India · Mural Craft; Mud Relief; Decorative Arts
Lippan kaam (lepan kaam); chittar kaam; mud-mirror work; aabhla
A mural craft of Kutch, Gujarat in which clay mixed with animal dung is shaped by hand into relief patterns on the walls of mud houses (bhungas) and household objects, then set with small mirrors and finished with white clay. The mix of clay and donkey or camel dung (the fibers act as a binder) is rolled into ropes, pressed on in lines, and fitted with mirrors that catch lamplight and are believed to ward off evil. Motifs include peacocks, camels, trees, water-bearers and temples; Muslim communities use only geometric forms. Among the Rabari and Meghwal it is mostly women who make it, drawing freehand without sketches; among the Mutwa it is men. The surface needed yearly repair. Today much of it is made on clay-plastered wooden boards for sale.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not listed by UNESCO. No national listing found in the sources consulted. A Lippan artisan is reported to have received the Kutch Shakti Puraskar.
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