Polls come and go, but Sahariyas’ plight still poor

Polls come and go, but Sahariyas’ plight still poor

PT  Facts

News:

1. The Sahariya tribal community of Shahbad region in Baran district, Rajasthan which recorded 47 starvation deaths during the 2001 drought, has been waiting for concerted welfare measures that could take them out of poverty, unemployment and malnutrition.

Important Facts:

2. About Sahariya tribal community:

• This is a 70,000-strong community has been classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group because of its low development indices.
• It is the only primitive tribe of the Rajasthan.
• They follow Hindu religious practices and speak a dialect influenced by Hadoti.
• The main business is gathering and selling of forest wood, gum, Tendu leaf, honey, fruits and vegetables.
• Sahariya tribal have been preserving and conserving the traditional white chalk on red background Mandana drawings, seen on the walls and floors of rural houses.

3. Tribal art of mandana:

• Mandana paintings are one of the oldest forms of tribal art in India that has survived over the ages.
• Famed for warding off evil and acting as a good luck charm, the tribal paintings are derived from the word ‘Mandan’ referring to decoration and beautification and comprises simple geometric forms like triangles, squares and circles to decorate houses.
• The art is typically passed on from mother to daughter and uses white khariya or chalk solution and geru or red ochre.
• Twigs are used to draw on the floors and walls of their houses, which are first plastered with clay mixed with cow dung.

Mandana art work on the walls of Rajasthani mud huts from Shilpgram, Udaipur.