MillenniumPost
Bengal

Gomira masks to woo visitors from across the globe at Kushmandi during 'Mukha Mela'

Kolkata: Hundreds of people from all over the state as well as foreign countries will attend the three-day Mask Festival called Mukha Mela at Kushmandi in Dakshin Dinajpur which will be inaugurated on October 26.

The department of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises and Textiles, in association with UNESCO, has developed 10 rural craft hubs with 300 artisans and is developing rural crafts and cultural hubs across 15 districts, covering another 12,000 traditional artisans.

About 186 wooden mask artisans, 171 pottery artisans, 63 cane and bamboo artisans and khon mukha artisans from North and South Dinajpur will take part in the festival.

There will be folk programmes at the festival, which has been organised by the Mahishbathan Gramin Hasta Shilpa Samabay Samity and is supported by West Bengal Khadi and Village Industries Board (WBKVIB). It may be mentioned that many of the traditional wooden mask makers had left the profession and joined some other vocation to earn money. After coming to power, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave special emphasis on the revival of the traditional art forms and the department of MSME was assigned to do the job. Kushmandi is the home of about 250 artisans carrying forward the tradition of wooden mask-making of the Rajbongshi community.

The masks make part of the costume of the traditional Gomira dance. It is performed to propitiate the deity, usher in the 'good forces' and drive out the 'evil forces'. Themes of the masks are usually spiritual, historic and religious.

The department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises & Textiles, in association with UNESCO, has developed a Rural Craft Hub at Kushmandi. The artisans' collective runs a Folk Art Centre, which is also equipped with accommodation facility for guests. One can participate in workshops, learn about the history of the community and craft, nuances of mask-making and the fascinating associated stories.

The wooden masks are traditionally objects of worship and devotion. The craft of Gomira mask-making, in its pristine form, catered to the needs of the Gomira dancers and any villager wishing to give a mask as an offering to the village deity.

The Gomira dance masks of Dinajpur district have ensued from animistic practices of the Desi and Poli communities of the Rajbongshis. The Gomira dances or Mukha Khel are organised to propitiate the deity to usher in the 'good forces' and drive out the 'evil forces' during the harvesting season.

Traditionally, the Gomira dance starts with the entry of the characters Bura-Buri, who are the human representations of Shiva and Parvati. Apart from serving the ritualistic purpose, the dance performance is also a source of joy and gaiety for the villagers.

The masks have started their journey from the village dance performances to the urban drawing rooms and with time are becoming delectable pieces of art.

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