Under the latest and popular online series of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya entitled ‘Exhibit of the Week’ the ‘Madia’ A Dhokra image of Maria Drummer collected from 1978 was dispalyed. The Community of Dandami Maria of Bastar Chhattisgarh displayed in the audience as The Fifth Exhibit of the month of April, 2021 through official website, Facebook, Instagram and twitter page of the IGRMS.
In this regard Praveen Kumar Mishra, Director, IGRMS said that Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind), Initially this series will focus on the masterpieces from its collection which are considered as unique for their contribution to the cultural history of a particular ethnic group or area. MADIA is a bell metal image of a drummer belonging to the Dandami Maria Community of Chhattisgarh. It is shown standing on a platform in traditional dance attire.
It is a marvelous object of Dhokra art, an age old technique of lost wax casting practiced by the Ghadwa community residing in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Originally the dancer wear a pair of buffalo horns wrapped with ribbon strap and a bunch of rare plumes tucked in the center. This kind of head gear has given the tribe a popular name as Bison Horn Maria. They generally wear the head-gear during festivals, marriage and other ceremonies. Numerous cowrie strands hung from the head gear hiding the drummer's face. An elongated drum is hung to his shoulder. This artifact is one of its kind as it is made in such a way that the parts of the figure can be dismantled easily making it favorable for transportation and reassemble. The figure is also decorated by the design of jewelry and adornment. Two small drummers on each side are also accompanying the male drummer.