Types of dance and occasions when Haryanvi women dance
I am writing about culture and dance of the Haryana as I observed from my childhood.
List of dance. Name of the main dance are Ghoomar, Khoria dance, dhamal and Holi dance called the phag. A dance called ghoomar is especially popular in the west of the State towards the border with Rajasthan and is only danced by girls. It is performed at such festivals as Holi, Gangor Puja and Teej and depicts the girls carrying the thalis of offerings to the temple for their Puja.
The girls sing while they dance in a turning movement and as the tempo increases the girls form pairs and swirl faster and faster. As in many communities and regions in India, weddings give rise to many dances and much revelry. Another all-female Haryanvi dance is the Khoria dance which is usually performed during the long wait for the bridegroom to bring his new bride home.
The women often mime the entire wedding ceremony. It is not only the women of Haryana who dance. At harvest time, when the farmer can sit back and rest a little, a very popular men-only dance is often performed called the dhamal.
The been player opens the proceedings with a long note which is taken up the other instruments as the dancers start. Many of the dancers carry sticks wrapped with tinsels and with tassels at both ends which are called shuntis.
The men form a semi-circle and bowing down to the ground they invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesh, the Goddess Bhavani and the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. As in many folk dances, the choreography of the dhamal is simple with much energetic jumping.
Individual prowess is of course shown off to great advantage in this kind of dance and the shuntis are often used to great effect. Sometimes in the dance, the men imitate – with much teasing – the women of the village.
Both men and women dance together in another popular Holi dance called the phag. The men open the dance during which they act out the spirit and actions of Holi and then they invite the women to join in. These arrive carrying koraras which are knotted lengths of cloth with which they try to hit the men who defend themselves with their sticks.
All these dances are performed to songs whose lyrics are almost naïve in their directness and simplicity and which are based on traditional Haryanvi folk tunes. The songs tell of honour and bravery, of harvests, of romance, of the sorrow of parting and are always couched in uncomplicated everyday language. The instruments that accompany these dances and songs are the been, the sarangi, the flute, the shehnai and the dholak and nagara.
Read More About culture and dance of Haryana in next post
Tag: dhamal, shuntis, Khoria dance, phag, lath mar holi of Haryana, dholak and nagara
I am writing about culture and dance of the Haryana as I observed from my childhood.
List of dance. Name of the main dance are Ghoomar, Khoria dance, dhamal and Holi dance called the phag. A dance called ghoomar is especially popular in the west of the State towards the border with Rajasthan and is only danced by girls. It is performed at such festivals as Holi, Gangor Puja and Teej and depicts the girls carrying the thalis of offerings to the temple for their Puja.
The girls sing while they dance in a turning movement and as the tempo increases the girls form pairs and swirl faster and faster. As in many communities and regions in India, weddings give rise to many dances and much revelry. Another all-female Haryanvi dance is the Khoria dance which is usually performed during the long wait for the bridegroom to bring his new bride home.
The women often mime the entire wedding ceremony. It is not only the women of Haryana who dance. At harvest time, when the farmer can sit back and rest a little, a very popular men-only dance is often performed called the dhamal.
The been player opens the proceedings with a long note which is taken up the other instruments as the dancers start. Many of the dancers carry sticks wrapped with tinsels and with tassels at both ends which are called shuntis.
The men form a semi-circle and bowing down to the ground they invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesh, the Goddess Bhavani and the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. As in many folk dances, the choreography of the dhamal is simple with much energetic jumping.
Individual prowess is of course shown off to great advantage in this kind of dance and the shuntis are often used to great effect. Sometimes in the dance, the men imitate – with much teasing – the women of the village.
Both men and women dance together in another popular Holi dance called the phag. The men open the dance during which they act out the spirit and actions of Holi and then they invite the women to join in. These arrive carrying koraras which are knotted lengths of cloth with which they try to hit the men who defend themselves with their sticks.
Read More About culture and dance of Haryana in next post
Tag: dhamal, shuntis, Khoria dance, phag, lath mar holi of Haryana, dholak and nagara
