Traditional Crafts

Jharkhand is known for its wood work, bamboo works, pitkar paintings, tribal ornaments and stone carving. The beautifully carved wood products and bamboo products show the craftsmanship of the people. Lack of promotion and marketing for these products has mostly resulted in extinction of some crafts like paitkar paintings and stone carvings.

Wood Craft
Once a dense forest area, Jharkhand with the abundance of wood, resulted in the use this for creating variety of wood articles for household requirements. The artisans of the region were involved in beautifully designing different articles of household use. These include door panels, boxes and windows besides wooden spoons etc. These carved and designed articles are beautiful and has good market both in India and abroad.

Bamboo
The bamboo found in the Jharkhand forest are thin but flexible and strong. Using these, the artisans of Jharkhand produce different artifacts like basket, haunting and fishing equipment.

Paitkar Paintings
One of the oldest tribal paintings in India, these are also called scroll paintings due to its appearance, depicts life after death. This form of painting is in the process of extinction due to lack of funds for promoting it.

Metal work
The Malhar and Tentri communities in the State are experts in the metal crafts and make household wares.

Stone Carving
Another traditional craft of the tribes in the area is stone carving but it is also in the process of extinction. Only few stone carvers are left with the knowledge and they are also not doing it as it does not generate any revenue.

Ornaments
The tribals in Jharkhand region are found of ornaments and artisians of the region make simple ornaments using gold, silver or beeds. These ornaments are simple but depicts the traditional culture of the region.

Toy Making
In the hilly regions of Jharkhand and around its capital city Ranchi, there dwell families who, for generations have revelled in toy making. Their wooden cut outs, glossed with an eye-catching canary paint depict the nature around. Of course the sizes are miniaturised for they are really playthings for children that have wheels for mobility or detachable limbs that allow free acrobatics manipulated by the pulling of string. These agile puppets are usually made from palm leaf slivers painted with pink dots and finger paintings, giving the right accents to a day of fun and frolic.

The love of the people of Jharkhand for the grand weddings and their accompanying fanfare is reflected in the toys also. The toy traders recreate the wedding of Lord Rama or the elephant god Ganesha in the toys. The lord as a groom is draped in a canary yellow lower garment or dhoti, the typical wedding finery for a bridegroom. The tinges of gold on the garment and the veiled face of the toy bride complete the ambience. Of the scenes of nature nothing pleases these craftsmen more than the sight of a flock of brilliant parakeets in paddy green feathers. The contrasting red of the beak is a bonus that few can overlook. But the bird is not a boring depiction of its realistic form. Only the colours of the bird are copied and then re-designed in folk art forms of well- defined lines and frozen posture forms.

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