Ritual of Baghesur Dev

Gouache on paper, 21 x 30 cm, 200 USD

In order to appease Baghesur Dev, the tiger deity, we Baigas perform a pooja or ritual in a shrine made of tiger statuettes in clay and mud. We smear them with saffron or ochre paste as the villagers chant and sing. An animal is usually sacrificed, the severed head offered at the shrine’s altar. Its meat is distributed among the members of the community as prasad or blessed food. I have portrayed this ritual in my painting, showing the animal sacrifice to appease our tiger god.

The Baiga tribe is one of several hundred adivasis, the “first inhabitants” of India who mostly live in remote, difficult to reach regions of the country.