Pilaru echoes a fading Tharu tradition

The Kathmandu Post highlights the vital community-led exhibition celebrating Pilaru, a traditional Tharu musical instrument. This initiative is more than just an art display; it's a powerful act of cultural reclamation and resistance against the historical marginalization and misrepresentation of Tharu heritage.

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Pilaru—means “something to be admired,” in the Tharu language.

Pilaru, meaning 'something to be admired' in the Tharu language, is not merely an object but a vessel of memory, intimacy, and shared heritage. Crafted from a special clay known as Chimtaiko Maato and shaped into bird-like forms, its unique sound, determined by size, carries the poignant echoes of oral traditions. The exhibition underscores the deep cultural significance of this instrument, particularly for the Adivasi Tharu and Kumhar communities.

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Oral traditions hold poignant cultural significance in the Adivasi Tharu and Kumhar communities. Carried across generations orally, Pilaru is a vessel of memory, intimacy and shared heritage.

However, the article brings to light the precarious state of this tradition. Negligence in documentation and the commodification of Tharu culture by external institutions have obscured its true meaning. Furthermore, environmental degradation has made the specific clay increasingly rare, and the lack of a commercial market discourages artisans. The exodus of younger generations seeking foreign employment has also led to a decline in practitioners, threatening to silence this ancestral voice.

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This community-led exhibition is a form of resistance and an act of reclaiming Pilaru.

This exhibition, therefore, serves a dual purpose: it honors the artisans who continue to practice the craft and explores avenues for ethical commercialization. By acknowledging origins, crediting communities, and presenting Pilaru with dignity, the initiative aims to restore its cultural and emotional significance. The Kathmandu Post champions this effort, recognizing it as a crucial step in preserving Nepal's rich indigenous heritage for future generations, ensuring that traditions like Pilaru are not lost to time or neglect.

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We could bring and honour the people who still practice making traditional Pilaru. We wanted to show them that it could receive this kind of exposure too.