Painting on the Bark of Aquilaria Tree: a Traditional & Dying Culture of Art Practice in the Assam State of North-East India

Assam has a long tradition painting on the bark of Sanchi trees (Aquillaria Agallocha). The tradition flows between 15th to 18th centuries to achieve the recognition as Satriya School of painting. The earliest evidence of this art practice traced back to the time of 7th -century Kamrupa rulers of Assam. The depiction of great Hindu epic stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata- Purana, Kalki- Purana and a treatise on elephants have been portrayed upon the barks of Aquilaria or Agar tree. A long-lasting local made waterproof ink and colors from natural ingredients were used followed by an indigenous laborious process of their preparations. The use of Aquillaria tree bark for practicing painting had a significant role in visual communication for the socio-cultural and religious development in Assam. These paintings are the most valuable resources to understanding and feel the pleasure of early art and cultural practices of the North-Eastern region of India. It is very important to recognize and generalize the valuable information about this rare and dying knowledge of fine art practice in today’s art and research world which may influence and discover a new way of thinking and awareness for the artist and art historians.

Keywords: Aquilaria tree, Manuscript Painting, Vaishnavism, Cultural Practices, Sanchipat, Assam.