Saura

The Saura people of southern Odisha have created ritual wall paintings called Ikons for centuries. These paintings are made as offerings to Idital, the supreme deity of the Saura, and are believed to carry protective spiritual power for the household.

Saura art was largely unknown outside its community until the 1950s and 60s, when researchers and craft organisations documented it. The Odisha government subsequently promoted the art form, helping artists transition to paper and canvas.

Today, Saura painting is recognised as a distinctive art form with GI protection. Contemporary artists work on paper and cloth, maintaining the traditional white-on-red visual language.

Saura paintings use white rice paste or paint to create figures and symbols on a red or ochre background. The figures are stylised and almost hieroglyphic — humans and animals rendered as simple white forms arranged in complex compositions.

The visual vocabulary includes horses, elephants, peacocks, the sun, moon, trees, and geometric symbols — each carrying specific ritual significance. Compositions are typically symmetrical and arranged in registers.