Folk dances in India
Folk dance
Indian folk and tribal dances range from simple, joyous
celebrations of the seasons of the harvest, or the birth of a child
to ritualistic dances to propitiate demons and invoke spirits .
The drum is the most common of the folk instruments that
provide musical accompaniment to these dances.
Central India
Gaur dance :
Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh
'Gaur' means a ferocious bison
Men put head-dresses with stringed 'cowries' and
plumes of peacock feathers and make their way to the
dancing ground.
Women ornamented with
brass fillets and bead necklaces
with their tattooed bodies also
join the gathering.
The men with drums usually
move in a circle and create a
variety of dancing patterns .
As a part of the dance they
attack one another and even
chase
the female dancers.
Pandavani :
Folk Dance of Chhattisgarh
Form of story-telling prevalent
among the tribals of the Chhatisgarh
Both entertaining and educating the
people.
Pandavani narrates the story of the five Pandava brothers
(protagonists of the epic Mahabharata).
Teejan Bai is a known Pandavani artist.
Eastern India :
Chhau ;
Popular folk dance of Orissa/Bihar/Bengal.
Chhau means mask.
All the Chhau performers hold swords and shields while
performing.
The stages are decorated and brightly lit by torches, lanterns and
flickering oil lamps.
The musical instruments used are the Dhol (a cylindrical drum),
Nagara (a huge drum) and Shehnai (reed pipes).
The themes often revolve around
mythological heroes and warriors from the
Mahabharata and Ramayana.
It probably originated as a martial art, which is
why it comprises vigorous movements and leaps
Jatra
Folk dance of West Bengal &
Bangladesh
The name literally means 'going' or
'journey'.
It is performing art combining acting,
songs, music and dance
Developed from ceremonial functions conducted
before setting out on a journey.
It developed from processions brought out in
honour of various deities.
North East India
Bihu :
Popular folk dance of Assam.
It is an integral part of the Bihu festival of
Assam
The dance performed in mid-April when the
harvesting of crops is over
Young men and girls perform the Bihu
dance together to the accompaniment of drums
and pipes.
Love forms the subject matter of the
songs that are sung during the
performance. The dances are performed
in circles or parallel rows.
Chiraw :
Folk Dance of Mizoram
It employs a grid of bamboo poles in its
performance.
The dancers move by stepping
alternately in and out of the pairs of
horizontal bamboos.
They tap the bamboos open and closed
in rhythmic beats.
The dancers step in and out of
the squares formed by the
bamboos with ease and grace.
The pattern and stepping of the
dance resemble the movements of
birds, swaying of trees
North India
Dumhal :
A dance performed by the men folk of the Wattal
tribe of Kashmir
This dance is performed with long colorful robes,
tall conical caps (studded with beads and shells).
Dumhal dance is accompanied by songs which the
performers themselves sing.
Performers of this dance place a
banner into the ground at a fixed
location. They begin to dance
around this banner.
Bhangra
Bhangra is a lively form of folk music and
dance of Punjab.
People sing Boliyaan (lyrics or couplets)
in the Punjabi language.
Dancers play the dhol (a large drum),
beating it with a stick while others play the
flute and dholak .
Bhangra eventually became a
part of social occasions including
weddings .
Giddha
It is a folk dance of Punjab
performed by women and girls
It is considered to be the
female counterpart of Bhangra.
Langvir Dance
This is an acrobatic dance in
Uttarkhand, performed solely by the
local menfolk.
Dancer climbs a pole and balances
himself on his navel on the top of the
pole.
To the accompaniment of drum beats
and music, he balances skillfully and
rotates on his belly, performing several
acrobatic stunts. 5
South India
Padayani :
Southern Kerala.
Associated with the
festival of certain temples, called Padayani or
Paddeni.
Such temples are in Alleppey, Quilon,
Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts.
The main Kolams (huge masks) displayed in
Padayani are Bhairavi (Kali), Kalan (god of
death), Yakshi (fairy) and Pakshi (bird).
Dollu Kunitha
Karnataka state.
Large drums are adorned with colored
clothes and hang around the necks of men.
The songs used in this dance usually have
religious and battle fervor.
The main emphasis is on quick and light
movement of the feet and legs.
The Dollu Kunitha dance forms a part of
the ritualistic dances of the Dodavas of
Karnataka
Dhimsa
Andhra Pradesh
This dance is popular among
the tribes inhabiting the Araku
Valley region of Vishakhapatam.
It is generally performed in local fairs
and festivals of the area.
Western India :
Dandiya :
It is a popular folk dance of
Rajasthan.
Dressed in colorful costumes
the performers play skillfully
with big sticks in their hands.
Dandiya dance is accompanied
by the musical instrument called
the 'Meddale' played by the
drummer in the centre.
Ghoomar Dance :
Characteristic dance of the Bhils - a
tribal community in Rajastan
A community dance performed by
groups of women on auspicious
occasions.
The name is derived from the word
ghoomna (pirouetting).
Kalbelia Dance
Performed by the womenfolk hailing
from the Kalbelia community in Rajastan.
They pursue the centuries-old profession of
catching snakes and trading snake venom.
The dance movements and the costumes have
an uncanny resemblance to the slithery creatures.
It has been included in UNESCO intangible
cultural heritage list .
Bhavai :
In Rajasthan, this
spectacular dance form
consists of veiled women
dancers balancing nearly
seven or nine brass pitchers
as they dance dexterously,
pirouetting and swaying
with the soles of their feet
perched on top of a glass or
on the edge of a sword.
