Mask the art
Assamese mask-making occupies pride of place on India’s culture map with only a few families carrying on the ancient art form. SHALINI SAKSENA tells you more
Just like the traditional art of making pattachitra in Raghurajpur, Odisha, mask-making in Assam is a custom that dates back to 5th-16th century by a saint-scholar, poet, playwright and social-religious reformer Sankardeva. He holds a place of importance in the cultural and religious history of the State.
Sankardeva not only built on the past cultural relics, he also introduced new forms of music, theatrical performances, dance and literary language and left extensive literary works to scriptures — Bhagavat of Sankardeva — poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali.
“Sankardeva inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam just as Guru Nanak, Ramananda, Kabir, Basava and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inspired it elsewhere in India. It was his return from one of the pilgrimages that he produced a dance-drama called Cihna yatra for which he painted seven heavens. He also created four bamboo masks — Garuda, Rajahansa, Brishabha and Ananthshaiya — to enhance the dance-drama. Sankardev started this mask-making tradition in Assam and popularised their use in religious plays and dance drama,” Bibhuti Mahanta, a 38-year-old artist from Sibasagar, explains. He has been making masks since he was a child.
Mahanta tells you that bamboo, cow dung and potter’s clay is used because these were the raw materials that Sankardev used. “These, back then, were available in abundance and were free of cost. The masks are classified into three categories — mukh mukha (face or head mask), bor mukha (covering the entire body or upper body without any moving parts) and lutukoni mukha (mask covering the entire body with moving parts like hands, beak, eyes and jaw),” Tilak Goswami of Chamaguri satra in Majuli explains.
To make a mask, one needs bamboo, cane, potter’s clay, wood, cotton cloth, natural dyes or synthetic enamel paints and adhesive.
While the State has different kinds of bamboos, the mask can only be made from two kinds — Jati bah and Bijuli bah. “This is because the mask that we make needs to be woven into shapes. A bamboo that doesn’t bend the way we want it to is of no use to us. Even the age of the bamboo is important, it can’t be more than two to three years. Once the bamboo is cut, two-cm strips called kathis are made,” Goswami says.
How intricate and time-consuming mask making is can be gauged from the fact that there are two kinds of kathis, one that is cut from the main shoot of bamboo. Second is katiya kathi which is made by cutting the main shoot cylinder vertically and then cutting each half vertically down into thin long flexible strips again. Katiya kathi is used in mask making because of its strength and flexibility.
As one watches an artist creating the face, it looks easy but Bibhuti tells you that’s deceptive. It is a very precise art work and takes years to master.
“In order to create a face, one needs a certain number of strips. This is called pabh which is the distance between two adjacent nodes of a bamboo shoot. A face mask of around one square foot will be made from one pabh. Of course, we make much bigger masks. In that case, we may end up using two-three pabhs of bamboo. These faces are three dimensional. Therefore, the strips are woven in a hexagonal pattern using six kathis. This weaving pattern is called tumor mur. After much twists and bending the skeleton is ready for further processing,” Bibhuti says.
The next step is to put small pieces of cotton cloth dipped in a mud (potter’s clay) solution. This forms the first layer of the bamboo skeleton. This is then left to dry. Depending on the weather, it may take anywhere from two-four days. During rains, it takes longer. This is also the time when fewer masks are made.
Next is the art of applying cow dung on the mask. The dung too needs to be processed. Gobar is mixed with limestone powder and beaten to form a fine paste. This paste is then applied on the bamboo skeleton that has cloth on it. The cow dung gives the features to the mask. Once this is done, the skeleton is left to dry again. Once completely dry, holes are made for eyes to see through and nose to breathe. Cow dung is the most important part in mask making. Here too age and what the cow eats matters. “The cow can’t be older than four to five years. Also, it has been fed only grass. This is because the masks are worn to perform religious dances. Hence, everything that is used has to be free of impurities,” Bibhuti says.
In the fourth step, another layer of cotton cloth dipped in potter’s clay is put. This is done to prevent the cow dung that adds the facial features like eye brows, nose and eye shape from falling off the mask. Then, with the help of a tool — bamboo knife — expressions are given and the mask smoothened. Again the mask is sun-dried before applying of paint.
Back in the times of Sankardeva, colours were derived from Nature. “For black, charcoal from jamun tree was used. But in its powder form it could not be used. A natural glue was used from a tree bark. Unfortunately, over the years the tree (Bael), has more or less disappeared from Majuli. Also, the entire process of making colour from natural products is tiring and time-consuming. Initially, khorimati (white), hengul (red) and haital (yellow) were obtained from juice of fruits and flowers. Once the colours were obtained, they were mixed with the gum to form colours. We now use enamel paints that are available in the market. They are cheaper and one can make a mask faster,” Dhiren Goswami of Chamaguri satra, tells you.
Enamel paint is used to make the colour brighter and gives the much-needed sheen to the mukha. Traditionally, once the mask was painted, a coat of glue was applied for shine. This also prevented the paint from chipping away.
Dhiren, whose entire family is involved in making masks in Majuli, says that today only a few families are left in Chamaguri to carry on this ancient art form. There isn’t enough money to eke out a living. “It has to be compensated with another source of income. Also, many youngsters are not interested in learning this art. Though there are members who carry on the tradition because it is something that has to be carried forward and has been in the family for generations,” Dhiren says.
Bibhuti agrees. His younger brother works in Guwahati even though he knows how to make the mask, he is happy in his 9 am to 5 pm job. “When he is at home, he does help me and my father who still makes mask at the age of 85,” Bibhuti says.
Interestingly, almost all masks used for dance-theatre are at least 40-50 years old. “These masks are made from natural products and we believe that Nature will preserve it. We have to do our bit and protect it from weather elements. When not in use, they have to be wrapped in a cotton cloth and put away safely. Since the entire structure is made of bamboo, it is very sturdy but one can’t put anything heavy on the masks,” Dhiren says.
He also tells you that they make masks that people can buy. “These are much smaller in size. Tourists who come to Majuli want to carry back a memento. What better than a piece of tradition. We also make mini sized masks. Since they are only a couple of inches in length, they are extremely popular. They are much cheaper than the slightly bigger ones that can cost anywhere from Rs 600 upwards. The smaller ones — Rs 200,” Dhiren says.
The masks used for dance drama are big and heavy. The full body ones are even heavier and weigh up to 8-10 kg, depending on how big the mask is. A Ravana mask with 10 heads is the heaviest. “It is uncomfortable to wear this mask for a long time. It can be suffocating. There are holes to see and breathe but it can get hot inside, after all, cow dung, bamboo, cloth and mud has been used,” Bibhuti says. Ask a dancer wearing a Jambavan get-up what it is to wear it and perform and in broken Hindi he tells you: “Muskhil hai. Par ab ho jata hai.”
There is an interesting story behind how and why wearing the mask to perform dance drama began.
“In the days of Sankardeva, only Brahmins knew how to read and write. The general public was illiterate. In order to ensure that they retained the stories of Ramayana and Narsingh-Hiranyakashipu, one had to give people a face to the character. It was all about visual learning. We have just carried on the tradition,” Bibhuti says.