Idital or Edital is a form of Indian painting from the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. It is a kind of

Saura painting Saura painting is a style of wall mural paintings associated with the Saura tribals of the state of Odisha in India. These paintings, also called ''ikons'' (or ''ekons'') are visually similar to Warli paintings and hold religious significance f ...

that was invented and is practiced by the

Sora people The Sora (alternative names and spellings include Saora, Saura, Savara and Sabara) are a Munda ethnic group from eastern India. They live in southern Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The Soras mainly live in Gajapati, Rayagada and ...

who mostly live in

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryavan ...

, Gajapati and Koraput districts of Odisha. The artisans paint Idital as a symbol of devotion to the tribal deity "Idital" or "Edital". Each piece of Idital painting contains symbols and signs and each one of them convey a distinct meaning. "''Jodisum''" and "''Jananglasum''" are two known Idital styles.

Origin and History

Seven out of the 62 tribes of Odisha decorate their wall with mural paintings. Sora are known for their wide range of painting styles based on religious and ceremonial themes. They have invariably religious association for which they are called ''italon'' or ''ikon''. ''Ikon''s used to be originally painted on the walls of the adobe huts of the Sora people. ''Ikon''s are worshipped during special religious and cultural occasions such as child-birth, harvest, marriage and the construction of a new house. Iditals are generally made to pay tribute to the deities and ancestors.

Theme, color and style

The iconic line drawings of Idital are based on simple geometrical forms. Humans,

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

, the sun, the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and the

tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...

are some of the recurring motifs in the ''ikon''s. The backgrounds of the paintings are prepared from red or yellow ochre earth which is then painted over using brushes created from tender

bamboo shoots Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...

. Natural dyes and chromes derived from ground white stone, hued earth, and

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...

and mixtures of

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

seed, flower and leaf extracts are used for ''Ikon''s."TRIBES ODISHA - SAORA IDTAL PAINTINGS"
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References

External links

* Arts of Odisha Culture of Odisha Indian painting {{art-technique-stub