Sandpainting, sometimes called drypainting, is a spiritual art that is used by many different cultures throughout the world. It is used for religious and healing ceremonies by Native American tribes of the southwest such as the Navajo, by Tibetan Monks, various Indian traditions and Australian Aboriginals. Here we will explore the practice and the spiritual significance of sandpainting in some of these cultures.
Kolam (also known as Rangoli)
Practiced mainly in south India, kolam is the art of decorating patterns and designs in pooja rooms (prayer halls) and courtyards. Done mainly by girls and women, a kolam is drawn on the ground or on a floor using the medium of rice flour, sandstone or limestone. This colorful tradition goes back to 2500 B.C. when kolams were drawn with coarse rice flour. Rice flour is seen as an offering to Lakshmi, who is the goddess of rice and wealth and who is believed to attract prosperity. The designs of kolams are fairly common throughout the country of India and consist of geometrical patterns of squares, circles and triangles, and designs of conch shell, leaves, trees and flowers.
Tibetan Sandpainting
Tibetan Buddhist sand paintings are often done in the design of a mandala which consists of geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols. A mandala is often regarded as a sacred space or as a place that is protected from the ever-changing outer world of samsara. The process of creating a mandala sand painting in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition begins with a ceremony during which Tibetan priests or lamas consecrate the site with chanting, music and recitations. The lamas draw an outline of a mandala design on a wooden platform and in the following days the design is painted by pouring on colored sands with a funnel called a chak-pur. Traditionally, most mandalas are destroyed shortly after they are created. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn where half is usually distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony of this ritual. The remaining sand is then deposited in a nearby body of water where the waters will carry the blessing to the ocean as a way to bring about planetary healing.
Navajo sandpainting is connected with a very ancient form of healing. Traditional Navajo healing incorporates medicinal/sacred herbs, prayer, ceremonies and rituals to promote harmony in the universe and increase wellness, both physically and spiritually. Sandpaintings are a vital part of these healing, spiritual rituals and ceremonies. The ceremony involving sandpainting is done by a medicine man who chants particular songs while creating the sandpainting on the ground. The medicine man asks for yeis, or Navajo spiritual beings, to come into the painting to assist the person who needs to be healed by helping to restore harmony and balance. The ritual is typically done in a specific sequence that is called a “chant”. These chants can last anywhere from five to nine days, but never less than three. Before a sandpainting ceremony the medicine man will go through a three-day purification which consists of fasting, sweating, bathing and a lone vigil. During this time he is also preparing for the chant by collecting materials for the sandpainting such as pollen, flowers, colored stones, ground cornmeal and roots. Once a sandpainting ceremony of healing is complete, the sandpainting is destroyed although sometimes those who are present can take away a small amount of the sand in a pouch.
Australian Aboriginals
Australian Aborigines such as the Pintubi, Anmatjera, and Walbiri have a spiritual life that was, and still is, very complex. Their religious philosophy, known as the tjukurpa, refers to the time of creation as well as present time and is considered the law of caring for one another and for the land. Also known as “the Dreaming”, the tjukurpa explains the relationship of the past, present and future, provides answers to how people and all life forms fit into everyday life and is a guide for daily living. Connected with this ancient religion are tjukurpa sandpainting ceremonies which still continue to this day. The ceremonies, which vary between the various Australian indigenous cultures, typically consist of ceremonial singing, dancing and the creation of a large ground painting. The painting is typically created with ocher, animal fat, stones and pulverized plant substances. Many of the paintings depict ancient ancestral journeys between sacred places and help to form a connection between the past and the present. Many of these sandpainting designs are kept secret and have not been made available to the general public.
