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Saturday, April 20, 2024
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Dance
'Odissi' the traditional dance of Odisha (Orissa), has been accepted as an important classical form of Indian dance for its exquisite beauty and charm. Among the folk dances of Odisha (Orissa), 'chhau' has earned world-wide reputation.
The basic postures and stance of this dance resemble the postures of a combatant in a traditional fight. In its rudimentary form it is generally referred to as Phari Khanda Khela ( the game of sword and shield) or Rookmar Nacha ( the dance of offence and defence).Thematically, Chhau draws substantially from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Themes drawn from the Krishna legend are also many. Most of the themes are puranic episodes like the fight of 'Abhimanyu' with the 'Sapta Rathis', the killing of 'Mahishasura', 'Shiva Tandav', 'Kirat Arjuna', 'Jambeb', 'Garuda Bahana', etc. The Krishna themes like 'Bastraharan', 'Kalanka Bhanjan', 'Nisitha Milan', 'Banshi Chori' and 'Tamudia Krishna' are predominantly erotic in mood and draw heavily on the local folk tradition. There are also significant tribal themes like 'Sabara Toka', 'Kala Chakra', 'Sabara Sabaruni'.
The themes of Chhau are thus largely drawn from the puranic and combine elements of tremendous kinetic fury and very fast footwork with mellowed elegance and lyricism which is at times indistinguishable from visual poetry.
The dancer has a heroic feature and wears a special dress. He dances with a heavy load of weapons to the sound of the battle drums. He has ten main requirements, Viz. 1) A shield of the hide of the rhinoceros, 2) a sword, 3) a Kukri, 4) a gun, 5) a horn used as a whistle, 6) an iron shield, 7) a toilet box, 8) bow and arrows, 9) tiger skin, and 10) a bell. His bow bears the face of a tiger and looks awesome. He possesses a long crown with a big flower at he end decorated with glittering peacock feathers. He has a string of beads on the neck, feathers of 'ara' ( a bird with brown feathers found in lake Chilka) on his arms, a mirror and a string of beads on his wrist, flags on the arrows, handkerchief tied to the hands, a small bell attached to the thigh. He smears his body with 'rama raja' ( a powder of yellow colour) to save himself from the scorching heat of summer. He decorates his forehead with vermilion. He wears an artificial beard and moustache. Dressed up he looks very ferocious. This dance is not accompanied by any song.
The 'Ghumra' - a kind of drum of the size of a pitcher - produces a deep musical sound. The drummer ties the rope of the ghumra round his neck, makes it hang and plays on it, sings and dances to its tune at social functions like marriages or any religious festival. Sometimes a competition is held between two parties. Each party consists of twenty to twenty-five men and the dance goes on the whole night. Ghumra is prevalent among the 'Sahara' and other Aborigines and Harijans and songs have love as their main theme. The other forms of folk dance like 'Humo', 'Bauli', 'Jhulki', 'Jamudali', 'Mayalajar', 'Gunjikata', 'Rasarkeli' and 'Puchi' are prevalent among the Oriyas and Aborigines of Odisha (Orissa).
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| Last Updated on : 2 August 2018 |
