Chhau masks, Chorida village, Purulia

In the photograph - Chhau Mask on display at a household in Chorida Village, Purulia. In the second photograph an artist is making Chhau mask at the same village.

Chhau mask is used during the unique mask dances of Eastern India. In Chorida village practically every house is into making masks or assembling decorations for headgears. The process of making mask is nearly the same, however, due to thick layers of clay, paper and mud these masks are bit different then Seraikella masks which is another form of Chhau dance. Chhau is probably a generic name of a group of stylistically varying dances. It ranges from simple folk to highly evolved styles. All these styles of dances are called Chhau. There are three most representative styles of chhau which have as epithets the names of the places where they developed under the patronage of the respective feudal nobility. They are known as Seraikelaa Chhau, Mayurbhanj Chhau, and Purulia Chhau. Though they vary in degree of sophistication but do have similarities, one of them being the generic name: Chhau.