Chhau dance in bengle

Chhau dance

                                       

    Features of the chhau

The Chhau dance is mainly performed during regional festivals, especially the spring festival of Chaitra Parva which lasts for thirteen days and in which the whole community participates. The Chhau blends within it forms of both dance and martial practices employing mock combat techniques (called khel), stylized gaits of birds and animals (called chalis and topkas) and movements based on the chores of village housewives (called uflis). The dance is performed by male dancers from families of traditional artists or from local communities and is performed at night in an open space, called akhada or asar, to traditional and folk music, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai. A variety of drums accompany the music ensemble including the dhol (a cylindrical drum), dhumsa (a large kettle drum) and kharka or chad-chadi. The themes for these dances include local legends, folklore and episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharataand other abstract themes.

The Chhau dance is mainly performed by the Munda, Mahato, Kalindi, Pattnaik, Samal, Daroga, Mohanty, Acharya, Bhol, Kar,Dubey, and Sahoo communities. The musical accompaniment for the dance is provided by people of communities known as Mukhis, Kalindis, Ghadheis and Dhadas who are also involved in the making of the instruments. Masks form an integral part of Chhau Dance in Purulia and Seraikella where the craft of mask-making is undertaken by communities of traditional painters known as Maharanas, Mohapatras and Sutradhars. The knowledge of dance, music and mask-making is transmitted orally.

Chhau dance

                                 

         Three stlyes of chhau

The Seraikella Chhau developed in Seraikela, the present day administrative headquarters of the Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, the Purulia Chau in Purulia district of West Bengal and the Mayurbhanj Chhau in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. The most prominent difference among the three subgenres is regarding the use of masks. While, the Seraikela and Purulia subgenres of Chhau use masks, the Mayurbhanj Chhau uses none.

The Seraikella Chhau's technique and repertoire were developed by the erstwhile nobility of this region who were both its performers and choreographers. The Mayurbhanj Chhau is performed without masks and is technically similar to the Seraikella Chhau. The Purulia Chhau too uses masks and it exhibits the spontaneity of folk art. This is because unlike the Seraikella and Mayurbhanj Chhau, which enjoyed royal patronage, the Purulia Chhau was sustained and developed by the people themselves.

In 2010 the Chhau dance was inscribed in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.