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Source: Pulitzer center

Context

Sohrai Art from Jharkhand was highlighted at the Kala Utsav 2025 held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the President of India praised it for embodying "the soul of India.”

What is Sohrai Art?

• Sohrai is a traditional ritual wall painting art form practiced by the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Kurmi, Agaria, and Ghatwal tribes of eastern India. 
• It is primarily created by women on the mud walls of houses, using natural pigments and bamboo twigs as tools.

When is it celebrated?

• Sohrai art is mainly painted during harvest festivals, particularly Diwali, as a way to honour livestock, fertility of the land, and agrarian prosperity. 
• It serves as both a thanksgiving ritual and a celebration of womanhood and rural life.

Geographic Significance

• The tradition is widely practiced across Hazaribagh, Santhal Parganas, and bordering areas of Bihar, and is also found in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. 
• Its origins trace back to prehistoric cave art, later evolving into decorations on village homes.

Features of Sohrai Paintings

• Known for their bright colours, detailed patterns, and symbolic motifs.
  
  
• Depict themes drawn from nature and the universe, such as forests, rivers, animals, and celestial elements.
  
  
• Created using natural materials like charcoal, clay, and soil.
  
  
• Painted exclusively by tribal women as part of community traditions.
  

Sohrai Festival

A Sohrai festival is celebrated annually to mark the harvest season and the onset of winter, during which these wall paintings play a central role in festivities.

Source: Pib