Khovar Art

Khovar art is a traditional mural painting practice from the Hazaribagh region of Jharkhand, historically associated with marriage rituals and ceremonial spaces. The word "Khovar", believed to derive from "Kho", meaning cave and "Var" meaning room, refers symbolically to the sacred marriage chamber, where these paintings were created to invoke blessings, fertility, and harmony for newly married couples.

Practised by women across the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, and other indigenous communities, the tradition is distinguished by its striking monochromatic style and a remarkable comb-cut scraping technique: walls are layered first with dark manganese-rich clay, then a lighter surface, from which artists scrape away patterns using fingers, combs, and twigs, revealing intricate linear forms that feel simultaneously ancient and architectural. Peacocks, bamboo, lotus, elephants, turtles, and forest-inspired motifs carry layered meanings around love, strength, purity, and continuity.

Transmitted across generations through observation and collective practice rather than formal instruction, Khovar represents a women-led knowledge system of quiet sophistication. In recent decades, cultural initiatives have brought the tradition to paper, canvas, and exhibition spaces, though its essence remains rooted in ceremony, memory, and the natural world.