Description
Wooden Mask of Kushmandi, also known as Kushmandi Mask or Gomira Dance Mask and locally as Mukha,is a traditional cultural heritage of Kushmandi, Dakshin Dinajpur in the Indian state of West Bengal. The unique art form of the wooden masks is prepared by the Rajbangshi community of Dinajpur district of West Bengal. These masks are used by this community during the performance of a ritual dance called Gomira.It is a ritualistic non-vocal dance form mask worn by the local communities during the performance, to usher in Good forces and drive out Evil forces from the Villages. This is a tradition that has been going on for more than five decades. Moreover, these masks have found a new market as a decorative craft. Kushmandi’s wooden mask has been included in the purview of intervention since 2013, under the aegis of RCH project and covers a total of 168 artists.
The Rajbangshi (or Rajbanshi) community is an indigenous ethnic group primarily found in North Bengal, Lower Assam, Bihar, Nepal, and Bangladesh. They are the largest aboriginal group in Northern West Bengal and are the traditional custodians of the Kushmandi wooden mask craft
- Characters: Masks often depict mythical and local deities such as Kali, Ganesha, and Durga, as well as characters from the Ramayana like Jatayu.
- Visual Style: Known for bold, sometimes ferocious expressions, with intricate details such as dilated nostrils, fangs, and wrinkled skin.
Kushmandi’s Wooden Mask has been accredited with a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2018.”
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