Iron Craft of Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Iron craft has long been practiced in the state of Chhattisgarh by the skilled lohars of Bastar. The metal smiths belong to a number of clans, namely- Sodi, Netam, Poyam, Arkam, Marai, Nevra, halami, baghel and Mandavi who excel in crafting wrought iron human figures with a marked expression besides creating masks for Maria dances, various figures inspired from flora and fauna, lamps for the Marias and Murias, all of which fall in the category of ritualistic and domestic objects. Tools such as muthi/light hammer, multha/heavy hammer, suma/piercing tool, dhunka sar/furnace, sandesi/tongs, chimta/large forceps chheni/chisel etc. are crafted by the lohars using iron bought from the market. Items such as lamps ( dhiman, gud, laman,   supali, khut, gadli, viman diyas), wrist ornaments (kantha, chitkuli, gurjari), mask, carpentry tools, badgi/staff, musicians, farming implements, sankaal/chain, animal figures, etc. are dexterously made by the lohars.