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The dances, performed by the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, have been broadly
divided into four groups. The first group is the ritual dances which may
again be divided into five sub-groups. The first sub-groups includes those
dances which form part of the various rituals performed to secure prosperity,
good health and happiness of the dancer, his family, village or the whole
community. The second sub-group comprises of those dances performed in
ceremonies related to agriculture and domestication of animals to secure
a good harvest and increase of domestic animals respectively. The third
sub-group is associated with the funeral ceremony when the soul is guided
by a priest to its abode in the land of the dead and to prevent it from
haunting its old residence. It is generally believed that if the soul
returns to its old home the bereaved family suffers diseases and deaths.
The fourth sub-group consists of the fertility dances. These are magical
in the sense that the imitation of the movements of coition is believed
to promote fertility. War-dances make the fifth sub-group, which are on
the decline with the stoppage of internecine feuds and raids. In the old
days, when an expeditionary party was successful in killing an enemy or
more, the victors used to perform a ceremony on return, so that the spirit
of the slain could do no harm to the slayer. Only among the Idu Mishmis,
the victim's family also used to perform rites praying for success in
taking vengeance. Dance formed a part of this ceremony. The war-dance
used to be prevalent among almost all the non-Buddhist tribes.
The
second group is the festive-dance which forms the recreational part of a
particular festival. The third group is the recreational dances which do not
form part of any particular festival or ritual. These are performed on occasions
which inspire its participants to express their mirth through these dances. The
fourth group is the pantomimes and dance-dramas which narrate a mythical story
or illustrate a moral.
The Wancho Dance
The
Wancho tribes perform dances during appropriate occasions like festivals, ceremonies
etc. Ozele festival of Wanchos is celebrated in February-March after the sowing
of millet. It lasts for four days and was observed in Longkhau village. The dance
is performed from about 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. inside the chief's house. Among the
male-folk, boys, youths and adults take part while among women, only girls and those
young married women who have not joined the
husband's family, take part in the dance. The dancers, dressed in their
fineries, stand in a circle surrounding a bonfire. The girls stand on one side
of the circle holding each other's hands. The male dancers hold a sword in the
right hand and most of them place the left hand over the shoulder of the dancer
to the left. The male dancers start singing when all take a short step with the
right foot to the right, flex the knees with an accompanying forward swing of
the sword and gently bring the left foot up to the heel of the right one. They
repeat this sequence of movements. When the singing of the male-dancers, end,
which is generally on the eighth or ninth step, all stamp their right foot twice
on the ground. The female dancers take up the singing in reply. They stamp the
right foot twice on the ground during their turn of singing, once generally in
the fourth step and the next at the end of the singing which generally falls on
the ninth step. Again the male dancers take up the singing and thus the dance
continues.
All
the male dancers have a cane basket hanging at the waist over the buttocks. The
basket is decorated with coloured straw tassels, monkey skulls or wild boar's
tushes. The straw tassels of the baskets are decorated with coloured beads. The
straps of some of the baskets are decorated with white conch-shell discs. Each
basket has a bell fitted at its bottom. The tinkling of so many bells is the
only musical sound. All have anklets of straw and girdles of one or two loops of
red cane or of bands of cowries or beads just below the knee. The boys and a few
youths are naked but others wear a loin-cloth which is white or light blue in
colour with two red stripes at the ends decorated with small beads of different
colours. This loin-cloth is tucked in position with a cane waist-band which is
about six inches broad. The armlets are either of ivory, brass or red cane
loops. The handle of the sword is decorated with coloured goat's hair. All wear
some bead necklaces. Some wear necklaces of coins. The ear decorations are
tufts of red woolen threads or ear-plugs decorated with the red seeds. Some have
head-dresses made of bamboo, silver-shaped in a cone and decorated with
horn-bill feathers. Some have red cane head-dresses decorated with wild boar's
tushes. The hair up to the middle of the crown is brought forward and cut so
that the fringe reaches just up to the top of the fore-head while the hair of
the back is kept long and tucked round a red or yellow coloured rectangular piece
of wood, called the Kahpak. Some of these kahpak's are studded
with small pieces of glass while some are decorated with carvings of the human
figure or human skull or with a tuft of coloured goat's hair. The side of the
head are shaven.
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