Santhal Pat or Story Scroll

A boat full of passengers, a man with a yoke, and two swimmers at the bottom.

This pat or story scroll is Santhal, from Bihar and Jharkhand, India, and dates to the 19th through the mid 20th century. It is painted paper. Scrolls of this kind are generally associated with traveling storytellers in eastern India who unrolled each scene as they sang. Here a woman with a pot on her head stands beside a man carrying two baskets on a pole. Below, three passengers sit in a long curved boat, one blowing a horn. Two figures swim in a framed panel at the foot. Red accents mark clothing and hair. It is 7.75 inches wide by 34 long.

A very detailed ferry timetable.