Animal Mask
Dance
Animal Mask Dances
are prevalent in village of south Orissa specially in the district
of Ganjam. Particularly during Thankurani Yatra, when the idols
are taken out on the streets, the animal mask dancers go on
dancing before the procession. During the marriage ceremonies
also they lead the bridegroom's procession all the way to the
bride's house. The three animal mask dances typical of the area
are the tiger, bull and horse dances. Two persons get into cane
frame and conceal themselves within it. Their legs become the
legs of the animals they are representing.
Ghoomra Dance
Ghoomra is a
typical drum. It is just like a big pitcher with a long stem
made of clay. The mouth is covered with the skin of a Godhi
(a reptile). When played with both hands, it produces a peculiar
sound quite different from other varieties of drums. The dance
performed to the accompaniment of this drum is called Ghoomra
Nata. It begins fifteen days earlier of Gamha Purnima (full
moon in September) and culminates on that night in a ceremonial
performance. Young men of various communities fix a Ghoomra
each on the chest with string tied the body simultaneouly dance
and play. The performance begins will slow circular movements.
The Nisan is a smaller variety of Kettle-drum played with two
leather-sticks. The player always places himself in the centre
and controls the tempo of the dance. He also indicates change
over the movements. After a brief dance sequence in different
rhythmic patterns all the dancers move in a concentric circle
and then stand erect in a line. Then enters the singer who first
sings in praise of Saraswati and other gods and godesses. During
the song the drums remain silent. After the prayer-song Chhanda,
Chaupadi other literary folk-songs are sung. Each couplet of
a song is followed by a dance-peace. At the end of the each
couplet the singer adds 'Takita Dhe' which is a numonic syllable
for the time-beats and indicates the dance to begin.
Karma
Dance
Karam or Karma
literally means 'fate'. This pastoral dance is performed during
the worship of the God or Goddess of fate (Karam Devta or Karamsani
Devi), whom the people consider the cause of good and bad fortune.
It begins from Bhadra Shukla Ekadasi (eleventh day of the brightmoon
of the month of Bhadra) and lasts for several days. This is
popular among the scheduled class tribes (e.g., the Binjhal,
Kharia, Kisan and Kol tribes) in the districts of Mayurbhanj,
Sundargarh, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal. In Dhenkanal and Sambalpur
the dance is in honour of Karamsani, the deity who bestows children
and good crops. However, the rituals connected with the dance
remain the same everywhere. In the afternoon of the auspicious
day two young unmarried girls cut and bring two branches of
the 'Karam' tree from a nearby jungle. They are accompanied
by drummers and musicians. The two branches are then ceremonially
planted on the altar of worship and symbolise the God. Germinated
grains, grass flowers and country liquor are offered to the
deity. After completing the ritual the village-priest tells
the story or legend connected with it. This is followed by singing
and dancing in accompaniment of drum (madal), cymbal etc. The
dance performance full of vigour and energy combined with charm
of the youth decked with colourful costumes in exuberance of
red cloth, set in peacock feathers skillfully designed ornaments
made of small conch shells, brings the onlookers as well as
the performers to a mood of trance and ecstasy. In this dance
both men and women take part and continue to engross themselves
for the whole night. The skillful movement of the young boys
with mirror in hand indicates the traditional pattern of love-making
in course of dancing and singing. The dance is performed sometimes
by boys in group, sometimes by girls in group and sometimes
both the sexes together. The subject matter of songs constitutes
the description of nature, invocation to Karmasani, desires,
aspiration of people, love and humour. The Karam dance continues
from dusk to dawn. Group after group drawn from nearby villages
dance alternately throughout the night. In the early morning
they carry the Karam branches singing and dancing and then immerse
them ceremonially in a river or tank and then disperse. The
technique of the Karma dance varies a little from tribe to tribe.
The Kharias, Kisans and Oraons dance in a circular pattern,
where men and women dance together. It is always headed by a
leader and generally the men at the head of the line. Only the
best of dancers join in right next to or near him. Very young
girls and children join in at the tail end to learn the steps.
When the dancing grows fast the dancers of the tail end drop
out to let the true dancers show their skill. The dancers hold
hands in different ways in different dances. Sometimes they
simply hold hands and sometimes hands are placed on the neighbor's
waist band or are crossed. It is the legs and the feet which
play the principal part in the dance. The dance begins lightly
with simple steps forward and backward, left and right, then
gradually the steps grow smaller and faster, growing more and
more complicated, until that dance reaches its height. Then
it goes gradually to the first steps as the music leads to give
dancers rest. The dancers have no special costume for the occasion.
They dance with their usual attires which they wear daily. The
dance is usually held in the courtyard of a village where performance
is arranged. In the center of the courtyard a bamboo is fixed
and it is split into four upto a certain height and then bent
to form the arches. Each split is fixed with a pole on the outerside
to form the earch. Then it is decorated with festoons of mango
leaves and water lilies giving it a festive look. The ground
is neatly plastered with cow-dung. Men and women dance winding
in an out beneath the arches.
Puppet
Dance
Puppets dance
known as Kandhei or Sakhi Nata, a rare and unusual type of stylised
indigenous drama and dance based on mythological stories, is
being performed today in various parts of Orissa. The puppets
are usually the representations of various characters and animals
of a particular drama. It is difficult to speak anything about
its origin but undoubtedly is an old art. The making of dolls
with paintings, dresses and ornaments is a typical folk art
for the enjoyment of people of all categories. Together with
puppets there evolved another art popularly known as the expressive
shadow plays which has the added advantage of being able to
cater to large audiences. The puppetry of Orissa may be classified
into three categories, such as hand puppets, string puppets
and rod puppets.
Jhoomar
Dance
This dance type
named after the accompanying Jhoomar songs is prevalent among
the Mahanta and Munda communities of the Sundargarh district.
Among the Mahantas the dance is performed by the men only. Among
the Mundas the singers who accompany the dancers sing songs
and the dancers follow them in chorus in accompaniment of Madal.
The Mundas are especially experts in this dance particularly
in intricate foot steps, movement of hip and wrists and movement
of body.
Changu Dance
Changu is rural
variety of the tambourine. It is played by the male-members
of the Bhuiyan, Bathudi, Kharia, Juang, Mechi and Kondha communities
of Sundergarh, keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Phulbani. The dance
in accompaniment to the Changu is performed by women alone.
The men only sing songs, play on the Changu and move with the
female dancers with simple steps. While the women advance they
recede back and on their advance the females retreat. In between,
the male dancers perform vigorous stunts in which they leap
into the air and make wide circling movements. Peculiarly enough
the women cover up their persons with long local made Saris.
Only their bangled hands and feet remain visible. In a group
the female dancers dance in a half-sitting position with swaying
and sometimes jerky movements. During festivals and on any moon-lit
night the young boys and girls assemble and dance to express
their joy in living.
Ghanta
Patua
For the whole
month of Chaitra the village streets in Orissa reverberate with
the sound of Ghanta (brass gong) played by Ghanta Patuas in
accompaniment to their peculiar dance on the stilts which is
very similar to the Karaga dance of Mysore. In Orissa, it is
closely associated with the worship of Mother Goddess who has
various names as Sarala, Hingula, Charchika, Bhagavati, Chandi
etc. Ghanta patuas are the non-Brahmin Sevaks or servants of
the deities. With the blessings of the respective deities attached
to the shrines, they set out in two to four in a group. One
of them dresses himself as a female with a black colour is tied
on the head like a round cap while the flowing two ends are
held by him in both the hands separately. He places the Ghata
(sacred pitcher) on his head which is profusely decorated with
flowers, vermilion, sandlepaste and coloured threads. With the
Ghata on the head, he displays a variety of Yogic postures.
Then he dances a while with bare-feet with the ropes. Without
any support for the hands the dancer displays rare skill, with
dance movements. Dhol and Ghanta are the accompanying instruments
and their players, while working out uncanny rhythms control
the tempo of the dance. After the performance the performers
distribute the holy vermilion paste to the villager sand collect
money and cereals. Like this they keep on moving for the whole
month and return to their respective shrines for their annual
celebration on the first day of the Hindu new year, Visuva Sankranti.
Such celebrations are marked by small fairs and ornate rituals
connected with the worship of Goddesses together with performances
of dance and music.
Kela
Keluni Dance
The Kelas are
a nomadic class of people in Orissa. Except for a few months
in the year they mostly remain out of their homes. Originally
they are snake-charmers and bird-catchers who roam about the
countryside to earn their livelihood. Besides, they also display
tight-rope walking and other varieties of gymnastic events along
with dance and songs. In the dance only two persons take part,
a Kela and Keluni (a female of the tribe). The Kela plays a
peculiar string instrument Ghuduki which produces a peculiar
sound. He works out rhythms by playing his fingers in strokes
on a string. He dances with the Keluni and also sings. The dance
of the Keluni is fast with swaying movements of legs, hips and
the head. There are also exalted action in half-sitting position.
Generally it is she who carries the show. The songs are of a
special variety and are popularly known as Kela-Keluni Geeta
in which love and humour predominate. This dance is fast dying
out. But it is being adopted by professional Yatra troupes and
other groups of entertainers.
Dasakathia
A colourful
and popular performance is rendered by two members, one signer
(Gayaka) and the other accompanist (Palia). The very word (Dasakathia)
is derived from the word Das which means worshipper and Kathi
means two pieces of sticks which produce a very sweet sound.
This performance is ritualistic and secular in nature. The performers
each holding a pair of sticks begin their performance in chorus
with invocatory verses composed by the local poets, each one
striking his own sticks in perfect tune. The recitation of mythological
themes in usually at the top of voice hypnotizes folk listeners.The
dramatic performance includes verbose stanzas of various types
including pauranic episodes mixed with manly vigour. Luxurious
in dress and with turban on head and wearing a long luish or
silken coat, the two dasas create a visual attraction of the
listeners by their gestures and postures. This vocal recital
is based on some patterns of tunes of inherent southern rural
character. The form of inimitable type of music is a distinctive
contribution of Ganjam district of South Orissa. Accentuation
of the languages, breaking of syllables with notes, rigid pronunciations
indicate a clear fusion of southern patterns in Oriya.
Chaiti
Ghoda Dance
Chaitighoda
Nacha (Horse dance in the month of Chitra): This folk items
is connected with the Sakti cult of coastal Orissa confined
to the people of Kaibarta caste only. This festival is observed
by the Kaibartas in the month of Chaitra from the fool moon
day to eight day of Vaisakha in honour of their caste deity
Vasuli devi. A horse ridden man with the head of a horse well-dressed
and trunk built of bamboo, dances to the tune of Dhola and Mahuri
accompanied by songs composed by the local poets. The dancing
party consists of two dancers, one male and one female, a drumer
and a piper. The Kaibarta song of Achutananda Das, (one of the
poets of Pancha Sakha group flourished in the sixteenth century)
is believed to be only religious text of the Kaibartas. The
origin of this dance goes back to the hoary past. The Goddess
Vasuli is held very high among the Kaibartas. Here it may be
mentioned that the Goddess has a wide distribution in Orissa,
but is considered to be the oldest in Puri where Raja of Puri
provided land grants for regular worship of the deity. Vasuli
in many places is taken to be one of the manifestations of the
Durga and one of sixty-four Yoginis. The horse dance is very
popular and attracts a large audience. The performing group
consists of three main characters- Rauta, Rautani and the Horse
dancer, besides the drummer and the piper. The songs recited
in the performace consists of the episode from mythology. Rautani
is Rauta's Co-dancer and Co-singer.
Dalkhai
Dance
Though Dusserah
is the occasion of Dalkhai the most popular folk-dance of western
Orissa, its performance is very common on all other festivals
such as Bhaijauntia, Phangun Puni, Nuakhai etc. This is mostly
danced by young women of Binjhal, Kuda, Mirdha, Sama and some
other tribes of Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sundargarh and Dhenkanal
districts of Orissa in which men join them as drummers and musicians.
The dance is accompanied by a rich orchestra of folk music played
by a number of instruments known as Dhol, Nisan (a typically
giant sized drum made of iron case), Tamki (a tiny one sided
drum 6" in diameter played by two sticks), Tasa (a one sided
drum) and Mahuri. However, the Dhol player controls the tempo
while dancing in front of the girls. It is known as Dalkhai
because in the beginning and end of every stanza the word is
used as an address to a girl friend. The love story of Radha
and Krishna, the episodes from Ramayana and Mahabaharata, the
description of natural scenery are represented through the songs.
The young women dance and sing intermittently. The songs are
of special variety with the additive 'Dalkhai Bo' which is an
address to a girl-friend. While dancing to the uncanny rhythms
of the Dhol, they place the legs close together and bend the
knees. In another movement they move forward and backward in
a half-sitting position. Sometimes they make concentric circles
clock-wise and anti-clock-wise. The women generally dress themselves
with the colourful Sambalpuri Sari and wear a scarf on the shoulders
holding the ends below in both the hands. Bedecked with traditional
jewelry their robust framers sustain the strains of the dance
for long hours. The Dalkhai dance has several adjunctive forms
known as Mayalajada, Rasarkeli, Gunji kuta, Jamudali, Banki,
Jhulki, Sainladi etc. On account of its style,theme and performance
Dalkhai is basically a secular form.
Dhanu
Jatra
A type of theatrical
presentation very interesting for the local people and prevalent
in Sambalpur district. In this performance subject matter being
a part of krishnalila, the river Jira is conceived as the sacred
river Yamaha, Amapali as Gopapur and Badagada as Mahura. The
main characteristics of the Jatra, besides other highlights,
is Kansa's elephant ride in the street of the kingdom, his high
Mancha from where he falls and dies,and his Durbar, everything
is so well planned and improvised that perhaps no where in the
world, a play has been made to achieve such a vast magnitude
bringing that central goal in dramatics, the unity, the team
spirit and the universal brotherhood. All the villages, town
and the river turn to be acting zones, naturally all the inhabitants
and visitors also turn to be characters.
