The Village Where Women Shape Magic from Earth

Mask Makers of Chadhiapalli

By Indrani and Soumya from Svanir Wilderness Ecostay

Our journey into art and craft started in small villages that most people had never heard of. I still remember the day we were searching for the last betel nut craft artist in Ganjam. Hearing that he had died during Covid, we were heading back dejected and had stopped near a huge banyan tree for a quick bite. Here we noticed a makeshift poster hung from its prop roots showing enormous masks. In front of it, a vegetable seller was sitting dejected. “There’s a village where people build temples now,” the vendor told us when we asked about the masks.

Following his animated hand signals, accompanied by directions and landmarks which only a local would know, we took a leap of faith and took a detour. Our hearts raced in anticipation as I followed his directions, bumping along narrow one lane roads, asking for directions at every corner. Finally, a village appeared, a neat row of houses with a village temple at one end. The streets were completely empty, but we spotted an old lady sitting quietly at the entrance of her house, enjoying the sun. “Go to the third house on the left,” she said. “They’re at work.”

Looking at our lost faces, she indicated that we should follow her. We entered a dimly lit room and a flight of steps into a hidden world. We had stepped into a 400 year old craft still practiced by the Maharana community. Their ancestors came from Seraikela in Jharkhand, masters of Chhau masks, who moved here under the patronage of the poet king Upendra Bhanja in the late 1500s or early 1600s.

“Four generations have worked here,” says Arati Maharana, her eyes bright, who welcomed me at their rooftop studio with a non existent parapet. The mask makers of Chadhiapalli used to be men, with women only helping with materials and painting. The earnings were small. When the men switched to building temples, the women kept the tradition alive.

Now they lead the craft, their skilled fingers shaping what the men left behind. Children start learning at twelve or thirteen, beginning with tiny toy masks so the knowledge never dies. “We’ve kept this craft alive through kings and famines.” The masks are made from November to March or April, when the dry air and strong sunlight help the cow dung creations dry properly. They carry their finished masks to festivals in Puri, Kulada, Bhanjanagar, and Bellaguntha for Rath Yatra and Dol Purnima.Standing on the roof, we couldn’t help but feel mesmerized by the riot of colours and masks in various shapes and stages of coming alive before us. Tigers are most popular, but deer, cows, elephants, swans, and peacocks appear too, along with Narasimha in nutty brown, Kali in jet black, and Ganesha in dove grey. Jewels and crowns burst with red, yellow, and sky blue. Their most special creation is the Chadhiamunda, a bearded bird hunter crowned with a perched bird, used in chadhia nacha during Danda Yatra.

What I found fascinating is that while the world rushes toward plastic, these women have held on to traditions. They still use cow dung, wood dust, chalk, waste paper and cloth for strength, and tamarind seed glue to hold it together. When we met them four years ago, they shared their struggle. Although thirty five artisans lived in the village, the government hadn’t recognized them as an artisan cluster. Today, we can proudly say that our efforts to bring them into the spotlight have paid off. The women artists of Chadhiapalli have finally been recognized by the Department of Handicraft. They’re receiving their artisan cards and are now recognized as a cluster. A design and development program is starting under the Guru Shishya Parampara Abhiyan, where a skilled trainer from Bhubaneswar will help them develop new designs.

Contact Priyanka to buy from the Mask Makers of Chidhiapalli : +91 77353 47843