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Loor
Loor is a well known dance
of Haryana. It is
performed around the Holi festival and is very popular in the Bangar and
Bagar parts of the region. In the Dadri area the term Loor is used for a girl. The
participants in this dance are all girls. The dancers stand in two rows facing
each other, in the form of a semi circle. One party starts a song. The burden of
the song being
"Your bahu has given birth to a daughter and a son is born on this side,
why not marry the two".
The dance starts with this song.
For quite a while they discuss
this problem. Finally the proposal is accepted. The next topic is about the
presents to be given by the parents of the son to the girl at the time of
marriage.
Marriage itself is performed through the dance. The girl has
reached her sasural or in-laws place. There will be full of sentiment.
She mourns in song and dance. The husband is away in the army and not
expected back for another twelve years. The unhappy girl addresses an
imaginary pigeon and through a song she persuades the pigeon to convey
her message to her husband. She continues her song and dance till the
pigeon returns and sits on her shoulder. The pigeon informs her that her
husband is coming home soon. With this message her joy know no bounds.
The rhythm and tempo of her song now increase. Her companions who have
come to congratulate her, circle around her and take the dance to its
climax.
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Gugga dance
Gugga Pir has several names :-Guru
Gugga,
Zahir Pir and Bagarwalla. Gugga is worshipped practically all over Haryana and devotees
are scattered over the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal.
The Pir was born on Bhadon Naumi at Dadreva village in Bikaner
(Rajasthan). The day is celebrated as Gugga Naumi allover northern India. Gugga
is said to be a Chauhan Rajput. Colonel Tod is of the view that his name was
Bachraj. According to a folk legend he was married to Kumari Sirial,
daughter of Raja Sanjha of Kamrup He is equally worshipped by
both Hindus and Muslims. About a week or two Before Gugga Naumi, his
devotees take out a procession, led by a bhagat ,carrying Gugga Kichhari. It
is a strong and long bamboo stick decorated with fans, garlands, flowers and
coloured pieces of cloth .Five Bhagats are the Main dancers. They
carry their own musical instruments in their hands, consisting of Dholak,
Manjiras, Deru (a small side drum), Chimta and Cymbals. The bhagats sing a song in
praise of Gugga.
The dance is very simple.
The dancers feet move according
to the rhythm or their songs. As the tempo increases, they shed tears and
beat their chests with iron chains.
These parties are seen coming in Haryana villagers during the
month of Bhadon. It is an exclusively male dance and falls in the category
of ritualistic dances. It create an atmosphere charged with spiritual
fervour among the devotees of Gugga.
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Jhumar dance
This dance takes in the name from
Jhumar, an ornament commonly worn on
the fore head by young married girls. It is performed exclusively by women. They form a circle and
move gracefully,
accompanied by the beats of dholak and Thali. There are many variations each
with its own distinctive rhythm. The dancers loose themselves in gay abandon,
dressed in colourful costumes. The performance lasts several hours. A girl comes
forwards and breaks in to song. When girl sing the song, another girl then steps
forward, swaying rhythmically with perfect poise. The second line of
the song is shared by both. The tempo increases as the dance proceeds. The other girl do not leave their places but keep on singing
the song
and clapping their hands against each other. There is a short pause before
a new line of the song is started.
This dance resembles the well-known Punjabi Gidda and
is thus named Haryanic Gidda. It is common in all parts of the state.
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