no truth in this supposition then why they were tattooing in the face and hand in an artful fashion ? The time period of this event is now a thing of the past. Then why they are inducing their offsprings for tattooing till this date ? From another investigation it is known that the tradition of the art of tattooing is not from the date of the foreign invasions of the historical period subsequent to the Moghuls but it exists from a very long time . The song which is sung during tattooing operations is found not in a proper background alongwith its summary. Besides this it is difficult to know why male members were tattooing although the women were disfiguring their faces. So the above imagination is surely baseless.
The process of tattooing is a different affair. First of all, straw is brunt and it is added with castor oil to be in a liquid form. Then with a needle branches, flowers, creepers, etc. are pricked as per designs . On the same this liquid is poured. During this time there is severe pain which is to be endured. To ward off this pain other friends sing song . For eight to ten days the pain remains in the body . Just before the marriage or from the childhood some girls tattoo themselves with keenness. The love for art is their main fascination they believe that and by this the beauty of the body is enhanced.The art found engraved in the sacrificial post of the Kutia Kondhs is also mysterious . But if one asks them the meaning of it he does not get all the answers easily . In the middle of each village one such sacrificial post is there.
In conclusion this much can be said that the entire Jhoti art of the Kondhs can not be estimated so easily. If proper research is not made in a large scale then many facts will remain unexposed. Jhoti art is a part of their life and there is no doubt about it. To maintain the environment in tune with the preparation for neat and cleanliness it is absolutely necessary to print the walls with Jhoti and they are quite conscious of the same. The tribal art is the first identity of art civilization of the tribals. By Jhoti art they welcome the ancestors and visitors and their invisible invitation draws the incoming person to that house.
Kutia Kondhs are generally found in the Phulbani district.In the Kondh language the word Kuttia means a pit or a hole.They inhabit in the Belghar and in the villages like Bulubaru, Madalkuna, Rangabaru, Tuakela, Deogada, Talampadar, Ushabali etc.and in the nearby areas. The head of each village is called ‘Jani’. They obey and perform all the traditional festivals directed by jani.
Love for Art - In the different times of the year they worship the deity (Penu) as per set rules and offer worship and promise sacrifices. In their social life each possesses more or less some sort of art acumen. The festivals they observe accompany the promises they make for sacrifices to different deities . For the same a sacrificial post is used.It is seen that in those posts various designs are carved. These express their love for art and paintings. The young ladies of the Kutia Kondhs have always fascination for putting on dresses and ornaments. During the festivals they enjoy dancing and singing and sometimes decorate their house by painting their door jambs and walls.
Art - The art presentation on the door jambs and walls seem to be inferior than the Dongaria Kondhs.These Jhoti paintings are very general in nature. In the language of the Kutia Kondhs picture is called “Tikangkuda” . For each festival they sweep the wall clearly some how or other and over it draw cross lines paintings in rice powder paste through a stick brush.At places they spill rice powder paste by their finger on the wall which resemble that of the rice plants with ripe rice bunch. Alongwith the same they role graphite stone with water and apply drops of the same through their finger on the wall.
In the outer wall and door jamb of the house this type of painting is visible.In their pictures branches, flowers, creepers, etc are marked by their absence.Only the women folk prepare these Jhoti paintings. There is no special paraphernalia in beginning the Jhoti art. The painting is also devoid of any subject.Another sample of the kutia Kondh Painting is tattooing of the body.Step their own bodies they engrave different designs . Their love for art is exemplified in this body decoration.They believe that when man dies the tattoo will go with him to heaven.With that belief the male and female both willingly tattoo their body.
Some opine that tattooing is a liking with the Kondhs and as such they are called Kutia Kondhs from the meaningless wall paintings they paint and tattoo flowers, leaves, branches, quadrangles etc. on different parts of the body in a well-developed manner.In various parts of the body, such as face, arm, lower arm, breast, foot and thigh etc. they tattoo and get immense pleasure in so doing. Thus the tattoo may be taken as a hobby art of these people and that may be considered as such.In these tattoo signs they express their excellence in art creation.Some scholars have said that the tribal women tattooed their body solely for the purpose of ornamentation. Some others say that they were tattooing on the body to be identified in the life after death.
Tattooing in different parts of the body is a painful work. They get much pleasure in drawing different figures daring pain only to enhance the beauty of the body at the cost of hurting their person. In this case the women outstep the men for the love of art. They bear much pain with ease. On the face and on both the hands much of tattooing is seen. In the tattooing process they sing various songs. By that way they forget pain to the muse of the song. They believe that no one take anything with him after death but he or she will take the art of tattooing to heaven. This indicates that how they intimately love art. The intimacy of tattoo with the way of life is honourably mingled with the folk belief and they can not forget or separate it even if they could try.
From the words of the people many thing come out relating to tattooing.In the past during the invasion of the Moghuls, Maratthas and the English the tribal women were raped at random. To escape such torture the tribal women willingly deformed their faces taking resort to tattooing. If there is no truth in this supposition then why they were tattooing in the face and hand in an artful fashion ? The time period of this event is now a thing of the past. Then why they are inducing their offsprings for tattooing till this date ? From another investigation it is known that the tradition of the art of tattooing is not from the date of the foreign invasions of the historical period subsequent to the Moghuls but it exists from a very long time . The song which is sung during tattooing operations is found not in a proper background alongwith its summary. Besides this it is difficult to know why male members were tattooing although the women were disfiguring their faces. So the above imagination is surely baseless.
The process of tattooing is a different affair. First of all, straw is brunt and it is added with castor oil to be in a liquid form. Then with a needle branches, flowers, creepers, etc. are pricked as per designs . On the same this liquid is poured. During this time there is severe pain which is to be endured. To ward off this pain other friends sing song . For eight to ten days the pain remains in the body . Just before the marriage or from the childhood some girls tattoo themselves with keenness. The love for art is their main fascination they believe that and by this the beauty of the body is enhanced.The art found engraved in the sacrificial post of the Kutia Kondhs is also mysterious . But if one asks them the meaning of it he does not get all the answers easily . In the middle of each village one such sacrificial post is there.
In conclusion this much can be said that the entire Jhoti art of the Kondhs can not be estimated so easily. If proper research is not made in a large scale then many facts will remain unexposed. Jhoti art is a part of their life and there is no doubt about it. To maintain the environment in tune with the preparation for neat and cleanliness it is absolutely necessary to print the walls with Jhoti and they are quite conscious of the same. The tribal art is the first identity of art civilization of the tribals. By Jhoti art they welcome the ancestors and visitors and their invisible invitation draws the incoming person to that house.
