Gafli- A decorated ceremonial basket from Muria community of Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal has exhibited ‘Gafli,’ a decorated ceremonial basket from the Muria community of Bastar, Chhattisgarh on its social media platforms.

The exhibition that begun on Monday, is part of the third exhibit of the month of October.

Gafli is a representation of Muria’s passion for decorative art. Adorned with numerous cowries and circular mirrors, Gafli is meant for marriage purpose. The museum has collected the exhibit with height and width of 17cm and 25cm respectively, collected from the Muria Community of Bastar, Chhattisgarh in 1991.

Sudeepa Roy from the museum said that the making of Gafli begins with weaving a basket utilizing flat bamboo splits. Once the basket takes shape it is covered with a cotton cloth leaving no signs of bamboo exposed. Thereafter starts the work of art where numerous cowries are stitched around the basket leaving circular space where mirrors are fixed with colorful threads making it more appealing. A thick thread with cowries decoration hangs from all four base corners.

Praveen Kumar Mishra, Director, IGRMS, Bhopal said that initially, the series will focus on the masterpieces from its collection which are considered as unique for their contribution to the cultural history of a particular ethnic group or area.