Masks of Bhikhodi
The mask dramas, also called pattar plays, double as a medium to control and organize the
culture. The masks have multiple roles: social, magical, and religious. The word pattar means
“a character in mask.”The real masks are sanctified before the performances. The canons prescribe artisans follow
pious practices during mask-making process.All cannot wear all masks. Traditionally, different clans have the privilege of wearing different
masks. For instance, a member of Butola clan, traditionally, wears the main mask of the Suraj
Pattar episode performed in Lata village. Each mask wearer moves in a specific direction
depending on the character and associated canons. Each pattar performs when his turn
appears in the narrative.Most of the anthropomorphic (personification of divinity) masks are of wood except the goat-
skin mask of Khankar Buddya. The masks do not provide any scope for eye movement and
facial expression.The plays are not performed on a pre-designed stage. They happen on an open ground,
a village or temple courtyard. The audience gathers around the performance arena. The
audience and the performers move between the two spaces. A bonfire is made in the
courtyard.The plays present timeless and old themes from various puranas and epics. Comic interludes,
including Ganna-Gunni, Khankar Buddya, Laata-Laati, and Mwair-morin, “entertain” and
inform between religious performances.Although the oral canons are still followed yet these plays have evolved with the time. Such as,
the balloons and the tricks are recent additions.250
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019