Mata Ni Pachedi

Mata ni pachedi literally means “behind the mother goddess”, and is a cloth that constitutes a temple for the goddess. It is an art form from Gujarat, where the pachedis are essentially an expression of the divine cosmic energy of the mother goddess, and the unified manifestation of her creative, and destructive principles. When people of the nomadic Vaghari community of Gujarat were barred from entering temples, they made their own shrines with depictions of the mother goddess on cloth. This ingenuous solution is believed to be the origin of Mata ni pachedi, the sacred art that is now revered by all.

The pachedis have a distinct visual identity that is developed through the use of strong bold forms and re-enforced by the application of stark colours - blood red, black, and white. The central feature of the shrine cloth is invariably the commanding presence of the mother goddess; the goddess is believed to have 100 forms and is consequently depicted in each of these along with the appropriate iconographic details, and attributes.