Pariksha SaathiLesson 6 of 10 · Indian Art and Culture
Folk Dances, Folk Theatre and Puppetry of India by State
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Folk forms and how they differ
Folk dances and theatre belong to a community, a season or a ritual rather than to a codified text. They mark harvests, weddings, festivals and worship, use local songs and instruments, and are learned by joining in. Exams test them as state-and-form pairs, so remember them region by region.
North and west
Punjab has Bhangra, the men's harvest dance of Baisakhi, and Giddha, the women's dance; Haryana has Phag in the month of Phalgun. Jammu and Kashmir has Rouf, danced by women in facing rows, and Dumhal of the Wattal men; Himachal Pradesh has Nati, a line dance of Kullu; Uttarakhand has Chholiya, a sword dance of Kumaon weddings. Rajasthan has Ghoomar, the swirling dance of women in long skirts, Kalbelia of the snake-charmer community, Chari, in which women balance brass pots with lit lamps on their heads, Terah Taali, in which seated women strike 13 manjiras tied to their bodies, and Kachchhi Ghodi with dummy horses. Gujarat has Garba around a lamp at Navratri, Dandiya Raas with sticks and Tippani of Saurashtra; Maharashtra has Lavani, sung and danced to the dholki, Koli of the fisherfolk and Dhangari Gaja of shepherds; Goa has Dekhni and Fugdi.
East and north-east
Uttar Pradesh has Charkula of Braj, danced with a tiered pyramid of lamps on the head. Bihar has Jat-Jatin and Jhijhiya of Mithila; Jharkhand has Jhumair, Paika and Karma; West Bengal has Gambhira of Malda; Odisha has Ghumura, a drum dance of Kalahandi, and Dalkhai of Sambalpur. Chhau, a martial dance, has three styles: Seraikela (Jharkhand) and Purulia (West Bengal), danced with masks, and Mayurbhanj (Odisha), danced without them. Assam's Bihu is danced at Rongali Bihu in April, and the Bodo dance Bagurumba imitates butterflies. Mizoram has Cheraw, danced between clapping bamboo poles; Meghalaya has Nongkrem of the Khasis and Wangala, the harvest dance of the Garos; Tripura has Hojagiri, in which Reang women balance pitchers and lamps; Manipur has Thang-Ta, a martial art, and the ritual dances of Lai Haraoba; Sikkim has Singhi Chham, a snow-lion mask dance; and Ladakh has the masked Cham dances of its monasteries.
South and centre
Kerala has Theyyam, the ritual dance of north Kerala in which the performer becomes the deity, Thiruvathirakali of women, Oppana at Muslim weddings and Margamkali of the Syrian Christians. Tamil Nadu has Karagattam, danced with a decorated pot on the head in honour of Mariamman, Kummi and Kolattam of women, and Mayilattam, the peacock dance. Karnataka has Dollu Kunitha, a vigorous drum dance; Telangana has Perini Sivatandavam, the warrior dance of the Kakatiya age; Andhra Pradesh and Odisha share Dhimsa, a tribal ring dance. Chhattisgarh has Panthi of the Satnami community, Raut Nacha of the Yadavs after Diwali and the Gaur (bison-horn) dance of the Marias of Bastar; Madhya Pradesh has Matki of Malwa.
Folk theatre of the north, west and east
Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh, with Kanpur, Lucknow and Hathras styles, is musical verse drama led by the nagara drum. Swang of Haryana mixes song and dialogue; Ramlila stages the Ramayana, often from Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, at Dussehra; Bhand Pather of Kashmir is satire by Bhands. Bhavai of Gujarat, credited to Asait Thakar in the 14th century, is a chain of short plays (vesh) with the long trumpet bhungal; Tamasha of Maharashtra, built around Lavani, is unusual in giving the lead roles to women. Jatra of Bengal and Odisha, open-air musical drama, spread with the Krishna devotion of Chaitanya in the 16th century; Ankiya Naat (Bhaona) of Assam was created by Sankardeva; Bidesia of Bihar, shaped by Bhikhari Thakur, tells of migrant workers and the families they leave behind.
Folk theatre of the south
Yakshagana of coastal Karnataka is an all-night dance-drama on stories from the epics, with towering headgear and a lead singer-narrator called the Bhagavata. Koodiyattam (Kutiyattam) of Kerala is one of the oldest living traditions of Sanskrit theatre, performed in temple theatres (koothambalam) by Chakyar men, with Nangiar women in the female roles and the mizhavu drum. Krishnattam, on Krishna's life, was composed by the Zamorin Manavedan of Calicut; Mudiyettu enacts the goddess Kali's battle with the demon Darika; Therukoothu is the street theatre of Tamil Nadu, often on Mahabharata themes.
Puppetry
India has four kinds of puppets. String puppets include the Kathputli of Rajasthan, the Kundhei of Odisha and the Gombeyata of Karnataka, while Bommalattam of Tamil Nadu combines strings and rods. Shadow puppets, flat leather figures behind a lit screen, include the large coloured Tholu Bommalata of Andhra Pradesh, the Togalu Gombeyata of Karnataka, the Tolpava Koothu of Kerala, which narrates the Kamba Ramayana, and the Ravanachhaya of Odisha, cut from uncoloured deer skin without joints. Rod puppets include the Putul Nach of West Bengal and the Yampuri of Bihar, and the Pavakoothu of Kerala uses glove puppets.
Key facts
- Rajasthan dances: Ghoomar (swirling women), Kalbelia (snake-charmer community), Chari (pots with lit lamps), Terah Taali (13 manjiras), Kachchhi Ghodi (dummy horses).
- Gujarat: Garba (around a lamp at Navratri), Dandiya Raas (sticks), Tippani (Saurashtra); Maharashtra: Lavani (dholki), Koli (fisherfolk), Dhangari Gaja (shepherds).
- Himalayan belt: Rouf and Dumhal (Jammu and Kashmir), Nati (Himachal Pradesh), Chholiya sword dance (Uttarakhand), Singhi Chham (Sikkim), Cham mask dances (Ladakh).
- North-east: Bihu and Bagurumba (Assam), Cheraw bamboo dance (Mizoram), Nongkrem and Wangala (Meghalaya), Hojagiri (Tripura), Thang-Ta (Manipur).
- East: Jat-Jatin (Bihar), Jhumair and Karma (Jharkhand), Gambhira (Malda, West Bengal), Ghumura and Dalkhai (Odisha), Charkula (Braj, Uttar Pradesh).
- South: Theyyam, Oppana, Margamkali (Kerala); Karagattam, Kummi, Mayilattam (Tamil Nadu); Dollu Kunitha (Karnataka); Perini (Telangana); Dhimsa (Andhra-Odisha).
- Chhattisgarh: Panthi (Satnamis), Raut Nacha (Yadavs, after Diwali), Gaur bison-horn dance (Marias of Bastar).
- Theatre pairs: Nautanki-UP, Swang-Haryana, Bhand Pather-Kashmir, Bhavai-Gujarat (Asait Thakar), Tamasha-Maharashtra, Jatra-Bengal, Ankiya Naat-Assam, Bidesia-Bihar (Bhikhari Thakur).
- Southern theatre: Yakshagana (Karnataka, Bhagavata narrator), Koodiyattam (Kerala, Chakyars and Nangiars, koothambalam), Krishnattam (Zamorin Manavedan), Mudiyettu (Kali and Darika), Therukoothu (Tamil Nadu).
- Puppets: string - Kathputli, Kundhei, Gombeyata; shadow - Tholu Bommalata, Togalu Gombeyata, Tolpava Koothu, Ravanachhaya; rod - Putul Nach, Yampuri; glove - Pavakoothu.
Quick revision
Bhangra-Giddha (Punjab); Rouf (Kashmir); Chholiya (Uttarakhand); Ghoomar, Kalbelia, Chari, Terah Taali (Rajasthan); Garba, Tippani (Gujarat); Lavani (Maharashtra); Cheraw (Mizoram); Hojagiri (Tripura); Wangala (Meghalaya); Theyyam (Kerala); Karagattam (TN); Dollu Kunitha (Karnataka); Panthi (Chhattisgarh); theatre: Yakshagana, Koodiyattam, Jatra, Nautanki, Tamasha, Bhavai, Bidesia; puppets: Kathputli string, Tholu Bommalata shadow, Putul Nach rod, Pavakoothu glove.