Odyssey Tours & Travels

4 min read

Chhattisgarh

Arts & Crafts

Artisans in Bastar sell their handicrafts to various co-operatives, which have outlets in Kondagaon, Parchan Pal and Kumharpara villages. An estimated 15,000 artisans work with bamboo, jute, terracotta, wrought iron and bell-metal and create simple yet enchanting objects.

Kondagaon (70 km from Jagdalpur en route to Raipur) is home to many bell-metal artisans including Dr Baghel. Close to Kondagaon is the Bastar Aadi Shilpa craft centre in Bhelvapadar. Kumharpara (74 km away, 1 km from NH43 on Narainpur Road) has beautiful terracotta items at Saathi Samaj Sewa Sanstha where you can also get to see artisans at work. At Chilkuti (20 km from Jagdalpur), you can pick up bell-metal craft items.

This area is home to the craft of casting bell metal by the lost-wax process. The process involves making a mould with a thread drawn from bee wax, between two layers of clay. Molten metal is then poured into the mould and the wax drained out. The method, called ghadawa or dhokra, is used to make idols.

All the artisans’ establishments mentioned above are either workshops or showrooms. The many bell-metal idols, terracotta images and bamboo dolls you will find here are definitely worth more than what you will pay for them. These are also available in Jagdalpur in an entire row of handicraft shops. At the Kosa Silk Centre nearby, you can watch silk being processed.

Weekly Markets

The village haat is usually a weekly event where all the communities gather and celebrate. Though it is structured around the theme of buying and selling, the haat becomes significant in many other ways.

It is in the bustle of a haat that the people of neighbouring villages meet each other, exchange news, gossip and pass on invitations. Often a local festival is organised on the day of the haat and then it becomes an extended celebration.

The haat is generally dominated by women except in one arena - that of cockfights, where men rule the roost as cock-trainers or punters.

But the village haat is now fast changing its character, influenced in equal measure by the permanent markets in town and the invasion of plastic. One unchanging practice, though, is the consumption of the local brews. Landa and mad are brewed from rice and mahua respectively, while sulphi is the fermented sap of the palm tree. The brews are treated as refreshing ales and are served free.

Club Culture

The ghotul is a social institution in Bastar, its forms and extent varying from community to community. Strictly speaking, the ghotul is a village dormitory, a youth club, a bachelor's home, a house for unmarried girls or a common dormitory for both young men and women. Murias are its greatest adherents.

The origin of the institution can be traced back to Lingo Pen, the heroic ancestor of the Gonds. According to Verrier Elwin (a missionary who chose to marry a local girl rather than convert others), the first ghotul was “as beautiful as the horns of a bison, beautiful as a horse’s throat The lord of the house (Lingo) wore a turban like a white gourd-flower, his dhoti was of coloured silk, his shirt shone in the sun, his clogs were made of sandalwood…”

A ghotul of the Murias is a rectangular-shaped house with bamboo walls plastered with mud, a thatched roof and a big courtyard and bamboo fencing. The cheliks (unmarried boys) and motiaris (unmarried girls) begin to gather here by nightfall, to sing, dance or just laze around. Boys and girls choose partners conforming to the clan rules of exogamy. Some ghotuls encourage permanent partnerships while others prohibit associations of more than three nights.

According to Elwin, the ghotul was not just a club, but a place where freedom and happiness were treasured. Sympathy, friendliness, unity and hospitality were of primary importance. Love was beautiful, clean and precious and sex was a part of life. Today, ghotuls are fast disappearing.