Introduction of Phad Folk Painting from Rajasthan

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The Rajasthani par (sometimes spelled phad) is a painting on cloth that is a visual accompaniment to a ceremony involving the singing and recitation of the deeds of folk hero-deities in Rajasthan, a desert state in the West of India. Pabuji-ki pars depict incidents from the life of Pabuji Rathor. Devnarayan pars illustrate that folk hero’s exploits. The legends are painted on long rectangular cloths that may be 35 feet long by 5 feet wide for Devnarayan pars and 15 feet by 5 feet for Pabuji-ki pars.

Pabuji was a Rajput prince who lived in the early 14th century, when Rajput families contended in territorial feuds that would ultimately determine the settled states of a later time. Pabuji was involved in various minor disputes. To many rural villagers since his time, and continuing today, he is worshipped as an incarnate god. However, this god is not served by Hindu Brahman priests. Rather his priests are bhopas (or bhopos), members of one of the so-called “scheduled castes” low in the Hindu social structure. Likewise, the devotees of Pabuji are generally non-Brahman. Devnarayan was a contemporary of Pabuji (there is a scene in which they confront one another). His deeds are also sung by priests in ceremonies similar to those for Pabuji.