Audit of toxic effects of body paint in the tiger dancers (Hulivesha) of Mangalore, India: an investigational study.

Introduction: Tiger dancing or Hulivesha, where the volunteers paint their bare body like a tiger and dance in a ritual during the Navarathri festival in Mangalore, India. There are no scientific studies done with the Hulivesha dancers at all, and therefore, we investigated the adverse effects of painting body like a tiger and dancing in the volunteers.

Objective/aim: In this study, we investigated the clinico-haematological effects of topical application of lead-containing paint and dancing for three consecutive days in these dancers to ascertain the toxic effects of whole body painting and dancing.