what is warli art

Warli art is a traditional form of tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra, India. The Warli painting tradition in Maharashtra is among the finest examples of the folk style of paintings. The Warli tribe is one of the largest in India, located outside Mumbai. The Warli culture is centered on the concept of Mother Nature, and elements of nature are often focal points depicted in Warli painting. Farming is their main way of life and a large source of food for the tribe. The simple pictorial language of Warli painting is matched by a rudimentary technique. The ritual paintings are usually created on the inside walls of village huts. The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth, and red brick that make a red ochre background for the paintings. The Warli only paint with a white pigment made from a mixture of rice flour and water, with gum as a binder. A bamboo stick is chewed at the end to give it the texture of a paintbrush. Warli Painting is traditional knowledge and cultural intellectual property preserved across generations. The tribal non-governmental organization Adivasi Yuva Seva Sangh helped to register Warli painting with a geographical indication under the intellectual property.