Manasa chali, or ''Manasa bari,'' is a type of idol of Debi
Manasa
Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Lower Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and p ...
made of
Terracota
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
in
Panchmura
Panchmura is a gram panchayat under Taldangra intermediate panchayat, in Khatra subdivision of Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is from Bishnupur and is famous for the terracotta Bankura horse, a folk artefact and now ...
,
West Bengal, India
West Bengal (, Bengali language, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over ...
. It typically features a small figure or a group of three figures in the middle with rows of
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
hoods fanning out in a half moon shape.
''Chali'' or ''bari'' is
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
for 'the shade of something'. ''Chali'' is referred to here as 'the shade of idol' or 'the besh of idol', like
Chalchitra. These idols have two basic colors, reddish-yellow and black.
Object of worship
Manasa, the snake deity, is worshiped primarily for protection from snakebites. The story of ''
Chand Saudagar'' (The Devotee of Shiva) is well-known throughout the
Bankura district
Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman distri ...
. Manasa Chali and the Manasa Ghat are worshiped in
Panchmura
Panchmura is a gram panchayat under Taldangra intermediate panchayat, in Khatra subdivision of Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is from Bishnupur and is famous for the terracotta Bankura horse, a folk artefact and now ...
.
Geographical Indications
Manasa chali is registered under the
Geographical Indications
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, named Bankura Panchmura Terracota Craft on 28 March 2018.
See also
*
Bankura horse
Bankura horse is the terracotta horse, produced in Panchmura village in Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has been praised for “its elegant stance and unique abstraction of basic values.” Originally used for village rit ...
*
Crafts of India
*
Pottery in the Indian subcontinent
Pottery in the Indian subcontinent has an ancient history and is one of the most tangible and iconic elements of Indian art. Evidence of pottery has been found in the early settlements of Lahuradewa and later the Indus Valley Civilisation. Tod ...
References
{{Bankura topics
Geographical indications in West Bengal
Culture of West Bengal
Terracotta
Bankura district