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Swang
The Swang is a folk theatre form peculiar to the Himachal
region. The Shivratri celebrations at Mandi, the Dussera festival at Kulu, the Renuka fair
at Sirmaur, the Minjar in Chamba, the Jataras at Chattarahandi-Bharmaur and the
Holi fairs at Sujanpur, all have Swang shows. These shows are also known as
Jhankis or Dole (floats).
Some Swang plays are enacted at festivals. At the Lohadi festival, the
village boys act out the Haran Ka Swang and go dancing and singing from door to
door. In this a boy is dressed up as a golden deer with a pair of horns upon his
head and a deer skin around his shoulders and the rest of the boys stands around
him and beat drums and sing. This Swang lasts through the night. In the Kinnaur
region Swang shows are organised in which demons are slain ritualistically and
prayers invoking the blessing of gods are recited.
In the month of December and January, the Swang of Googa and Chandroli take
place. These are full of songs and dance patterns and are mostly enacted by the
weavers or the Jhirs or troupes of traditional singers. The Dandu or the Rolu
who act as a clown in these, sends the audiences into gales of laughter with his
antics and lessens their burdens of daily problems temporarily. The female
counterpart of Dandu is Chandrauli (Chandravali) who acts alternately as a hard
to get arch female and a shrew and the Rolu cajoles and coaxes her to relent.
For a month, these shows are enacted in various villages by traveling troupes of
performers who are presented with gifts of food and money by the villagers. The
Googa Swang is a source of amusement. The local singers who belong to the Natha
sect team up and go around from village to village singing songs for a whole
month during the monsoons. The Jogis go around with a large umbrella made out of
bamboo and leaves which is embellished with coloured strings. Two young boys
carry peacock feathers at the head of the processions and dance to the beat of
the drums assuming warrior like postures. The farmers present food grains to
these troupes. The grains collected thus are eventually stored in the Bhandara
on Googa Navami.
The Nanoo Vinayaka dance or Jhamakada or Navami Ka Swang is also a special
Swang enacted during wedding or at a sacred thread ceremony. During a wedding
day the womenfolk perform behind stage, a nightlong programme of songs and dances
known as 'Nautch'. In this the women dress up as men and act out many incidents
of domestic life. Men are not permitted to see these and have to face hilarious
punishments if they are caught peeping in.
Ramleela and Rasleela
Ramleela and Rasleela are two important forms of religious folk theatre. Each
village has its own troupe of Ramleela actors who perform it each year for a
total period of fourteen years. These plays are frequently interspersed with
improvised comic interludes and folk songs. The Rasa troupes travels from
village to village and they are known as Ras Dhariya who have their own 'Dera'
(camps). Each Dera is known by its head name. Of these the Dera of Mange Shah
has been very famous. The Rasleela depicts scenes from the life of Shri Krishna.
Folk
ballet and opera are performed in certain areas. These are called Sih,
Rawal and Boora and are a sort of unwritten tales narrated like stories
through the medium of ballet or opera. The dancers and audience assemble in a
courtyard or a temple. The singers squat on the ground and to the accompaniment
of tambourine commence singing the story in chorus. The dancers donning wooden
masks sit on the sides. As the musicians start their song dancers get ready and
in a short while start going round and round dancing and interpreting the story
by means of highly formalised gestures and movement. The ballet and opera
usually tell stories of love or tales of satire and irony. Mythological story
interspersed with incidents picked from daily life is enacted. The gods, the
parties, the village loafers and various characters drawn from the hill people's
life are woven into these dance dramas.
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