India is one among the
rare country of the world which is continuing the ethnic traditions of vivid
tribal life, and among the various site, culturally and historically rich Kaimur is yet un-explored.
In the past,
Kaimur plateau were predominantly inhibited by aboriginals i.e tribes and
semi-tribes such as Oraons, Cheros, Kharwars, who now reside in the mud-built
houses of nearby villages of Nauhatta, Adhaura, Tilauthu blocks. The
creative traditions of the present pastoral community of Kaimur region are
reflected in the constructions and decorations of their houses, celebrations of
festivals, religious functions and affection with their animals stocks and have
similarities with the rock-art of Kaimur region. With the
evidences of settlement of aboriginals from prehistoric times, Kaimur
range now holds important position for cultural and archaeological
reason.
Primitive folk
residing in the mountains and forests of Kaimur had used the caves and rock shelters
for their shelter. In the process of evolution they devised the art of
engraving and painting the objects that had an impact on their lives, such as
the sun, moon, animals, plants and also their own activities in daily life like
hunting, running, dancing, walking, etc. These paintings were mostly executed
on the walls and ceilings of the rock shelters and caves besides faces of huge
rock boulders and cliffs, which provided them their canvas to leave behind
their imprint for the succeeding generations.
As a result of
this we find that not only in the prehistoric period but also in the historical
period the tradition of painting on rocks continued for centuries. The rock
paintings thus comprise various aspects of the life of the communities in
different periods of history and provide very useful source material for the
study of the concerned cultures.
In an
exploration conducted in the year 1994-95 by archaeologists more than a dozen
rock painting sites have been discovered in the Kaimur district. On the Kaimur
hill the sites are at Mokwas, Patesar, Jhapia hill in the Chand block, Badki
Goriya in the Makarikhoh valley in Bhagwanpur block besides Dugha, Hathiadag,
Sarodag, Chaya, Badap Gaura hill, Rauta and Kokhargada in the Adhaura block
which is located on the Kaimur plateau.
The discovery
of these rock paintings are important in the archaeological perspective since
the Kaimur plateau and hills have had been comparatively unexplored by
archaeologists and the historians. After the discovery of the rock paintings in
Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh, in 1957, great interest has been taken by
archaeologists and scholars in discovering rock painting sites in different
parts of India. In Bihar also some positive efforts have been made in recent
times by some scholars in this direction as a result of which rock paintings
have been found at many sites in Nawada, Jamui and Rohtas districts in Bihar.
So far as the rock paintings in the Kaimur district are concerned it appears
that, in spite of some distinctive features, their nature, style and content as
compared to those in other rock painting sites of Central and Southern India,
Africa and Europe, have certain remarkable similarities.
The rock paintings
in Kaimur district had been created on the smooth surfaces of the inner walls
and ceilings of the rock shelters and caves located on the hills mostly in and
around jungles and nearer to some water source like river, lake, streams, etc.
The paintings on the rock surfaces generally have horizontal or vertical composition
oriented towards left, right or top. Most of the illustrations in the rock
paintings are in different shades of ochre that was probably prepared by
utilizing the hematite abundantly found on the surface of the rock shelters and
in the nearby areas. However, sometimes black, white and light yellow colors
have been also found to be used in the paintings.
The creative
traditions of the present pastoral community of Kaimur region are reflected in
the constructions and decorations of their houses, celebrations of festivals,
religious functions and affection with their animals stocks and have
similarities with the rock-art of Kaimur region. The tradition of painting the
walls of the houses with sometimes the same kind of symbols and patterns as
seen in the rock paintings, is still continues in some tribal region of Kaimur.
The tradition of color preparation with the powdered geru (hematite),
oil, sindur (vermilion),
juice of the bark of trees and of beans and other vegetations etc is also
prevalent even now among the tribes of this region. One can thus understand
that this tradition of color preparations and using them for painting various
figures and patterns on the walls may have been handed down from generation to
generation since the earliest rock painters devised them.
The rock paintings
of Kaimur region also remarkably show great similarity with the rock paintings
of Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh. This is mainly due to the fact that the
Vindhya Range extends right from the Mirzapur district up to Sasaram in the
Rohtas district and the Kaimur hills and plateau in the Kaimur district forms a
part of the same range. It is mentioned that among the 240 rock shelters of the
Mirzapur, about 62 rock shelters have been classified from the Kaimur group.
These rock shelters, of the Kaimur group in particular, are in close proximity
to the rock shelters in the Kaimur and Rohtas districts in their geographical
and geological setting and so the style, content, subject matter etc. in them
also show great affinity.
This Kaimur region
has immense potential to be among the best tourism destination with these
Rock-Paintings, various monumental heritage like Rohtasgarh and Shergarh, several beautiful waterfalls and mesmerizing
landscapes. As no major archaeological, ethnographic and historic research
or excavation had carried out in the Kaimur region, as well not well developed
and promoted for tourism so whatsoever we are seeing is just like a drop in the
ocean.
P.S: All the above contents are excerpts of conversation between Gargi Manish and Dr. Shyam Sunder Tiwari, who discovered the above Rock-Paintings and whose intensive historical research for Sasaram, especially for Rohtas will be remembered forever.
Happy Travelling
!!