The Patua's Creed

To speak the truth is our vow.
Our work will be to establish the truth.
We shall follow the path trodden by great men and women.
We shall serve the poor and downtrodden.
That will be out religion.

We shall speak the truth and not uphold the wrong.
It will spread the fragrance, the fragrance of the rose.

We will behave like human beings, not hating one another.
We shall light the way of truth, the light of truth will spread.

We shall overcome all malice and greed, all anger and lust.
To speak the truth is our vow.

Our work will be to establish the truth.
We shall follow the path trodden by great men and women.
We shall persuade men and women to act in a humane way,
to give up what is false in word and deed.

As the sunlight that shines in the daytime,
May we all become the light of goodness to everyone.

We shall honor those who are poor and oppressed.
Never shall we be unmindful of their sorrow.

We shall shun violence, speaking ill of others,
And spreading rumors.
To speak the truth is our vow,
And to follow the path trodden by great men and women.

-Nanigopal Chitrakar,
Naya Village, Medinipur, West Bengal. The patua's Creed was written as a way to legitimize the social status of the scroll painters from West Bengal.

PHOTO: patua performance. Photo by Paul Smutko

From Village of Painters: Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal
By Frank J. Korom