AIPAN-RITUAL FLOOR PAINTINGS
AIPAN IS A ritual of Kumaon,drip-drawn on the floor and walls where religious ceremonies are to be performed.The symbolic white patterns differ for each ceremony and social occasion.Traditionally,aipan on the threshold are freshly made every morning.the ground is first prepared by smearing it with a liquid mixture of clay,cowdung and straw.When it dries,a coat of geru,red clay,is applied and allowed to dry.the artist,a woman,swiftly draws out the prescribed motif in rice paste using her ring finger,anamika,and moving out from the centre.The rice paste drips onto the ring finger from the other fingers.The aipan is drawn freehand,from memory.Aipans are drawn on floors walls on the chauki on which a deit is placed the threshold.in the courtyard ,on pots containing the tulsi plant and on winnows.They are drawn for ceremonies of birth,marriage,death and thread ceremonies,and for the various festivals throughout the year.
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The central part of the aipan is considered ceremonial and has a prescribed motif while th outer part is decorative and can be extended or reduced to fit an important element without which the aipan is considered unfinished.Aipan for a dead person is without dots on the 12th day.Three days later it is rubbed out with mud and a new one made with the dots.The aipan on the floor of the prayer room and the deity`s seat has Tantric motifs,called peeth or yantra,related to the deity.The Kitchen walls are painted with animal motifs.Wedding aipans are made from turmeric,vermilion and charcoal.Entrances to homes are decorated with good luck patterns,many times just vertical white lines.These are now being painted on greeting cards,wall hangings and other products.
AIPAN IS A ritual of Kumaon,drip-drawn on the floor and walls where religious ceremonies are to be performed.The symbolic white patterns differ for each ceremony and social occasion.Traditionally,aipan on the threshold are freshly made every morning.the ground is first prepared by smearing it with a liquid mixture of clay,cowdung and straw.When it dries,a coat of geru,red clay,is applied and allowed to dry.the artist,a woman,swiftly draws out the prescribed motif in rice paste using her ring finger,anamika,and moving out from the centre.The rice paste drips onto the ring finger from the other fingers.The aipan is drawn freehand,from memory.Aipans are drawn on floors walls on the chauki on which a deit is placed the threshold.in the courtyard ,on pots containing the tulsi plant and on winnows.They are drawn for ceremonies of birth,marriage,death and thread ceremonies,and for the various festivals throughout the year..jpg)
The central part of the aipan is considered ceremonial and has a prescribed motif while th outer part is decorative and can be extended or reduced to fit an important element without which the aipan is considered unfinished.Aipan for a dead person is without dots on the 12th day.Three days later it is rubbed out with mud and a new one made with the dots.The aipan on the floor of the prayer room and the deity`s seat has Tantric motifs,called peeth or yantra,related to the deity.The Kitchen walls are painted with animal motifs.Wedding aipans are made from turmeric,vermilion and charcoal.Entrances to homes are decorated with good luck patterns,many times just vertical white lines.These are now being painted on greeting cards,wall hangings and other products.
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