warli folk painting

Warli Folk PaintingThe trademark of Warli paintings is the use of geometric designs such as triangles, circles, squares, dots and crooked lines to depict human figures, animal figures, houses, crops etc.

Warli art expresses the folk life and customs, imaginations and beliefs of the East Indian

tribe called Warli. On most paintings white color is used on a red earthen background.

Earlier Warli painting used to be etched out on walls of Warli houses, but nowadays, they are being painted on paper, vases, mugs, bedsheets, and clothes too.

The word “Warli” come from the word “warla” which means the piece of land. Warli is the name of the biggest tribe found on the Northern outskirts of Mumbai in India.

• The typical subjects on which Warli Art is done are : • Festival • Harvest• Folk story • Celebration• Marriage

The major highlight is these all have people in group depicting the social life.

What the symbols mean

• Circle: representing the sun and the moon

•Triangle: triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees

•Square: indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. So the central motive in each ritual painting is the square

These geometric figures are joined together to form beautiful patterns .Like two triangles are joined together to form a human figure.