Santhal Woman Creating Sohrai Art on Wall

24-Mar-2026

This image showcases the famous Sohrai art from Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, a traditional art form of the Santhal tribe. In the photograph, a woman from the Santhal community is seen painting a bird figure on a wall, representing the key themes of Sohrai art such as nature, birds, and animals. The woman first outlines the figure using black lines and then fills it in with natural colors. The colors used in this art are entirely derived from natural soil — red is obtained from red ochre clay, black from manganese or black soil, and white from lime or white clay. Sohrai art is considered primarily a matriarchal tradition, in which women of the Santhal tribe decorate the walls of their homes with natural colors and have passed down this art from generation to generation.