Kinnal Craft or Kinhal Craft (), is a traditional wooden

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

local to the town of

Kinhal Kinnal also called Kinhal is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 609700 Kinhal, Koppal, Karnataka It is located in the Koppal taluk of Koppal district in Karnataka. This village is famous for Kinnal Craft. Rec ...

, or Kinnal, in Koppal District,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

, India. The town is famous for Kinhal toys and religious idols. Recently this Craft has been granted

Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

and its GI Application number is 213*.

History

Kinhal was once a flourishing centre for crafts, the most well-known being carvings in wood. The famous mural paintings in the Pampapateshwara Temple, and the intricate work on the wooden chariot at

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th&n ...

, are said to be the work of the ancestors of the Kinhal artisans of today. Old paper tracings found in the ancestral house of one of the artisans further substantiates this belief. In 2007, students from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

in collaboration with the Crafts Council of Karnataka, facilitated a project with local students and craftsmen, in an attempt to revive the Kinhal craft.

Method

The artisans are called ''chitragara''. Lightweight wood is used for the toys. The paste used for joining the various parts is made of

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

seeds and pebbles.

Jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

rags, soaked, slivered into pieces, dried, powdered, and mixed with saw dust and tamarind seed paste is made into ''kitta''. A mixture of pebble powder paste with liquid gum is used for embossing the ornamentation and jewellery on the body of the figure. Once the components of the figure are assembled, ''kitta'' is applied by hand all over, and small pieces of cotton are stuck on it with the tamarind paste. Over this is applied the pebble paste which forms the base for the application of paint. Previously, toys depicting people involved in various occupations were popular; now the preference is for figures, animals, and birds.

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda i ...

, the epic bird, has 12 components while Lord

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

on a throne has 22 components. The styling is realistic and the designing and chiselling has a master touch. In the festival season, clay toys and images are made, often out of cowdung and sawdust.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Glasgow Kinnal Project – no longer validBook about the Kinhal Craft produced by Scottish team
* orm GI-1 of Application No. 213 available at https://web.archive.org/web/20150320221220/http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/GirPublic/ViewApplicationDetails.aspx?AppNo=20&Index=0 Indian woodwork Culture of Karnataka Wooden sculptures Geographical indications in Karnataka

History

Method

See also

References

External links