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Mithila (India, North Bihar) - Kayastha Women at Jitvarpur Decorating Their Hands   [Title Translation]

Mithila (Indien, Nord-Bihar) - Handbemalung der Kayastha-Frauen in Jitvarpur   [Other Title]
Year of origin: 1973
Genre: Documentary Film
Locations of shooting: n/a

Credits
Production company: Erika Moser Schmitt (Heidelberg)
First released by: IWF (Göttingen)
Distributor: IWF (Göttingen)
Author: Erika Moser-Schmitt


Keywords: Mithila, Farbe, Farbstoff, Handbemalung, Kastenwesen, Kayastha-Frauen, Malen, Malerei, Mehndi, colour, dye, Kayastha women, mehndi, painting
The film shows the sixteen-year-old Durga Kumari decorating her hand with a mehndi painting. Her mother, Bhagvati Devi, prepares the mehndi paste. On a grinding-stone she grinds mehndi leaves, gathered by the girl in the garden near the house, into a fine paste. As tannic acid she adds the juice of a small lemon, to regulate the humidity, small pieces of a dried grass-blade. With the paste Durga Kumari draws a small square in the middle of the inner surface of her left hand. This square, which can be interpreted as a centre of magic power is extended with curved lines and formed into a stylized lotus-flower. Fingers and nails are decorated too with mehndi. Only the nail of the middle finger (in other cases the whole middle finger) is not painted: this finger symbolizes the brother and decorating it would bring harm to the brother. The mehndi is left on the hand for several hours, then the dried paste is removed and the hand is washed. There remains a red painting absorbed into the skin shich will keep for several weeks.

Version 1
Language: NULL
Sound: n/a
Aspect: n/a
Duration: 8 1/2 min

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Version 2
Language: NULL
Sound: n/a
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Duration: 8 1/2 min

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Version 3
Language: NULL
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Duration: 8 1/2 min

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Length 93 m Request Copy Button
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