The people and place
Warli communities live in Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Their best-documented visual tradition is mural painting, historically made by women on earthen walls for ritual and communal occasions.
A language of relation
Circles, triangles and squares build human figures, animals, crops and movement. Scenes of cultivation, dancing, marriage and village life place the individual inside a larger social and ecological field. The well-known circular tarpa dance is often read through mutual support and collective rhythm.
Women and the wall
Women were central to the ritual practice and transmission of Warli wall painting. Commercial painting later moved the imagery onto paper and canvas, widened participation and changed how authorship and income were organised.