Sid Maharaj

Gouache on paper, 40 x 32 cm, 250 USD

We Baigas pray to Sid Maharaj, the deity of prosperity, who lives in a stone at the end of the forest high up in the hills. He helps us to find good firewood and other forest produce in the jungles. He is also a protector. Whenever I go to the forest to collect firewood, I visit his shrine. He keeps me safe from the wild animals and spirits that lurk there.

Curator’s Note: 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.