Chittara

Chittara is a cultural phenomenon of the Deevaru community – a matriarchal and an agrarian community of nature worshipers, residing in an around Sagar in the Malnad region of Karnataka. It is undertaken primarily by the Women folk of the community as a socio-cultural practice,which embodies a microcosm of socio-cultural dynamic. Chittara drawings are intricate patterns, that represent the auspicious ceremony and rituals of life, symbolized in geometric patterns. They use eco-friendly natural resources like ground rice paste for white color, roasted rice for black, yellow seeds (Gurige hannu which is an easily available wild fruit) red earth and the brushes are made up of Pundi Naaru. Chittara paintings generally represent brides and grooms, fertility symbols, the sowing of the auspicious paddy, birds, trees, animals etc.