Majuli asks : GI Tag
The traditional Majuli masks and Majuli manuscript painting in Assam were given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- Majuli are handmade masks traditionally used to depict characters in bhaonas, or theatrical performances with devotional messages under the neo-Vaishnavite tradition, introduced by the 15th-16th century reformer saint Srimanta Sankardeva.
- Srimanta Sankardeva established this art of masks through a play called Chinha Jatra.
- The masks can depict gods, goddesses, demons, animals and birds — Ravana, Garuda, Narasimha, Hanuman, Varaha Surpanakha all feature among the masks.
- They can range in size from those covering just the face (mukh mukha), to those covering the whole head and body of the performer (cho mukha).
- The masks are made of bamboo, clay, dung, cloth, cotton, wood and other materials available in the riverine surroundings of their makers
- Traditional practitioners are working to take the art out of their traditional place in sattras, or monasteries, and give them a new, contemporary life.
- Majuli manuscript painting also originating in the 16th century done on sanchi pat, or manuscripts made of the bark of the sanchi or agar tree, using homemade ink.
