{{Short description|Indian tribal art form}} [[File:Idital Wall Painting.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Idital]] painting]]
'''Saura''' (also "Sora", "Ikons", "Ekons" or "Italons") is a [[mural]] style invented and practised by the [[Sora people]] of [[Odisha]], [[India]]. These paintings are visually similar to [[Warli painting]]s and hold religious significance for the Sora people.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|title=Saura invocations|url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2011/06/19/stories/2011061950330800.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623173601/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2011/06/19/stories/2011061950330800.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 June 2011|access-date=18 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=19 June 2011}}</ref>
== Sora people == [[File:Saura Lady.JPG|thumb|A Sora woman]]
The [[Sora people]] are a [[Munda people|Munda]] [[Adivasi]] tribe [[Tribes of India|in India]]. The Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' mentions of Savari, a devotee of [[Rama]], the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' mention of Jara, the hunter who mortally wounds [[Krishna]], are thought to have been members of this tribe. Myths related to the Hindu deity [[Jagannath]] also mention of the Sora people.<ref name="orissa">{{cite journal|last=Patel|first=C B|title=The Sauras and Their Panoramic Paintings|journal=Orissa Review|date=January 2005|page=53|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/jan2005/englishPdf/Souras_Paintings.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate=19 March 2013}}</ref>
== Paintings == [[File:OpenSpeaks-srb-Idital-Opino Gomango-Namad Dalbehera-Intro.webm|thumb|Indian [[Idital]] artist Namad Dalbehera speaking about the Idital painting]]
The Ikon paintings are an integral part of the religious ceremonies of the Sora people and are found mostly in the southern Odisha districts of [[Rayagada district|Rayagada]], [[Ganjam district|Ganjam]], [[Gajapati district|Gajapati]] and [[Koraput district|Koraput]].<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news |date=February 8, 2011 |title=Painting workshop for school dropouts |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/painting-workshop-for-school-dropouts/article1166748.ece?textsize=large&test=1 |accessdate=18 March 2013 |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> Outside the community, these paintings were first studied by the anthropologist [[Verrier Elwin]].<ref name="orissa" /> The paintings are dedicated to [[Idital]] (also "Edital") the main deity of the Sora people and they draw upon the Sora folklore, showing ritualistic importance. ''Ikon''s make extensive use of symbolically pregnant icons that mirror the quotidian chores of the Sora people. People, [[horses]], [[elephants]], the [[sun]] and the [[moon]] and the [[tree of life]] are recurring [[Motif (visual arts)|motifs]] in ''ikons''. ''Ikons'' were originally painted on the walls of the Sora adobe huts. The painting backdrops are prepared from red or [[yellow ochre]] earth which are then painted over using brushes fashioned from tender [[Bamboo Shoots|bamboo shoots]]. ''Ikons'' use natural dyes and chromes derived from ground white stone, hued earth, and [[vermilion]] and mixtures of [[tamarind]] seed, flower and leaf extracts.<ref name="deccanherald">{{cite news|title=Timeless images|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/191569/timeless-images.html|accessdate=18 March 2013|newspaper=Deccan Herald}}</ref>
Ikons are worshipped during special religious and cultural occasions such as child-birth, harvest, marriage and the construction of a new house. Ikons are not commissioned frequently and an existing one can be regularly used for mundane rituals. The building of a new dwelling however necessitates the commissioning of an ekon, which is painted in a dark corner inside the home where its creation is accompanied by the recital of a specific set of prayers. Traditionally, Kudangs, the priestly class among the Sora people, painted the ikons since they also had the expertise to explain the symbolic import of the images contained therein to the villagers. Thus the ikons also became a part of the aural tradition of the Sora people that linked them to their traditions and customs. Today the Kudangs have been supplanted by artists and paintings are often executed in non-traditional locales.<ref name="hindu" /><ref name="deccanherald" />
== Comparison with Warli paintings == [[File:A Warli painting by Jivya Soma Mashe, Thane district.jpg|thumb|Warli painting from [[Thane district]]]]
Saura paintings have a striking visual semblance to [[Warli painting|Warli art]] and both use clear geometric frames for their construction but they differ in both their style and treatment of subjects. In Saura paintings, a fish-net approach - of painting from the border inwards - is used while this not the case with Warli paintings.<ref name="hindu" /> Although both are examples of tribal [[pictograph]]s that employ [[stick figures]], Warli paintings use conjoint triangles to depict the human body while the figures are not as sharply delineated in Saura paintings. Also, unlike the Warli paintings where male and female icons are clearly distinguishable, in Saura art there is no such physical differentiation.<ref name="deccanherald" />
== Saura paintings today == Their diversity, detail and unique style have given ikons an 'in-vogue-appeal' and increasing popularity in recent years. The influence of markets and increasing awareness about the other's forms have led to both Saura and Warli paintings picking up details of technique and style from the other.<ref name="hindu" /> They have also been popularised in recent times as an avenue for skill and job creation<ref name="thehindu" /> and have increasingly been used to decorate items like T-shirts, greeting cards, stationery and items of clothing.<ref name="thehindu_a">{{cite news|title=TDCCOL to procure Navjeeven products|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/tdccol-to-procure-navjeeven-products/article4183345.ece|access-date=18 March 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=December 10, 2012}}</ref> Saura pattachitra now becoming popular along with its mural painting. [[File:Saura Pattachitra showing Tribal life.jpg|thumb|Saura [[pattachitra]]]]
== References == {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book |author=Kossak, Steven | title= ''Indian court painting, 16th-19th century.'' | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=1997| isbn=0870997831 | url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/12335/rec/74}} (see index: p. 138-142)
{{Odia culture}}
[[Category:Arts of Odisha]] [[Category:Tribal art]] [[Category:Murals in India]] [[Category:Schools of Indian painting]]