Ritualization of Complex Skill Acquisition

Abstract The processes by which traditional artistic knowledge is transmitted across generations with high fidelity remain poorly understood, particularly in non-Western contexts. This study examines how mastery of Indian miniature painting, a technically demanding and culturally significant art form, is acquired through a transmission process marked by ritualization. Using mixed methods, including structured interviews, surveys, logistic regression, and cultural consensus modeling, we studied 262 artists in Rajasthan, India, spanning novice to expert levels. Learning in this tradition is characterized by procedural rigidity, adherence to established norms, and the integration of religious practice. Novices are expected to conform strictly to traditional aesthetics, whereas experts are afforded greater creative freedom, a pattern consistent with a developmental progression from imitation to innovation. Artists consistently emphasized the spiritual dimensions of their craft: most reported beginning work with prayer, undergoing ritual purification, and weaving devotional customs throughout the creative process. These findings demonstrate how structured transmission practices preserve technical and aesthetic standards while embedding cultural and religious meaning in artistic mastery. The study extends theories of cultural transmission and offers practical insights for preserving traditional arts amid modernization. Similar content being viewed by others Introduction The transmission of traditional artistic practices across generations involves more than the transfer of technical skills. It is deeply rooted in cultural processes that often mirror religious rituals (Li et al., 2024). Ritualization transforms cultural practices into formalized, repetitive actions with symbolic significance. As a key cultural transmission mechanism, ritualization preserves cultural identity and facilitates knowledge transfer through structured repetition of formalized, sequenced procedures and symbolic meaning-making (Legare & Souza, 2012, 2014). This process helps maintain cultural continuity in traditional artistic practices by embedding technical skills within meaningful cultural practices (Ankyiah, 2023; Santiago, 2023). While the role of ritualization in cultural transmission has been extensively examined in religious and social contexts (Xygalatas et al., 2013; Legare & Nielsen, 2015; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016), its role in the transmission of artistic mastery remains relatively unexplored, particularly in Asian and South Asian artistic contexts (Capistrano-Baker, 2015). This gap is significant because understanding how ritualization facilitates artistic mastery can provide valuable insights into broader mechanisms of cultural transmission and the preservation of traditional knowledge systems. Our study seeks to address this gap by exploring ritualization’s role in transmitting Indian miniature painting, an art form of deep cultural and spiritual importance within the Rajasthani tradition (Lavanya, 2022; Srivastava, 2022). Traditional artistic practices such as Indian miniature painting often emphasize precision, adherence to established conventions, and the incorporation of cultural or spiritual elements, thereby creating shared experiences that strengthen community cohesion. Ritualized transmission of traditional practices ensures the preservation of complex cultural knowledge across generations (Legare, 2017; Wu et al., 2022). Despite its association with conformity, ritualization also provides a scaffold for learning that ultimately supports creativity and innovation (Marinescu, 2021; Berkes et al., 2000). The structured nature of ritualization offers stability, while its embedded cultural meanings form a foundation for artists to build new interpretations and expressions (Eyssartier et al., 2008). Cultural transmission in traditional arts operates through a complex interplay of imitation, innovation, and ritualized practices (Kwan et al., 2018; Edmonds & Candy, 2002). This process involves accumulating and refining artistic knowledge within specific cultural contexts, with each generation contributing to the preservation and evolution of cultural techniques (Lewis & Laland, 2012; Caldwell & Millen, 2010). Ritualized aspects of transmission serve multiple purposes: they ensure the high-fidelity transfer of complex techniques, reinforce cultural values, and create shared experiences that build a strong sense of community identity (Legare & Souza, 2012, 2014). Understanding how ritualization facilitates mastery in traditional arts, such as Indian miniature painting, can shed light on broader cultural learning and preservation patterns. Indian miniature painting provides an ideal case study for examining the role of ritualization in artistic transmission. This sophisticated art form, with origins predating the colonial era, involves complex technical processes and deep spiritual and cultural significance (Rao, 2022; Chaitanya, 1976). The creation of these paintings involves highly specialized techniques passed down through generations: from the meticulous preparation of materials to the application of mineral-derived pigments, each step adheres to prescribed procedures that mirror ritual practices (Hashmi et al., 2025). The apprenticeship system through which this knowledge is transmitted exemplifies the integration of technical training with cultural and spiritual education (Cummins et al., 2006; Sharma, 1979). This combination of technical complexity, cultural significance, and structured transmission makes Indian miniature painting particularly suitable for examining how ritualization facilitates the acquisition of artistic mastery. Importantly, the features that make it apt as a case study are not simply that it is a traditional art form; such a description would apply to many practices. Rather, Indian miniature painting combines an unusually extended apprenticeship, specific causally opaque practices governing the creation of sacred works that go beyond technical necessity, and a direct integration of religious meaning into the technical training process from the earliest stages of learning. This combination of features makes it a particularly high-resolution context in which to examine the relationship between structured, formalized transmission and cultural learning. In traditional visual arts like Indian miniature painting, the transmission of skills from novice to expert occurs primarily through vertical apprenticeship, where masters impart knowledge to younger generations through carefully structured learning processes (Kaimal & Arslanbek, 2020). This apprenticeship model is grounded in foundational theories of situated learning that describe how novices gradually assume fuller roles in communities of practice, a pattern evident in traditional art apprenticeships (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The structured participation shows how skilled practitioners organize learning through observation, imitation, and the incremental increase of responsibility, mechanisms central to the training of Indian miniature painting (Bril et al., 2010). Ethnographic work on apprenticeship in traditional crafts demonstrates how procedural knowledge becomes ritualized through repeated guided practice, establishing the theoretical foundation for understanding how step-sequencing reflects both pedagogical structure and cultural transmission (Rogoff, 1990). This transmission involves multiple layers of ritualization: in the physical processes of creation, the master-apprentice relationship, and the integration of religious and cultural practices into the learning process (Jalan & Tiwari, 2023). These ritualized elements of apprenticeship act as pedagogical tools that facilitate the acquisition of complex skills while simultaneously transmitting cultural values and meanings (Legare & Souza, 2014). The structured repetition of specific techniques and the spiritual and cultural narratives embedded in the art form ensure that technical and symbolic aspects are preserved and reinforced. How do traditional arts balance the need for precise replication with the desire for artistic innovation? While ritualization emphasizes conformity and exact replication, artistic mastery often necessitates creative interpretation and evolution (Youngblood, 2019; Glaskin, 2011). This apparent tension between strict adherence to traditional forms and the need for artistic innovation provides a unique opportunity to examine how ritualization might facilitate, rather than hinder, creative development (DeFillippi et al., 2007). By providing a structured framework supporting skill acquisition, ritualization can create a secure foundation for expert artists to experiment and innovate. This dynamic is central to preserving traditional art forms while ensuring their relevance in contemporary contexts (Brown & Dissanayake, 2018; Dissanayake, 2004). Indian miniature painting in Jaipur is practiced in small family workshops and individual studios, where artists work at low desks on specially prepared paper or cloth supports, using brushes made from squirrel or mongoose hair and pigments ground from natural minerals, stone, and organic matter. Learning occurs almost exclusively through the guru-shishya (master-apprentice) system, in which a novice may spend decades under a single master’s guidance before being considered capable of independent work. Artists in our sample indicated that basic proficiency, the ability to execute foundational techniques faithfully, typically requires approximately twenty years of dedicated practice, while achieving expert-level mastery recognized within the community can demand forty or more years (Hashmi et al., 2025). A substantial minority of the artists we sampled (38%) come from families with prior involvement in miniature painting, meaning that for these artists transmission begins informally in childhood, well before formal apprenticeship. As one senior artist explained: “When a child grows up in this kind of environment, they tend to pick up on things. They see how colors are made, how paintings are made, and the child eventually shows interest in these paintings.” (Kailash Chand Sharma, personal communication, December 2022). The art is made primarily for devotional and commercial purposes: paintings depict Hindu deities, royal scenes, and sacred narratives, and are displayed in temples, homes, and galleries. There is broad community consensus on what constitutes quality work, particularly regarding fine facial detailing, use of natural mineral pigments, and adherence to established thematic conventions, though some regional stylistic variation exists across Rajasthan. The primary objective of this study is to examine the extent to which the transmission of artistic mastery in Indian miniature painting exhibits characteristics of ritualized practices. Our study examines how four key functions of ritualization appear in this artistic tradition, and we address four research questions to do so. - RQ1: To what extent do artists adhere to prescribed steps in producing miniature paintings? To what extent is step-sequencing knowledge shared across artists at different levels of experience? - RQ2: How do expectations for imitation versus innovation differ across novice, experienced, and expert artists? How do respondents’ own years of experience relate to these endorsements? - RQ3: How do the cultural identity, thematic conventions, and material standards emphasized within the artistic community reflect the broader cultural embeddedness of the art form? - RQ4: To what extent are religious and spiritual practices integrated into the processes of learning and creating miniature paintings? What specific practices do artists report? We extend existing theories of cultural learning by applying them to an Asian artistic tradition, addressing a gap in research on non-European cultural transmission contexts. Understanding the role of ritualization in artistic transmission also has practical implications for art education and cultural preservation, particularly for traditional art forms facing pressure from modernization and globalization (Li et al., 2024; Mekonnen et al., 2022). We propose that ritualization is a scaffold for innovation as well as a mechanism of conformity or compliance, ensuring that traditional artistic practices can adapt and persist as cultural conditions change. We present the findings as evidence consistent with existing theoretical frameworks of ritualized cultural transmission (Legare & Souza, 2012, 2014; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016). Methods Research Design and Setting This study employed a mixed-methods approach to examine the ritualized aspects of Indian miniature painting transmission. The research was conducted in Jaipur, Rajasthan, a regional cultural hub for miniature painting practice, using a cross-sectional exploratory design that combined qualitative interviews with a comprehensive quantitative survey. Participants and Sampling The study sample comprised 262 Indian miniature painting artists from Jaipur, Rajasthan. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling techniques, with each interview leading to connections with additional artists. This sampling approach was particularly effective given the close-knit nature of the artistic community and the specialized nature of miniature painting practice. Data Collection Procedures The study was conducted in two phases. The initial qualitative phase (December 2022) involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eight expert miniature artists. These interviews utilized a structured checklist developed through a preliminary literature review while maintaining flexibility to capture spontaneous insights. The interviews explored artists’ perspectives on learning processes, artistic practices, and the role of religious and cultural elements in their work. The quantitative phase (January–March and August–September 2023) built upon the qualitative findings. We assembled and trained a team of eight field investigators familiar with Rajasthan to implement the survey. Data were collected using tablets through a survey protocol designed in Qualtrics, with audio recordings used for validation and quality checks. Measures and Instruments The survey instrument was designed to address four key topics: Procedural Rigidity Assessment The survey instrument employed a systematic two-stage assessment of procedural knowledge in miniature painting. Through preliminary expert interviews, we identified eight standardized steps in the artistic process: preparing the canvas, outlining the painting, preparing the required colors, filling in the colors, adding shadings and other details, finalizing the faces of human subjects, finalizing the ornaments, and finalizing the border. In the first stage, participants were asked to recall these steps spontaneously, without prompts. In the second stage, participants were presented with these eight steps in randomized order to minimize sequential bias and asked to arrange them in their proper chronological sequence. This methodological approach enabled us to evaluate both unprompted procedural knowledge and structured understanding of the artistic process. Conformity Versus Creativity Expectations The survey included questions about preferred approaches (creativity or imitation) for practitioners at different levels of expertise (novice, experienced, and expert/master artists). The survey was administered in Hindi by trained field investigators, as the vast majority of participating artists were Hindi-speaking. The instrument was prepared in both Hindi and English; only two artists in the sample also communicated in English, and the Hindi version was the primary language of administration. Religious and Cultural Integration Questions explored the importance of miniature art to the Rajasthani community, criteria for evaluating quality and authenticity, and perceptions of artistic transformation over time. This section also examined the religious motivations and ritualistic practices that influenced art creation. The survey also included open-ended questions (Q83–Q89) addressing artists’ perceptions of how the art form has changed and is changing; relevant responses are incorporated in the Results below. Artist Background and Experience The survey collected information about artists’ training, experience level, and professional background while maintaining participant anonymity. Quality Control and Training Before data collection began, field investigators underwent comprehensive training on the survey protocol. A pilot test was conducted to identify and address potential issues with the survey instrument. Throughout the data collection period, audio recordings and regular quality checks ensured consistency in survey administration. Ethical Considerations The study was conducted under the approval of the University of Texas at Austin IRB (IRB ID: STUDY00003777, Approval Date: January 6, 2023) and received funding from the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT-2021–10482). All survey respondents participated voluntarily, and written informed consent was obtained from each participant using a Hindi-language consent form. Participants received compensation ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 Indian rupees, based on the interview duration and phase of study participation. All personal identifiers were removed from the final dataset to protect participant privacy. Data Availability The dataset supporting the findings of this study is available on the Open Science Framework (OSF). The anonymized data is available through a view-only OSF link for peer review (https://osf.io/eh27j/?view_only=bb8963c2c84a401bb8714b85ed8179ab). Upon publication, this data will become publicly accessible at the same location. Data Analysis All quantitative analyses were conducted using R (version 4.x) within the RStudio 2024.04.1 + 748 environment. Descriptive statistics and data visualizations were first generated to summarize socio-demographic patterns and procedural knowledge. We then used logistic regressions to describe how endorsement of imitation versus innovation varied with artists’ years of experience at different expertise levels (novice, experienced, and expert). Kendall’s W coefficients measured consensus in the ordering of artistic steps, while cross-tabulations and heatmaps illustrated procedural agreement across groups. Results Socio-demographic Profile of Participants To contextualize our findings, we analyzed the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants in this study. A total of 262 artists were included, ranging in age from 18 to 65 years, with the largest concentration of artists falling within the middle-aged range. Regarding religious affiliation, most participants identified as Hindu (84%), with a small representation from other religious backgrounds. This religious composition broadly reflects the region’s demographic patterns while suggesting that the practice of miniature painting, despite its historical connections to various religious traditions, is predominantly practiced by Hindu artists in contemporary Jaipur. Just over a third of participants (38%; 100 of the 260 who answered this question) came from families with a history of involvement in miniature painting, indicating that familial transmission operates alongside substantial recruitment from outside artistic families. Based on systematic listing and field observation of the artistic community conducted prior to and during data collection, our sample is estimated to represent more than 90% of the active miniature painting practitioners in Jaipur at the time of the study. This high coverage rate reflects both the close-knit, geographically concentrated nature of the community and the effectiveness of the snowball sampling approach within it, and suggests that the findings reflect community-level patterns rather than a narrow subsample. The artists’ experience levels, measured by years of practice, showed a wide range of expertise, with experience ranging from less than one year to over 40 years. The distribution of experience followed the age distribution, with a substantial number of artists having intermediate levels of experience, complemented by both newer practitioners and highly experienced masters. This distribution suggests an active community of practice with ongoing recruitment of new artists while maintaining a core of experienced practitioners who are positioned to transmit traditional knowledge and skills. Together, these characteristics indicate that the sample spans a broad cross-section of an active, community-embedded art tradition, while the sampling limitations noted below should be kept in mind when interpreting the analyses that follow. Procedural Rigidity in Artistic Practice Indian miniature artists demonstrate a high degree of procedural consensus, in both the content and ordering of steps in the canonical eight-step painting sequence, across experience levels and artistic lineages. Our investigation of procedural consensus among Indian miniature artists revealed strong consistency in specifying and following the eight-step artistic process outlined in the Methods section (Fig. 1). Among artists with 0–20 years of experience, 42% recalled all eight steps of the painting process, while 30% recalled seven steps, demonstrating high procedural awareness (72% recalling 7–8 steps) even among less experienced practitioners. This pattern persisted across experience categories, with 71% of mid-career artists (21–40 years) and 60% of highly experienced artists (41–60 years) recalling 7–8 steps. The high consistency in procedural knowledge across experience levels and artistic lineages is consistent with a structured transmission process in Indian miniature painting and with its status as a unified artistic practice in Jaipur. This shared methodological understanding also indicates strong social cohesion and cultural consensus within the artistic community. Further analysis of the procedural steps reveals strong agreement among artists regarding the chronological sequence of creating miniature paintings (Fig. 2). The sequential consensus is evident throughout the artistic process, with high concordance along the chronological progression, as demonstrated by the diagonal percentages in the heatmap. For instance, 85% of artists identify canvas preparation as the first step, 64% place color filling in the middle of the process as the fourth step, and 67% establish border finalization as the final step. This level of agreement is particularly noteworthy given the complexity of the art form. According to standard interpretative guidelines (Landis & Koch, 1977), a Kendall’s W of 0.68 indicates substantial agreement. Combined with the recall results reported above, these results indicate a strong consensus on the standardized artistic process rather than individual variation. This high level of agreement across artists of different experience levels reflects the cultural transmission of structured procedural knowledge (Figs. 3 and 4). The weaker consensus among artists who did not initially recall all steps may be attributed to a fundamental difference in their conceptualization of the artistic process, rather than merely incomplete recall. When presented with steps they hadn’t spontaneously mentioned for ranking, these artists showed notable discordance in their sequencing decisions. This suggests that their initial omission of specific steps might not be simply a memory lapse, but rather reflected their artistic practice, where they might not explicitly acknowledge or implement these steps as distinct phases of the creation process. Consequently, when asked to rank these unfamiliar or unacknowledged steps, they showed greater variability in their sequencing decisions, contributing to the lower overall consensus. To examine whether step-ordering consensus varies with years of experience, we computed Kendall’s W separately for artists grouped into five experience bins (Fig. 5). Agreement was lowest among artists with 10–20 years of practice (W = 0.55, n = 27) and highest among artists with 40 or more years of practice (W = 0.73, n = 63), with intermediate values at other experience levels (0–10y: W = 0.71, n = 28; 20–30y: W = 0.70, n = 54; 30–40y: W = 0.68, n = 87). When grouped by expertise level, expert artists showed the highest step-ordering agreement (W = 0.80, n = 20), followed by novices (W = 0.71, n = 38) and experienced artists (W = 0.67, n = 201). These patterns are descriptively consistent with a developmental trajectory in which the canonical step sequence is transmitted explicitly to new learners, shows greater individual variation during a mid-career phase of artistic development, and re-converges most strongly among the most senior practitioners. Examining consensus at the level of individual steps reveals an interpretable gradient (Fig. 6). The anchoring steps show the strongest positional agreement: 85% of artists placed canvas preparation first and 67% placed border finalization last. Steps in the finalization phase show considerably more variation: 54% placed shading fifth, while ornament finalization (39% placed it seventh) and face finalization (36% placed it sixth) showed the weakest consensus and were the only steps for which two adjacent positions were chosen with nearly equal frequency (Faces: 36% at rank 6, 35% at rank 7; Ornaments: 39% at rank 7, 33% at rank 6). This gradient aligns with the earlier distinction between technically constrained steps, which must logically come before or after others, and the finalization steps that are determined individually, where practitioners have more flexibility. The face finalization step is particularly notable in this regard: despite its religious significance (discussed below), its precise timing within the finalization phase varies more across practitioners than any other step in the sequence. Note that not all steps in the consensus sequence reflect purely technical necessity. While some steps are logically constrained (e.g., canvas preparation must precede color application), others appear to reflect cultural and religious conventions rather than technical requirements alone. The convention of painting the eyes of depicted deities only at the final stage is a prominent example: artists in qualitative interviews described this as imbuing the painting with a “divine gaze,” a rationale that goes beyond the functional logic of the painting process. Such culturally determined sequencing, in which the prescribed order carries symbolic significance not derivable from the task itself, aligns more closely with the concept of causal opacity in the cognitive science of religion than the technically constrained steps do (Boyer & Liénard, 2006). The depth of commitment that acquiring this procedural knowledge requires was expressed vividly by one senior artist: “To learn that work, it can take 10 years, it can take 20 years, and even a whole life is needed. Even today, we are still learning.” (Kailash Chand Sharma, personal communication, December 2022). Taken together, the findings on procedural rigidity reveal that the transmission of Indian miniature painting is highly standardized, with strong community-level consensus on both the content and sequence of the artistic process, consistent with the defining features of ritualized skill transmission. The following subsection describes how expectations for imitation versus creative innovation vary across levels of expertise. Expectations for Conformity Versus Creativity Our investigation examined how the balance between conformity and creativity shifts across different levels of artistic expertise. Through structured interviews, we asked practicing artists to evaluate whether novice, experienced, and expert practitioners should prioritize high fidelity imitation of traditional forms or pursue creative innovation. This three-tiered assessment allowed us to understand how artistic freedom is conceptualized across developmental stages. Our analysis revealed a clear pattern in how artists endorse different approaches for practitioners at varying experience levels (Fig. 7). For novice artists, a slight majority (53.5%) of respondents recommended prioritizing imitation (such as copying historically famous art pieces) over innovation (painting novel work). However, these recommendations shift dramatically when considering more experienced practitioners. For artists with intermediate experience, 80% of respondents endorsed prioritizing innovation over imitation. This preference for innovation strengthened further for expert artists, with 88.5% of respondents recommending creative exploration over strict imitation. This progressive shift in endorsements is consistent with a developmental sequence in which imitation is expected at early stages and creative latitude at later ones. We also fitted three logistic regressions, one for each target expertise level, using respondents’ own years of artistic experience to predict their endorsement of innovation versus imitation (coded 1 for innovation, 0 for imitation). We report these models descriptively rather than as hypothesis tests. None of the three experience slopes reached the conventional threshold for statistical significance: novice target, β = −0.019, SE = 0.010, p = 0.060; experienced target, β = 0.009, SE = 0.012, p = 0.457; expert target, β = 0.010, SE = 0.015, p = 0.516. The slope for novice targets had the smallest p value of the three, but at p = 0.060 it does not support a claim that respondents’ own experience is associated with what they recommend for beginners, and we therefore do not interpret its direction. What the models do capture is the overall level of endorsement rather than its relation to experience: the intercepts for experienced targets (β = 1.130, SE = 0.374, p = 0.003) and expert targets (β = 1.759, SE = 0.462, p < 0.001) are positive and reliably different from zero, indicating a high baseline rate of innovation endorsement at these levels. The descriptive pattern of primary interest therefore remains the one shown in Fig. 7: across levels of respondent experience, a large majority of respondents endorse innovation for experienced and expert artists. Qualitative responses from the semi-structured interviews provide additional context for these patterns. Artists consistently linked the emphasis on imitation for novices to the necessity of internalizing traditional forms before attempting independent expression. As one experienced artist described: “When I make a painting, and if it’s a painting related to religion such as gods and goddesses, I take it very seriously and focus my mind and thoughts because of which I can almost visualize the painting even before it takes any kind of shape.” (Neetu Singh, personal communication, January 2023). This account illustrates how deep familiarity with traditional content, acquired through years of imitative practice, shapes the creative process of the experienced artist. Open-ended responses from survey questions on artistic transformation (Q83–Q89) similarly indicated that artists view the transition from imitation to innovation as a natural developmental progression tied to the internalization of traditional knowledge, rather than as a discrete shift in instructional approach. Examining imitation endorsement for novices across quartiles of respondents’ own years of experience reveals a non-linear pattern (Fig. 7). Artists with the fewest years of practice (Q1: 1–20y, n = 65) showed the lowest rate of imitation endorsement for novices (34%), while artists with 30–38 years of practice (Q3, n = 65) showed the highest (71%), followed by partial relaxation among the most senior artists (Q4: 38–60y, n = 66; 55% imitation). The intermediate quartile (Q2: 20–30y, n = 65) showed a near-even split (54% imitation). These quartile-level patterns indicate that the relationship between respondents’ own experience and imitation endorsement for novices is not well characterized as linear, which is one reason we do not interpret the linear term from the logistic models: descriptively, endorsement of imitation is highest at approximately 30–38 years of practice and lower among the most experienced artists. Analyses by RA-assigned expertise label further qualified this picture: novice respondents were least likely to endorse imitation for novices (39%), while experienced artists were most conservative (56%), with expert artists in between (52%). These findings are consistent with a dual role for ritualized transmission: an early emphasis on imitative, repetitive practice co-occurs with a later shift toward creative exploration. This pattern co-occurs with both the continuity of traditional practices and room for cultural change within the art form. Artists describe the shift from imitation to innovation not as an individual pedagogical preference but as a widely shared community expectation, one that co-occurs with the cultural and material standards examined in the following subsection. Traditionalism and Cultural Symbolism Traditionalism in Indian miniature painting is deeply embedded across multiple levels of artistic practice, from the themes artists depict and the technical standards they uphold to the materials they use, with near-universal consensus on some dimensions and greater flexibility on others. These levels range from technical execution to cultural significance. Figure 8 presents fieldwork photographs illustrating these traditional practices. The art form’s deep cultural embeddedness is revealed through artist consensus: 94% emphasize its connection to cultural heritage, while 87% link it directly to religious beliefs. This strong cultural-religious foundation provides the context for developing and transmitting artistic practices. The items in this section were presented as checkboxes rather than forced-choice questions, meaning artists could endorse multiple categories, and a single painting may simultaneously reflect religious, royal, and local cultural themes. The traditional emphasis manifests most prominently in thematic content, with 94% of artists prioritizing depictions of Hindu deities and scriptural narratives, 84% focusing on Rajasthani royalty, and 83% representing local cultural elements. These categories are not mutually exclusive: a single painting may include all three simultaneously, as when a royal procession scene incorporates local deities and scriptural imagery. This thematic adherence is complemented by rigorous technical standards that define artistic excellence: 92% of artists emphasize the importance of fine facial details, 82% prioritize fine shading techniques, and 65% consider specific artwork size requirements. Material standards show a similar pattern, with 91% of artists emphasizing both the use of natural pigments and gold in their work. Rajasthani miniature painting encompasses distinct regional sub-styles, including those historically associated with the Jaipur, Kishangarh, Bundi, and Bikaner courts, each with characteristic color conventions and compositional forms. However, there is more flexibility in strict adherence to these regional stylistic conventions than in material practices, with 59% strictly adhering to regional styles. This differential (91% adherence for materials versus 59% for regional style) is itself a substantive finding: it suggests that material authenticity represents a more strictly enforced norm within this community than stylistic convention, and that not all dimensions of traditionalism are equally constrained. This balance between strict material requirements and greater stylistic flexibility indicates that traditionalism in Indian miniature painting is not uniform: some dimensions are tightly constrained, while others admit interpretation within established boundaries. The traditionalism documented here, especially the strong religious and cultural framing of thematic content and production practice, sets the stage for the final subsection, which describes the religious practices artists report as part of the artistic process. Religious Integration in Artistic Practice Learning and Inspiration The data show that religious elements are deeply embedded across three key dimensions of Indian miniature painting: learning, inspiration, and creation. Most artists emphasize religious foundations in the learning phase, with 93% prioritizing scripture study and 87% identifying guru respect as essential. This religious grounding extends to artistic motivation, with 74% citing spiritual motivation as fundamental to their practice. The integration of religion continues through artistic inspiration and execution, where 88% of artists focus on depicting scriptural stories, 87% portray local deities, and 77% create works specifically for religious spaces. This religious influence culminates in the creative process, where artists engage in specific ritualistic practices. Most (83%) begin their work with prayers and puja, while 87% maintain practices of honoring their guru and avoiding impure elements during creation. Additional ritualistic elements include purification practices (73% take ritual baths before beginning) and specific protocols, such as avoiding foot contact with the artwork (79%). Ritualized Creation Practices The data document ritual elements in the creation process, with 51% of artists actively incorporating religious customs while painting. Figure 9 presents fieldwork photographs of this devotional, ritual-like creation process. This ritualization extends to specific practices such as “making god’s eyes” at the completion of the work (41% of artists), suggesting that even technical aspects of creation carry spiritual significance. These findings indicate that religious elements are present throughout the artistic process, from learning to execution, appearing both as thematic content and as practices that artists describe as integral to how they work. Artists’ own accounts illustrate the depth of this integration. One prominent senior artist described his daily preparation for painting as follows: “Prayer and meditation help me clean myself of distracting thoughts before starting my day for painting.” (Virendra Bannu, personal communication, December 2022). A younger artist described an even more immersive experience: “When I do painting, if suppose I am making some painting related to religion, if I am making a painting of gods and goddesses, first I do it by keeping that in my meditation… I feel as if they are in front of me. Meaning, according to that, when I feel them like this—that they are in front of me—then the painting gets made on its own.” (personal communication, January 2023). These accounts suggest that for some artists, the act of painting is not simply accompanied by spiritual practice but is itself experienced as a form of spiritual engagement, a quality that distinguishes the production process from purely technical craft. The functional role of completed paintings also extends into religious practice. A substantial proportion of artists (77%) report creating works specifically for temples and places of worship, where they serve as visual aids for devotion and narrations of religious texts. Whether the communities in which these paintings are displayed attribute any specific supernatural efficacy to them (such as intercessory or apotropaic power) was not systematically assessed in the present study and represents an important direction for future qualitative work. Such beliefs, if prevalent, would provide additional grounds for characterizing aspects of the production process as ritually efficacious in the cognitive science of religion sense (Boyer & Liénard, 2006). Variation by Experience and Family Background Analysis of the emotions artists report experiencing during painting revealed a consistent gradient across expertise levels. Novice artists most frequently described the act of painting as feeling ‘like a religious prayer’ (66%) compared to experienced artists (58%) and expert artists (38%). A similar gradient appeared for ‘feels like a spiritual act’ (Novice: 63%; Experienced: 52%; Expert: 48%) and ‘feeling closer to the god being drawn’ (Novice: 82%; Experienced: 79%; Expert: 67%). In contrast, feelings of pride and joy were uniformly high across all expertise groups (86–89%) and did not differ meaningfully by level. These patterns suggest that the explicit experience of painting as a spiritual or devotional act may be most salient among artists who are newer to the tradition and may become less consciously foregrounded as practice becomes more professionalized over time. We offer this as a descriptive observation; the cross-sectional design does not permit causal inference about how these experiences change across an artist’s career. Artists from families with prior involvement in miniature painting were somewhat more likely to report performing rituals when creating art with religious themes (56%, n = 100) compared to artists from non-artist families (48%, n = 160). The convention of completing the eyes of depicted deities as one of the final steps was also more commonly reported by artists from artist families (27%) than by those without such family backgrounds (16%). These modest differences are consistent with a role for intergenerational family transmission in sustaining ritualized practices, beyond what is conveyed through formal apprenticeship instruction (Legare, 2017). Discussion This study explores the transmission of artistic mastery in Indian miniature painting and documents patterns consistent with features of ritualized practices. Our data describe structured practices that co-occur with both the preservation of traditional knowledge and the development of artistic mastery. Our findings illuminate four key aspects of ritualized transmission in this tradition: procedural rigidity, the balance between conformity and creativity, cultural embeddedness, and religious integration. Before discussing each aspect in turn, it is worth clarifying how we use the term “ritualization.” In the cognitive science of religion literature, rituals are typically characterized as goal-demoted or causally opaque, that is, actions whose instrumental rationale is not fully transparent to participants (Boyer & Liénard, 2006). We use “ritualization” in the broader sense proposed by Legare and Souza (2012, 2014): the formalization and sequentialization of transmission practices that support high-fidelity cultural learning. These two senses are not mutually exclusive, but they are distinct. Importantly, some features of miniature painting transmission meet the stricter cognitive science of religion (CSR) criterion: practices such as ritual bathing before beginning work, avoiding foot contact with the artwork, and reserving the painting of deities’ eyes for the final stage are not instrumentally self-evident from the painting task alone. Artists describe these practices in terms of purity, spiritual readiness, and the animation of the depicted deity’s gaze, rationales that are causally opaque in the technical sense and that are closer to ritual in the strict CSR definition. The eight-step production sequence, by contrast, is better characterized as ritualized in terms of cultural transmission: formalized, shared across the community, and transmitted with high fidelity, but serving primarily pedagogical and technical coordination functions. We treat both layers as meaningful features of the transmission system, while acknowledging the distinction. First, our findings document a strong consensus in procedural knowledge across artists at different experience levels, consistent with ritualization. This consensus extends beyond technically constrained steps to include culturally determined sequences, suggesting that the shared step-ordering reflects genuine transmission of cultural conventions rather than convergence on technical necessity alone (Kaimal & Arslanbek, 2020). For instance, while canvas preparation logically precedes color application, the timing of facial detailing and ornament finalization is not similarly constrained. We note, however, that step-ordering consensus alone does not establish that deviating from the canonical sequence would impair the resulting artwork; the consensus more directly reflects shared cultural knowledge and transmission than a technically necessary constraint. This structured transmission may support the faithful preservation of complex artistic knowledge across generations while maintaining the distinctive aesthetic qualities of the tradition (Legare & Souza, 2012, 2014). The high concordance in procedural knowledge among artists from different training backgrounds further suggests that this shared procedural framework reflects a common basis for artistic practice that extends across individual lineages (Wu et al., 2022). Second, our findings describe a developmental progression that mirrors what has been theorized as a scaffold function of ritualized transmission. We document a clear pattern in which artists endorse imitation for novices and innovation for experienced and expert practitioners. This pattern is consistent with theoretical accounts proposing that structured, high-fidelity transmission during early learning provides a foundation for later creative innovation (Legare & Nielsen, 2015; DeFillippi et al., 2007; Marinescu, 2021; Youngblood, 2019; Glaskin, 2011). Whether structured transmission is causally responsible for this developmental trajectory, or whether similar patterns appear in less formalized skill traditions, remains an open empirical question. An alternative interpretation of this pattern also deserves acknowledgement: the community expectation that novices imitate rather than innovate may simultaneously serve a gatekeeping function, regulating access to creative authority and protecting the cultural standing of established practitioners. Our data do not allow us to adjudicate between the socialization and gatekeeping interpretations; both are consistent with the observed pattern, and future qualitative work should explore artists’ own accounts of why imitation is prescribed for beginners. Third, our findings document high rates of cultural and religious embeddedness in this artistic community. Our data reveal that most artists strongly emphasize connections to cultural heritage and explicitly link their practice to religious beliefs. This integration manifests in multiple ways: through thematic choices that emphasize religious subjects, the use of traditional pigments to maintain material authenticity, and adherence to specific technical standards. The strong emphasis on cultural elements suggests that the transmission system involves not just the conveyance of technical skills but also the deeper cultural meanings embedded within the art form (Eyssartier et al., 2008; Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016). This cultural embedding is consistent with artists learning both how to create paintings and the broader significance of their work within cultural and spiritual traditions. Fourth, our data describe a deep integration of religious practice into artistic creation (Watson-Jones & Legare, 2016; Jalan & Tiwari, 2023). The data indicate that this integration occurs across multiple dimensions of artistic practice, including the prioritization of scripture study during learning, the incorporation of prayers and ritual purification during creation, and the adherence to religious protocols during execution. This religious integration of artistic practice is not restricted to Hindu artists. The predominance of Hindu artists in our sample (84%) reflects the region’s demographic composition and the historical association of this art form with Hindu iconography; the presence of non-Hindu practitioners (16%) suggests that participation in these transmission practices is not contingent on Hindu religious identity. However, the sample composition does not permit strong claims about cross-religious transmission dynamics, and future research should directly compare patterns across religious groups. Note that the integration of religious practice into transmission is not an extraneous feature that artificially elevates our conclusions but is precisely what theoretical accounts of ritualized transmission predict: that culturally meaningful practices are transmitted with greater fidelity through formalized mechanisms (Legare & Souza, 2012). The participation of non-Hindu artists in the same transmission conventions (step sequencing, guru respect, ritual protocols) further suggests these patterns operate as broader cultural transmission mechanisms within this community, extending beyond individual religious commitment (Capistrano-Baker, 2015). Limitations and Future Directions While this study offers valuable insights into the ritualization of mastery of complex skills, several limitations should be considered. Snowball sampling, though adequate for accessing a specialized community, may have introduced biases that affect the sample’s representativeness. Because sampling began from established artists and their networks, artists who are well connected within the community may be over-represented relative to those who work in relative isolation. We note, however, that only 38% of participants reported family involvement in miniature painting, which does not indicate a sample dominated by multi-generational artistic families. Some procedural constraints naturally affect step ordering (e.g., canvas preparation must precede color application). However, the observed consensus extends beyond these mechanical necessities to culturally determined sequences, suggesting genuine ritualization rather than mere technical requirements. Participants were primarily from Jaipur, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other regions where miniature painting practices may differ. The cross-sectional nature of our study limits our ability to observe how ritualization processes evolve. Longitudinal studies tracking artists’ development from novice to expert could provide deeper insights into the temporal dynamics of ritualized transmission. We also note that the qualitative component of this study involved interviews with eight expert artists, a relatively small sample that may not fully represent the diversity of perspectives within the Jaipur miniature painting community. The artist quotations presented here are illustrative rather than exhaustive, and the views expressed may reflect the perspectives of senior, established practitioners more than those of novices or artists from different lineages. The binary forced-choice format used for the imitation-versus-innovation questions may also not capture the full range of positions artists hold; future work using more open-ended or Likert-scale instruments could provide greater nuance. Future research should also examine whether the transmission patterns documented here extend to other regional traditions of Indian miniature painting (e.g., Mughal, Pahari, or Deccan traditions) and to other traditional art forms in non-Western contexts, in order to assess the broader generalizability of these findings. Conclusion This study describes patterns in the cultural transmission of Indian miniature painting that are consistent with the ritualization of cultural learning. The findings document a structured transmission system that simultaneously preserves tradition and creates pathways for artistic development. They reveal how the transmission system combines procedural rigor with a developmental progression from imitation to creative latitude, a pattern consistent with theoretical accounts of how structured transmission can scaffold later innovation (Legare & Nielsen, 2015). First, our data describe an adaptive pattern in which strict adherence to tradition during early training coexists with increasing creative latitude for experienced practitioners. Second, they document the integration of religious and cultural elements into technical training, an integration that artists themselves describe in terms of both motivational engagement and the fidelity of aesthetic standards. Finally, they offer an empirical account suggesting that procedural rigor and creative development need not be in tension, a pattern that may inform preservation efforts for other traditional art forms facing similar challenges. These insights contribute to both theoretical frameworks of cultural transmission and practical approaches to preserving traditional knowledge systems in an increasingly interconnected world. Our research contributes to the broader understanding of cultural transmission by illuminating how structured, ritualized transmission operates in a non-Western artistic context. The findings have practical implications for art education and cultural preservation, suggesting that the procedural and cultural elements of artistic training may play important roles in maintaining the integrity of traditional art forms over time. This understanding is particularly valuable for traditional practices that rely on apprenticeship models, where the balance between preservation and innovation is essential for cultural continuity. The insights gained from studying Indian miniature painting may extend beyond artistic traditions to other domains of complex skill acquisition. 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PloS one, 14(2), e0211860. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211860 Acknowledgements We express our deep gratitude to our late colleague, Akash Sharma, who led our dedicated team of research assistants in data collection. His contributions were invaluable to this study. We thank Dr. Sangeeta Sahi for her valuable contributions to this research program. Special thanks to the artists of Jaipur, India, who graciously shared their experiences and insights. This research was supported by a grant (TRT-2021-10482) from the Templeton Religion Trust, awarded to Dr. Cristine H. Legare at The University of Texas at Austin. This research was also supported by the grant P2CHD042849 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Funding This research was supported by a grant (TRT-2021-10482) from the Templeton Religion Trust, awarded to Dr. Cristine H. Legare at The University of Texas at Austin. This research was also supported by the grant P2CHD042849 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions Faiz A. Hashmi: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Software, revision. Alejandro Erut: Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing - review & editing. Zachary Taylor: Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing - review & editing, Resources. Cristine H. Legare: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Validation. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate This study was conducted with full respect for participant autonomy and confidentiality. All survey respondents participated voluntarily, providing informed consent before taking part. An authorization form accompanying the survey explained the study’s purpose, their involvement, and the time commitment required. Written consent was obtained in every interview. The study received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board at The University of Texas at Austin (IRB ID: STUDY00003777, Approval Date: January 6, 2023). Disclosure Statement The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. This work was supported by the Templeton Religion Trust under Grant TRT-2021-10482 (Principal Investigator: Cristine H. Legare, Ph.D.). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Templeton Religion Trust. The authors declare no relevant financial or non-financial interests. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. About this article Cite this article Hashmi, F.A., Erut, A., Taylor, Z. et al. Ritualization of Complex Skill Acquisition. Hum Nat (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-026-09533-0 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-026-09533-0