🔆 Sohrai Painting – A Timeless Tribal Art Form 📍 Context: The Indian Prime Minister recently gifted a Sohrai painting to the Russian President at the BRICS Summit. 🔆 About Sohrai Painting ✅ A folk/tribal mural painting tradition mainly practiced by women from indigenous communities in the Hazaribagh region of Jharkhand. ✅ Practitioners belong to Kurmi, Santal, Munda, Oraon, Agaria, Ghatwal ethnic groups. ✅ Meaning: 'Soh' or 'Soro' means to drive away, while 'Rai' means a stick. 📍 Key Features ▪️ Believed to originate from ancient rock art, dating back to the Meso-chalcolithic or Stone Age. ▪️ Depicts animals, flowers, plants, geometric figures, and Shiva as Pashupati (Lord of animals). ▪️ Matriarchal tradition – Art form is passed down from mothers to daughters. ▪️ Themes: Focus on mother-child bond & nature. 🔆 Khovar & Sohrai Connection ▪️ Women painting Sohrai also create Khovar – another wall mural tradition. ▪️ Sohrai is linked to harvest, while Khovar is associated with marriages (Kho = Cave, Var = Bridal couple). ▪️ Annual Sohrai Festival – Celebrates harvest season & arrival of winter. #sohraipainting #tribalart #indianculture #jharkhandart