Madaris, Bazigars and Saperas
The jugglers (madaris), acrobats (bazigars) and snake-charmers
(saperas) are entertainers who keep moving through the towns, villages
and streets of the Punjab. A juggler often trains a bear or a monkey and
takes it along with him. He sounds his damroo (tiny drum) thus inviting
the audience. The animals are well trained to perform interesting feats
like a wedding of the monkeys or a bear dance or a bear hug.
Bazigars carry long poles and ropes. Where a performance
has to be given, they dig up ground, stick two poles horizontally, tie
a tight rope on them and then made a young boy or a girl perform a tight
-rope dance. The nomadic Bazigars wander about with their families, settling
for a few days or weeks at a time in the vicinity of large villages or
towns.
Saperas keep snakes in their baskets, play catchy tunes
on specially made pipes called beens and make the snakes dance to their
tunes. |
