Artisan Villages of Odisha : a Concept of Open Air Museum
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Odisha Review April - 2015 Artisan Villages of Odisha : A concept of Open Air Museum Manoj Mishra In many cases the distinction between a museum and Future of a Visionary Idea”. Living history and a rural tourist site is not always clear and the museums are a type of Open Air Museums where two often overlap, this situation means that museum costumed interpreters portray period life in an and rural tourist sites must face similar if not the earlier era. The interpreters act as if they are really same set of challenges and prospects, when it living in a different time and place, such as the comes to the management of resource and the colonial era, and perform everyday household visitors. Museums have gone beyond walls. Even task, crafts and occupations. The goal is to a thickly populated artisan village can be referred demonstrate older lifestyles and pursuits to as a great repository of living culture where the modern audiences. Household tasks may include objects on display are no more confined within cooking in an open hearth, churning butter, four walls. Unlike conventional museums where spinning wool, weaving clothes, steaming paddies the galleries are stagnated and objects being so as to make it edible, watering the betel vine displayed are kept in glass made niches, here in etc…many living museums features traditional an artisan village, everything which catches the craftsmen at work such as blacksmith, potter, attention of a tourist is in a living form. There may weaver etc….. be a variety of objects like making of toys out of cowdung, betelnuts, paddy, lacquer, terracotta India is the only country in the world with etc. painting of a pattachitra, watering a betel a unbroken, living vibrant tradition of crafts. While leaf garden, harvesting of paddy using bullocks agriculture employs the largest number of people etc…. in India, the craft sector is the next and sustains over 20 million practitioners. In earlier days, the An open air museum is a category of caste system had sustained crafts production museum that exhibits collection of buildings and because of the social immobility of the artisans artifacts out of doors. European open air museums and the demand for crafted objects being are variously known as Skansen, folk museums restricted to local demands. In a traditional village etc…A recent form is the eco museum, which society, there lies a deep interrelationship between originated in France. A comprehensive history of artisans and the societal structure. In traditional open air museum as idea and institution can be village society, identification of artisans through found in Swedish museologist Sten Rentzhog’s their names, reasons why there is concentration 2007 book “Open Air Museums : The History of artisans in certain castes, issues of landlessness 80 April - 2015 Odisha Review or small farmers as part time artisans depending finally embodied in the idea of Open Air on the season, the social interaction of craft Museums. As is known, the first open air museum persons with other communities and their of monuments brought from different places was equations etc… are some other issues which need established in 1891 in Sweden by the famous to be explored. ethnographer A. Hazelius. It is the “Skansen" museum in Stockholm. Later this name evolved Artisans of Odishan villages are engaged as a noun for open air museums. Currently there in making articles of decoration required for are more than 90 museum reserves in Russia. More festival days in temples and households which has than half of them is devoted to the protection of not only provided them their living but also the rural cultural heritage. Modern open air opportunities for artistic expression. Whether the museums are just not a place for preservation of article be tie and dye textile or appliqué work, monuments of national, architectural and cultural terracotta, lacquer or brassware, filigree value, but often they become popular tourist ornaments or patta paintings etc. All these have centers that attract visitors who are inclined to made the daily life of Odisha people artistic and know more about local people and their way of offered them avenues for trade and commerce in life. There are certain villages of Odisha which other parts of the country and even abroad. The have already started receiving worldwide attention once nourishing state of maritime trade and as established heritage craft villages. These are commerce of this land bears testimony to this fact. Raghurajpur and Pipili in Puri, Khiching in One can explore social history in village Mayurbhanj, Barpali in Bargarh, Hirapur in settlements, open air museums and rural Khurda, Padmanavpur in Ganjam, Deulajhari in household goods/ exhibits telling the story of Angul and Konark Natya Mandap. Let’s focus working people’s daily lives in rural heritage crafts our attention on the two most soughtafter villages villages. There one can look at domestic life, of Puri district. everyday objects, traditional crafts, old cottages, preserved villages etc… RAGHURAJPUR Once Mahatma Gandhi came out with the Rural tourism in Odisha has great future, view that just as the universe is contained in the since it not only provides natural elements of self, so as India contained in the villages. A special beauty but also the indigenous local traditions, place in the global history of museums is occupied customs and foods. Direct experience with local by the expositions devoted to the countryside and people can be a unique selling proposition to the culture of rural life. Rural museums are a attract tourists. Raghurajpur village, a small village relatively new phenomenon in the world. near Puri, is well-known for its art and culture. It Museums in the open areas located in the natural is situated on the southern bank of the river environments are a well known phenomenon of Bhargavi, about 14 km away from the city of Puri. European culture. Thus groups of rural dwellings It has occupied a prominent position in India’s with their traditional artifacts, places of worship cultural map. The village represents the rich cultural and infrastructure facilities began to appear as heritage of the state of Odisha. Almost every museum objects. Such artifacts cannot even be family in Raghurajpur village is engaged in art and placed in very huge buildings. Such kind of craft works, and as such it wouldn’t be an museums needed a different philosophy that was overstatement to refer to it as the artisan’s village. 81 Odisha Review April - 2015 Surrounded by coconut, jackfruit, mango and Bhubaneswar with Puri. Pipili is located at 20.12° some other tropical trees, this village has a very N 85.83° E. It is at Pipili that one takes a turn pleasant atmosphere. The nearby paddy fields are and moves eastward to proceed to Konark, the dotted with numerous betel-leave gardens. This site of the Sun Temple. As a legend would have village houses numerous small temples dedicated it, the Pipili derived its name from Pirs (holy to Lord Lamxinarayan, Radha Mohan, Muslim saints), many of whom lived in this area. Raghunath, Gouranga, Gopinath and Bhuasuni, Appliqué’, which is a French term, is a technique which happens to be the local deity of this village. by which the decorative effect is obtained by Almost every house in Raghurajpur village has a superposing patches of coloured fabrics on a skilled artist. The artists are seen busy engaged in basic fabric, the edges of the patches being sewn various activities like the patta paintings, in some form of stitchery. It is distinct from what engravings on palm leaf, as well as creating stone is known as patch work in which small pieces of idols, masks, wooden idols, sculptures and toys. cut fabrics are usually joined side by side to make The community of artisans in Raghurajpur creates a large piece of fabric or for repairing a damaged various types of handicraft items including fabric. Though the form is not unknown in other talapatachitra, patachitras, which are the folk parts of India, it is in Odisha and especially in paintings in Odisha, papier - mache toys, tusser Pipili that the craft has a living and vibrant tradition paintings and cow-dung toys. They have continuing over centuries. While most appliqué developed mastery in creating poetry on cloth, craftsmen are concentrated in Pipili, there are quite dried palm leaf or paper. Patachitra painting is a few in Puri and Khallikote, Parlakhemundi and considered as the internationally celebrated art Boudh. Appliqué works of Pipili is also known form of Raghurajpur village. There are about 103 as patching cloth design. The local name of this houses, having approximately 311 artisans in handicraft is Chandua. As with many other Raghurajpur village. Some of these artists are the handicrafts of Odisha, the roots of the appliqué National Award winners. The three Patas painted art/craft form is interwined with the rituals and by the Chitrakaras in this village are placed on traditions of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity the Singhasana or the deity throne of the main of the Puri temple. The appliqué items are mainly Jagannath Temple in Puri, during anasara (the used during processions of the deities in their fortnight following the full-moon day) in the months various ritual outings. Items like Chhati, Tarasa of May-June. The Chitrakaras also create and Chandua are used for the purpose. However, beautiful paintings on the chariots of popular Rath the appliqué work in its colourful best is most Yatra in Puri. Besides these arts and crafts, prominent in the cloth cover of the three chariots Raghurajpur village is also famous for its of the presiding deities in which they travel every traditional performing dance, known as Gotipua.