The jadupatua scrolls are a very old tradition among the aboriginal Santhal people of Bihar and West Bengal. The Santhal people, one account tells us, speak their own pre-Dravidian language of Santali, worship their own Santal bongas or spirits, regulate their village life in a democratic manner and celebrate their own santal festivals with dancing and feasting. The scrolls are painted by itinerant minstrel/healers known as jadupatuas, or 'magic painters'. They earn their living by wandering from village to village showing scrolls and chanting the traditional tribal stories of creation, death and life in the underworld. The scrolls consist of twenty or more indivdual story panels arranged vertically, which are unrolled and rerolled as the story is sung. Older scrolls were painted on fabric. Those shown here, dating from the last sixty years, are painted in natural paints on paper - generally a series of individual sheets sewn together.
Note:
With the high cost of shipping many of our customers choose to ship by USPS. For small and light shipments this is usually less expensive, but please be aware that their estimates are often wrong and their service can be very slow (sixteen days for Priority Mail from Philadelphia to New York City recently). The service is not always as economical as it may appear, particularly on larger or more valuable shipments. USPS estimates only include insurance up to $100 for its domestic shipments. If you ask for full insurance we will recalculate the shipping cost and send you an invoice for any difference in cost. For overseas shipments USPS will not insure for over $650. On request we can get estimates for overseas shipping from DHL.
