Pithora the Horse-Lord
Bhil · deity · perennial · Recorded classification
Central Bhil/Rathwa deity of the Pithora painting tradition (eastern Gujarat / western Madhya Pradesh). The painting is the cult: a vow-discharging ritual fresco depicting the Bhil creation.
Domains
- fertility and prosperity
Powers
- fulfils vows of prosperity in return for a painted wall
- embodies the whole created cosmos in the wall-painting
Sources
- Pithora (Baba Pithora/Pithoro) is the Bhil/Rathwa god of fertility and prosperity whose creation-myth is rendered as the ritual Pithora wall-painting of horses, consecrated by a badva possessed by the god.: Jain, J. (1984). Painted Myths of Creation: Art and Ritual of an Indian Tribe. New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi. (scholarship); Tilche, A. (2022). Adivasi Art and Activism. Univ. of Washington Press. (scholarship)