Santhal Pat or Story Scroll
About this piece
Three tall women with baskets on their heads look straight out, unbothered by everything happening below.
This pat or story scroll is Santhal, from Bihar / Jharkhand, Bihar, India, and dates to the 19th / mid 20th century. It is painted paper. Painted scrolls in this region are traditionally unrolled panel by panel while a storyteller sings, often recounting creation tales and the passage of the soul after death. In ink and pale washes, three crowned women with long black hair stand above a pair of oxen. Further down, trees in pink and ochre frame birds, small figures, a serpent and groups of people at their daily business. The paper is stained and creased between panels. It is 122 inches wide and 7 high.
A great many characters, and all of them taking turns.
