GI tag for Majuli masks of Assam
Context:
- Recently the traditional Majuli masks in Assam were given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Centre due to their growing national and international recognition.
- Apart from the Majuli masks, Majuli manuscript painting also got the GI label.
- Majuli is the largest river island in the world and it has been the seat of Assam’s neo-Vaishnavite tradition.
- It also has been home to the art of mask-making since the 16th century.
- In modern day many of its traditional practitioners are working to take the art out of their traditional place in sattras, or monasteries, and give them a new and contemporary life.
About GI tags:
- A geographical indication (GI) is a sign and is used on products which have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
- In order to qualify for the GI tag, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin.
- Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link that is established between the product and its original place of production.
- It gives a right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
- However it is important to note that a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication.
- It is governed under the Agreement on TRIPSat the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
- In India it is governed under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
- The act seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods.
- Any trader’s body, association, or organisation can apply for a Geographical Indication tag.
About Majuli Masks:
- These are handmade masks and are traditionally used to depict characters in bhaonas, or theatrical performances with devotional messages under the neo-Vaishnavite tradition, introduced by the 15th-16th century reformer saint Srimanta Sankardeva.
- The masks can depict gods, goddesses, demons, animals and birds.
- The masks feature personalities like Ravana, Garuda, Narasimha, Hanuman, Varaha Surpanakha.
- They can range in different sizes.
- For example they can have a range from those covering just the face (mukh mukha), which take around five days to make, to those covering the whole head and body of the performer (cho mukha), which can take up to one-and-a-half months to make.
- The Majuli masks are made of bamboo, clay, dung, cloth, cotton, wood and other materials available in the riverine surroundings of their makers.
Why is the art practised in monasteries?
- Sattras are monastic institutions which are established by Srimanta Sankardev and his disciples as centres of religious, social and cultural reform.
- Today, they are also centres of traditional performing arts and include borgeet (songs), xattriya (dance) and bhaona (theatre), which are an integral part of the Sankardev tradition.
- Majuli has 22 sattras, and the patent application states that the mask-making tradition is by and large concentrated in four of them which are Samaguri Sattra, Natun Samaguri Sattra, Bihimpur Sattra and Alengi Narasimha Sattra.
What is Majuli manuscript painting?
- It is a form of painting which is also originating in the 16th century.
- The panting is done on sanchi pat, or manuscripts made of the bark of the sanchi or agar tree, using homemade ink.
- The earliest example of an illustrated manuscript is said to be a rendering of the Adya Dasama of the Bhagwat Purana in Assamese by Srimanta Sankardev.
- This art was also patronised by the Ahom kings. It continues to be practised in every sattra in Majuli.
