Idital orEdital is a form of Indian painting from the state ofOdisha. It is a kind ofSaura painting that was invented and is practiced by theSora people who mostly live inRayagada,Gajapati andKoraput districts of Odisha. The artisans paint Idital as a symbol of devotion to the tribal deity "Idital" or "Edital". Each piece of Idital painting contains symbols and signs and each one of them convey a distinct meaning. "Jodisum" and "Jananglasum" are two known Idital styles.

Seven out of the 62 tribes of Odisha decorate their wall with mural paintings.^[1] Sora are known for their wide range of painting styles based on religious and ceremonial themes.^[2][3] They have invariably religious association for which they are calleditalon orikon.Ikons used to be originally painted on the walls of the adobe huts of the Sora people.Ikons are worshipped during special religious and cultural occasions such as child-birth, harvest, marriage and the construction of a new house.^[4][5][6] Iditals are generally made to pay tribute to the deities and ancestors.

The iconic line drawings of Idital are based on simple geometrical forms. Humans,horses,elephants, thesun, themoon and thetree of life are some of the recurringmotifs in theikons.^[7] The backgrounds of the paintings are prepared from red oryellow ochre earth which is then painted over using brushes created from tenderbamboo shoots. Natural dyes and chromes derived from ground white stone, hued earth, andvermilion and mixtures oftamarind seed, flower and leaf extracts are used forIkons.^[8][9][10]

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