Saura Art is a style of wall Painting painted by the Saura tribes of the state of Odisha in India. These paintings also called ikons (or ekons) and they are dedicated to their God, Edital. Do you feel that these paintings look similar to Warli painting? Well if you look closely, you will find they are quite different and unique.
When a new house is constructed, a new house is painted. And every special occasion demands a new ekon. The old ones are not destroyed unless the house needs a new coat of paint. They are made during the celebration of harvest, childbirth, marriage during which they are worshipped. Traditionally the community priests known as Kudangs are qualified to do the ekon.
The dyes are naturally made from rice, white stone, flower and leaf extracts. The brushes that are used for painting are made from tender bamboo. The background of the paintings is prepared from red or yellow ochre earth.
What do you find in Saura paintings
The Saura paintings represent the daily lives of the Saura tribes in the villages. They are basically tribal pictograms using stick figures. So you will find paintings of people doing their daily chores like working, farming, hunting as well as celebrating and dancing. The characters tell us the stories through their gestures and not their facial expressions.
The art also includes other natural elements like the Sun or the moon, the trees, the animals and the birds. The tree of life or the sacred tree is beautifully drawn in almost all paintings. There are also symbols which convey special meaning and purpose.
In almost all the paintings, there is a house like structure with different levels in it.
Now let’s have a closer look at their paintings.
The people
The figures in Saura paintings are long and slightly bend forward to show that they are in action. The gestures show them working in their natural surroundings. The paintings have several rows of human forms depicting different moods and activities. Since these murals are drawn for their festivals and important occasions in their lives, the people of the tribe are shown many times as dancing and playing the musical instruments.
The animals
The animals that we see around us are what we see in Saura paintings too. The monkeys, the elephants, cows, horses, deer are part of their lives. With few symbolic curved lines, they draw these animals with such accuracy and beauty.
The tree of life
The concept of the tree of life is widespread in many religion and philosophical tradition. Saura art represents the tree in various forms but the leaves are clustered in circles and semi-circles.
The patterns
The patterns that are used between the scenes in these paintings are simple and mostly geometrical. They are adorned in just the right amount so that the focus is still on the activities of the villagers.
How it differs from Warli painting
Though some feel that Saura paintings look similar to Warli paintings, they are quite different in how Saura paintings are painted, the characters are drawn and the detailing is done.
Saura art is drawn in a ‘fishnet’ approach where the border is drawn first and then they work to fill the center of the painting to paint.
The male and female drawn in Saura are larger and elongated compared to the Warli art figures. The strokes are more curved and not as geometrical as we see in Warli paintings.
The paintings are arranged in blocks and there are almost no room or empty space. All parts of the painting are almost evenly spread.
Art lesson for kids
Let’s paint our own Saura painting now. I have used markers or sketch pens to paint this painting. Use colors you like. Now think about the activities of these people in the villages. Try and draw them with stick figures. Each separated block should represent a set of activity. Take block by block to complete the entire painting.
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