INTRODUCTION:
The juang are one of the primitive tribes spread over the districts of Keonjhar and Dhenkanal of orissa .They mainly in-habit the forest ,hill and valleys ,the tribe has a language of its own ,which is unwritten and comes under the Mundari group of the Austro-Asiatic language family . They are fond of hunting ,bird catching and food gathering .Environment is their real for their existence.
The Juang are very simple by nature and have medium height, long head, prominent cheek bones ,wide nose and their skin colour brown to light black and face is oval.
VILLAGE AND LIFE STYLE:
The juang live in small and compact villages situated on the Eastern Ghat hill range.Most villages are uniclan in composition and thus each village is exogamous . Customarily each village has its territorial boundaries . The inhabitants of a village exclusively control and exploit natural resourse of the village collectively .For subsistence the juangs primarily depend on shifting , cultivation ,which they practice on hill slopes by clearing off the vegetarian .
There are 30 nos , of juang villages like Guptaganga , Kadalibari , kantari , Raidiha , Uparraidiha , Tal raidiha , Bayakumutia , Bayapanda dhar , Gar Gadei , Baitarini , Talapada , Budhighar , Phulbari , Upar Panas Nasa etc. The large village Guptaganga 30 km. Distance from Keonjhar head quarter.
Every juang village of Keonjhar has at the centre a big house locally known as “Mandaghar” . Especially it is meant for the youths. Traditional dance,music, and culture activities take place there.On the otherhand,it is a centre of harmony,integration and natural relationship.The village Panchayat sits here and solves the problems of the villagers. It also serves as a guest house for the visitors to the village .
Like several other tribal communities they have identified themselves by means of their folk culture which is revealed through their world – views ,attitude, aspiration , sorrows and happiness . Different folk traditions such as folk tales,folk songs, myths legends , riddles, proverbs , wall paintings , bodily decoration wood carving, craft making, engraving, dance and music are examples of their very rich culture heritage, their total way of life is reflected on their on their folk traditions . The art and craft , their design motifs from aesthetic point of view and only highly imaginative and original but also meaningful from socio-culture point of view.
WALL PAINTING:
Among the juangs one can find wall painting containing animals and birds made out of colour earth, they have their designs of different shapes, size and geometrical figures, they mostly use earth of red colour which are available in their locality. According to specific occasion they make special type of paintings for decoration.It is also manifested in relation to festival and various ritualistic observances.The juangs craftsman and artists have retained their indigenous style over years.By and large, the artistic skill is transmitted from father to son and mother to daughter.
They are much interested in house decoration, first they coat houses with mud, cow-dung and ahses and make border lines with Indian red earth colours.In every festival particulary during the time of “Nuakhai” (New rice eating) mango Nuakhai in the month of January – februray and April they clean their houses beautifully and change the old earthen pots. They prepare a special type of food mixing wine there in and offer to their ancestors , local Gods and goddess. They decorate their houses with alpana designs .In this case they follow a procedure by throwing liquid rice and white colour on the wall with various designs like elephant , peacock flower and symbol of the Sun and Venus .
In rare cases ,the Dihuri and his wife (man & nature) are shown by exposing their phallic & vulva ,which is the mark of creation the venus design is very interesting and with a simplified abstract form of a women . The division of space as well as maintained rhythmic and integrated. Two hands and a pair of breasts are carried prominently.
THE ART RELIGIOUS FUNCTIONARIES:
There are many functional myths in the verbal tradition of the juangs which justify their actions and their thought – pattern . These myths account for the ideological order of the juangs ,which are actualized in their socio-economic activities and reflects in their wall paintings . Every myths is fundamentally a classification based on religious belief.
ENGRAVING ART TRADITION :
There are not much paintings done on the walls although they are very interested to decorate their houses . But on the inner doors they carve low relief scenes in a simplified process. The hunting scenes are common in the case of kandhs ,souara,santal and Muria.
The art of caring designs rae shown on each object like –hunting weapons,agricultural implements , house hold materials , personal belongings, musical instruments,ornaments and many others are associated with aesthetic values .
The wood carving designs and geometrical motifs are equally meaningful,these are symbolical and consists of abstract figures of decoration . The juang make pillars for their Majang more attractive by engraving designs ,notches and figurines. Their workmanship in the wooden post,sculptures and symbolic representation carved on wooden structures are not only magnificent but also virtually relevant some modern items on wooden post of certain implements and house hold articles contain beautiful design.
The juang skilled enough in this field have a sense of high social prestige .Combs of various types are used for dressing hair,as an item of gifts exchange to lovers and beloved and for combing hair.The thread work as well as artistic shape and designs as the non-working portion of the camp are special attraction.
They prepare their comb with the help of bamboo,wood and bone devices,unlike souras,Kutia kundhas and Baigas the juang make combs with special attention ,Human figures, animals and birds are covered on the top nad middle panels in the comb. Some times zig-zag lines nad geometric lines are carved in such a manner that it looks very intresting and beautiful .
The another object of daily utility the tobacco-cases are very common in most of the tribes like kandhs , Munias, Bonda and souras , the juang tobacco case in decorative and artistic. They prepare tobacco case out of the root of the bamboo and make a hollow at the centre.The line drawings of motifs are drawn as it looks long and beautiful.
The flute of the juang is another specimen of an artistic object . The surface of the flute is divided of the flute is divided into various sections .Each section has different types of human,animal and figures. Each division is also designed with geometric and zig-zag lines.Subject from their socio-cultural lines are also seen.No space is left without decoration. They usefully use their flutes during the time of festival and specific ceremonies.
ANALYSIS OF ART TRADITION:
To classify the art tradition of juang it may be recorded as follows:
a) Wall painting with animal figures and floral designs.
b) Carving of the door and wooden post with traditional designs.
c) The bamboo & wooden combs of various shapes with beautiful engravings.
d) The pattern of ornaments and body decorations including tattoo marks.
e) Various craft objects.
Beauty is the end of all art.The juangs are trying their level best to enjoy the beauty in their day to day life.
