~ madhubani painting: approaching honeymoon chamber ~
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A symbolically rich and powerful painting of the kohbar -- the design that goes on the formal wedding proposal and on the walls of the small cottage in which the marriage rites are completed. A traditional rural upper-caste Madhubani household is composed of four huts arranged in a rectangle around a central courtyard. One of the four is used only for the marriage ceremonies of daughters of the household. For four nights she and her husband perform rites under the supervision of women there in the kobhar ghar. In the painting, the couple are represented as approaching from the right, the husband leading the way. Above are the energies of sun and moon. To the left is the main symbol of the kobhar, an axis of bamboo (bansa) that represents the groom's lineage (baansa). Organized around it are the many subsidiary symbols.