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Playable heritage game

Warli painting

Also known as वारली

Warli painting comes from the Warli communities of Maharashtra and the Gujarat border in western India. Scenes of village life are drawn in white rice paste on red-brown earth walls, using only a circle, a triangle and a line: a person is two triangles joined at their tips below a round head.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Warli painting: photograph by Omrmankar
Photo: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Warli painting: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Pick white or brown paste and a simple shape from the tray under the wall.
  2. Tap a square to draw the shape there: its twin appears at the mirrored place on the other side of the wall.
  3. Copy the small wall shown above, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • Every shape you draw is repeated in the mirrored square on the other side of the wall.
  • A square counts only when its shape and its colour both match the target.
  • Three stars need a nearly perfect copy; you can undo or clear as often as you like.

About the tradition

Warli painting belongs to the Warli communities, who live in the hills and coastal strip of Maharashtra and neighbouring Gujarat, and it was traditionally painted by women on the inside walls of village houses. This game draws only everyday scenes: trees, field work and dancers.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of South Asia.

Credits

  • Warli painting is the heritage of the Warli communities of Maharashtra and Gujarat, India
  • Pattern design: World Heritage Games (original)
  • Photograph reference: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
  • Photo: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
  • Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

Get the app

Warli painting is one of 20 paper and paint crafts in the Paper & Paint of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 20 paper and paint crafts in the app

In review on theApp StoreIn review on theGoogle Play

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