Folk Arts

Beyond Modernity and Capitalism exists a world deeply rooted in ecosystem. A society that is aware of not just its human relationships, but the space in which it exists and the ecological interventions that directly or indirectly impact the culture, traditions, ideology and life on a macro scale of the same. Animals which have been completely eradicated from urban spaces except the domesticated ones, play a major role in the lives of these societies untouched by institutionalized religion and corporates. Of course nothing escapes their grasp but a few kilometers away from a metropolitan city like Kolkata, we come in contact with this liminal world of humans and nature diminishing the anthropocentric ideals and this is where our story begins.

In many tribal societies, the peacock is considered a sacred animal or can be seen as a God's carrier, a holy entity, or a deity itself. It is a belief that the Santhals of eastern India originated as the descendants of the Peacock God, 'Moreko' from their father's side. The folktale survives until today and the Santhals keep peacocks in their homes as a heavenly entity. There are artifacts made of burnt clay, metal casting often known as 'Dokra', and handicrafts made from bamboo sticks that represent the figure of the peacock in Jhargram, Birbhum, and Bankura districts of Bengal. Dokra craft or the lost wax method of metal casting ranges from artifacts that represent animals like elephants, owls, deer, and other animals. The Tusu festival celebrated by the Kurmi tribes during the harvest of new rice crops in the Jhargram district of West Bengal can be seen worshiping idols of the Tusu Goddess who rides a peacock, where the role of the peacock is that of a sacred carrier. 

The Dunhuang dance of South Asia, in Central and Western China, revolves around the story of the God Bodhisattva Guan Yin who is believed to have a thousand hands. The ethnic dance is often performed by women where hand gestures often represent the peacock and other mythical birds. In the Jataka tales it is believed that Bodhisattva came in the incarnation of a golden peacock and similar folklore can be found in the context of South Asia as well. The transmission of folklore could be due to auto migration or even diffusion. Different versions of the type sets are sometimes grouped into subsets based on the development of the normal form. The folklore around peacocks and different versions of the tale is portrayed through different folk arts be it folk dance, music, hand gestures, traditions, customs, festivals, material artifacts, myths, and legends.