The Vertical Chronicles of Jharkhand: The Jadopatia Paintings
The Jadopatia Paintings Deep in the interiors of Jharkhand, where the forest winds carry the songs of the ancestors and the villages are repositories of centuries of unbroken memory, art has always been more than just aesthetic expression. Here, art is evidence of how people l...
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A Heritage of Oral Memory and Painted Storytelling
Oral storytelling has historically been the backbone of folk culture in Jharkhand, transmitted through songs, dances and ritual performances. Tribes did not rely on written text; rather, knowledge lived in gestures, chants, and visual symbols.
The Santhal tribe, one of India’s largest indigenous communities, became guardians of this storytelling culture. In particular, the Santhals of the present-day Dumka district developed a unique variant of the eastern Patachitra tradition: the Jadopatia scrolls.
Unlike Bengal’s narrative scrolls, which are often horizontal, the Santhals painted theirs vertically, as if representing the ascent of life into the afterlife or the descent of divine stories into the human realm.
These were not framed art pieces but portable storytellers, carried by wandering artists who sang each section while unrolling the scroll like a slow-moving film.
Etymology: What the Name Reveals
The word 'Jadopatia' (or 'Jadupatua') carries layers of meaning:
"Jadu" refers not to magic but to the community of painter-storytellers.
"Patu" / "Pat" means scroll.
Thus, a Jadopatua is a painter of scrolls, and Jadopatia is the art of scroll storytelling.
Traditionally, these artists were called Chitrakars, respected for their ability to narrate myths, interpret omens, and even mediate between the living and the dead.
A Bridge to the Afterlife
Ethnographic accounts tell us that in earlier centuries, Jadopatua artists played an unexpected spiritual role. When someone died, the painter would visit the grieving family with a scroll that depicted the afterlife, bridges, rivers, punishments, and heavens.
The family paid the artist, not merely for the artwork, but for the ritual of narration, which symbolically guided the soul toward liberation.
Thus, the scroll was not a commodity; it was a passage.
Distinctive Features of Jadopatia Scrolls
The Jadopatia scroll has its grammar, a visual language built over centuries:
1. Construction of the Scroll
Made from hand-stitched or glued paper sheets, often recycled or sourced from traders.
Backed with old cotton fabric for strength.
Rolled around bamboo sticks, portable for travelling Storytellers.
2. Visual Style
• Elongated human figures, almost skeletal,
• Bulging forehead, stylistic Santhal marker
• Minimal features on face; focus on posture, not on expression
• Clean, rhythmic lines and thick colour-blocking
This simplicity is not a lack of detail; it is an intentional visual code born out of tribal aesthetics.
3. Colours and Symbolism
Every hue is drawn from earth:
Red from vermilion or river clay → associated with mythology, bloodline, and ritual
Yellow from turmeric → purity and celebration
Blue from indigo → divinity and strength
Black from lamp soot → the unknown, the protective
Green from bean leaves → fertility
Brushes made from goat hair or porcupine quills show how deeply sustainable the tradition has always been.
Themes That Populate the Scrolls
Each scroll is divided into vertical “frames,” like ancient comic strips that narrate the following:
1. Life-cycle Rituals
Birth → marriage → death → afterlife
These themes reaffirm Santhal cosmology, where life is cyclical, not linear.
2. Tribal Everyday Life
Festivals like Baha, agricultural labour, hunting scenes, and community gatherings.
3. Mythology
Santhal myths blend effortlessly with Hindu epics. Stories of:
Bidri (Santhal creation myth)
Chandi
Episodes from Ramayana, Pandavas, etc.
4. Nature and Totems
Animals appear not as fauna but as spiritual markers, tigers, elephants, and birds symbolizing protection, energy, or ancestral spirit.
5. Social Themes (Contemporary Scrolls)
Modern Jadopatua artists have begun creating scrolls on the following:
environmental loss
migration
Swachh Bharat
tribal rights and identity
Birsa Munda’s freedom struggle
The scroll is no longer a static tradition; it is evolving into a voice of protest and preservation.
Where the Art Stands Today?
Time has not been kind to Jadopatia.
The tradition of travelling storytellers declined when
printed calendars replaced handmade scrolls
televisions and phones replaced oral storytelling
younger Santhal generations sought stable income
villages were absorbed into urban-industrial belts
Many artists shifted to daily wage labour or migrated for work.
Only a handful of families in Dumka continue painting, and even fewer continue singing them.
Yet, there is a revival underway:
NGOs and cultural organizations organize exhibitions
heritage researchers document scrolls
social media is giving visibility to tribal artists
government and private bodies are funding workshops
Still, what this art needs most is sustained interest, not occasional applause.
The scrolls no longer travel from village to village, but their stories still wait to be unrolled.