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Keekali and Bhangra
The Keekali (Kikli) dance is a dance of young girls and is danced playfully
in twos. The girls hold hands crosswise and rotate fast on their toes,
singing songs.
The Bhangra is a male dance which originated in Punjab
and is popular in the Kangra, Himirpur and Una areas in a fairly wild
form.
Rituals such as Chandroli, Jhumakada and Googa swang
also give one a glimpse into the local dance forms.
The tribal dances of the trans-Himalayan region are different
in content and music. The old tradition of both song and dance in these
areas has been zealously guarded against any urban influence. The districts
of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Tehsils of Pangi and Bharmour of Chamba
district constitute this zone. The inhabitants in these areas are known
as Kinnauras, Lahaulas, Spitians, Pangwals and Gaddis. There are the Gujjars
who are the wandering nomads. All these tribes have their own distinct
traditions of folk-dances, songs, dresses and ornaments.
Besides the popular dances like Kayang, Bakayang and
Banyangchu there are ritual dances performed by Lamas on certain religious
ceremonies or festive occasions. One masked dance particularly features
an important event in the history of Himalayan Buddhism when Lamas successfully
carried out a plan of executing a cruel king Langdarma. A special occasion
for masked dances is the celebration of the birth of Padma Sambhava who
is held in high esteem by the Buddhists of Himalayas since it was he who
carried the message of Buddhism to Tibet.
In the sword dances of Kulu, men dancers dressed in the
traditional tight white trousers and tunics with bright bordered shawls
and black plumed caps decorated with blue primulas and yellow jasmine.
The women dancers wrapped in woolen shawls wearing their colourful headgear
(Dhatu) enter the arena. Forming a circle and holding a handkerchief in
the right hand men and women wave it as they move round and round in slight
change and there are four steps taken with a pause in the fifth and three
more steps with the flat of the foot. Then suddenly two or three dancers
come into the centre of the circle and commence dancing with brandishing
swords. The dance is accompanied by dholak, Ran Singha, Karnal and small
Clarionets.
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