Nepal · Painting / Women's Art
मिथिला चित्रकला (Mithila Chitrakalā)
Mithila painting is the women's ritual painting tradition of the Mithila cultural region straddling the Nepal-India border (Janakpur, Nepal and Madhubani, Bihar, India). The defining technique is finger painting: the index finger is the primary drawing instrument. The characteristic double-line border defining all compositional elements is drawn by two fingertips simultaneously — index and middle finger held rigid together, dragged along composition boundary in a single continuous stroke, producing two parallel lines in one gesture. 'Feeling the space between fingers' calibrates the border width. No preliminary sketch for authentic Mithila — composition held from ritual memory. Used for kohbar (bridal room) wall painting and aripan worship floor painting.
Risk level: Endangered · UNESCO Representative List — Mithila Painting (2023, jointly with India); Nepal national ICH list
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