Special
images of Gods and Goddesses were made since idol worship played an
important role in the lives of the inhabitants of Garhwal & Kumaon.
Dekaras are the clay images of Gods and Goddesses either in relief or in
three dimensional form and are meant solely for worship. They are prepared
out of fine clay mixed with colour. Then they are coloured with different
hues to make them attractive.
The festival of Makar
Sankranti is an occasion for making garlands of wild pigeon or Ghugta
(which figures prominently in the romantic folk songs of Kumaon) from
sweetened wheat flour. The children feed crows with these Gugta
models. On Kark Sankranti the images made of Lord Shiva are known
as Dekara which depict the marriage of Shiva with Parvati, the daughter of
Himalaya.
The art heritage of Kumaon demonstrates that it is a
potpourri of many aesthetic traditions bearing impressions of tantric,
Buddhist, Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava philosophies. The tantric art has
greatly influenced the Kumaoni folk art. Even though it could not command
aesthetic heights, the folk art represents the religious sentiments, and
socio cultural traditions of the region. It also represents the collective
experience of the artists through many generations and the expression of
historic events which the land of Kumaon has witnessed.
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