Folk dances of Assam
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Assam is the meeting ground of diverse cultures and the land of the mighty Brahmaputra, one of the longest flowing rivers which curves in a serpent like manner around a land where one not only sees exuberant green tea plantations and an extravagance of flora and fauna, but also innumerable tribes and races such as Mongoloid, Indo-Burmese, Indo-Iranian and Aryan that come together to bring about a conglobation of cultures, values, traditions and beliefs. The people of the enthralling state of Assam is an concoction of various racial stocks . The Assamese culture is a colourful and affluent tapestry of all these races metamorphosed through a long absorptive process. The denizens of the state of Assam are known as "Axomiya" (Assamese), which is also the state language of Assam.
The state has a large number of folks, each unparalleled in it's custom, culture, dresse and outlandish way of life. Divers folks like Rabha, Bodo, Kachari, Karbi, Miri, Mishimi, etc dwell in Assam, most tribes have their own languages though Assamese is the primary language of the state.
Assam is a land of fairs and festivals, the bulk of which are celebrated with the ambience and spirit of friendliness and concordance. Almost all of the tribal festivals celebrated in Assam, are springtime festivals, related to the cultivation or harvest. Among the assemblage of festivals celebrated in Assam, the Bihu stands at the zenith bearing the most importance. The Bihu is a festival, most awaited, and celebrated with a colloquial amount of ardor and ebullience. The festival brings together all the Assamese people, regardless of their social status, credo and religious faiths.
Bihu dance
Bihu dance (Assamese: বিহু নৃত্য, Hindi: बिहू नृत्य) is a folk dance from the Indian state of Assam related to the festival of Bihu. This joyous dance is performed by both young men and women, and is characterized by brisk dance steps,and rapid hand movement. Dancers wear traditionally colorful Assamese clothing.
Though the origins of the Bihu dance is unknown, the first official endorsement is cited to be when Ahom king Rudra Singha invited Bihu dancers to perform at the Ranghar fields sometime around 1694[1] on the occasion of Rongali Bihu.
Description
The Bihu is a group dance in which males and females dance together but maintain different gender roles. In general, females follow stricter line or circle formations. The male dancers and musicians enter the dancing area first, and they maintain their lines and follow synchronized patterns. When the female dancers enter later the male dancers break up their lines to mingle with the female dancers, who maintain their stricter formations and order of the dance. The dance is usually characterized by definite postures; movements of the hips, arms, wrists; twirls, squats and bends but no jumps. Male and female dance movements are very similar, with only minor but subtle differences.
Performance
The dance is performed in accompaniment with traditional Bihu music. The most important musicians are the drummers (dhulia), who play a particular twin-faced drum, the dhol, slung from the neck and played with one stick and a palm. There are usually more than one dhulia in a performance, and they play different rhythms and compositions at different sections of the performance. These rhythmic compositions, called seus, are traditionally codified. Before entering the dancing area, the drummers play a short and brisk rhythm. The seu is changed and usually the drummers enter the dance area in line. The mohor xingor pepa is played generally in the beginning by a single player who lays out an initial plaintive motif and that sets the mood for the dance. The male dancers then enter the area in formation and perform accompanied by singing, in which all participate. Some other instruments that accompany this dance are the taal, a type of clash cymbal; the gogona, a reed and bamboo instrument; the toka, a bamboo clapper; and the xutuli, a clay whistle. Bamboo flutes are also often used. The songs (bihu geet) that accompany the dance have been handed down for many generations. The subject of the lyrics ranges from welcoming the Assamese new year to describing the daily life of a farmer, from historical references of invasions to Assam to contemporary socio-political commentary in a satirical way. Though both males & females perform Bihu dance, but female performed bihu dance has more variations. There are many stages in female performed Bihu dance - freehand, twisting, with rhythm pepa blowing, with Kahi (disk), with Jaapi (Assamese headgear) etc. The performance itself could be long, it is enlivened by rapid changes in rhythm, mood, movements, pace and improvisation; and dancers and musicians are given short opportunities to show their virtuosity.most of us we donot know real story of bihu dance it is a epitomic dance pratice done by both male and female.
Forms of Bihu dance
The dance takes several forms among the different northeast Indian groups, e.g. "Deori Bihu dance", "Mising Bihu dance" etc. However, the underlying goal of the dance remains the same: to express the desire to feel both pain and happiness.
Bagurumba
Bagurumba is a folk dance of Assam, India performed by the Bodos. It is the usually practiced during Bwishagu, a festival of the Bodos in the Bishuba Sankranti or Mid-April. The Bwishagu starts with cow worship. Then young people reverentially bow down to their parents and elders.
After that Bathou is worshipped by offering the deity chicken and zou (rice beer). On this day, Bodo women in their colourful dokhna, jwmgra and aronai (attire) perform the Bagurumba dance which is also called the Bardwisikhla dance. It is also accompanied by musical instruments like serja (a bowed instrument), sifung (flute), tharkha (a piece of split bamboo), kham/madal (a long drum made of wood and goatskin). The festival ends with a community prayer at Garjasali. This dance prevails in Bodo inhabited areas of Udalguri, Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Darrang and Sonitpur districts.
Ali Ai Ligang
Ali-Ai-Ligang is the spring festival of the Mishing Tribe is the most kaleidoscopic festival held every year on the first Wednesday (Ligange lange) on the month of 'Ginmur Polo' (February-March). Basically this festival is chiefly dance oriented.'Ali' means root and seed; 'Ai' means fruit and 'Ligang' means to sow. Mising people starts ceremonial sowing of paddy on this day. This festival continues for five days. During this festival cutting of trees, fishing, ploughing, burning jungles etc. are strictly forbidden. During this festival, Misings indulge in great banquet with Poro Apong or Nogin Apong ( Rice Beer). Porks are cooked in various styles. ‘Purang Apin’ is cooked in water with special leaves. This is a special dish prepared by Misings which is cooked only during Ali Ai Ligang.
In this festival a popular dance is performed by the young Mising people which is known as Gumrag Pakes cha nama. It is characterized by quick stepping, flinging and flapping of hands and swinging of hips which reflect youthful passion and procreative impulse along with enjoyment. The formal dance of the festival starts from the easternmost house of the village and in the end it extending towards the field and the river.This dance is performed by encircling the courtyard of the house of the villagers. The songs of Ali-Ai-Ligang do not remain restricted to the songs of youth alone. The subjects and themes of the songs are varied. They include the life of a man, his sufferings in this life and his death. Apart from them, the songs describe the matters of individual love and affection including joy and pain. Mainly the songs of the festival speak of the various experiences of the Misings in their day to day life.
Picture Gallery
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Singphoo Woman
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Jungle tribe of Mishmi Assam -
Nong dance of Tangsas
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Khasi tribe para dance
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