The Kalbelia are a snake charming tribe from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India. [1] The dance is an integral part of their culture and performed by men and women.
The Kalbelia are a snake charming tribe from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India. [1] The dance is an integral part of their culture and performed by men and women.
Kalbelias are followers of Sage Kanifnath, who drank a bowl of poison and was blessed with control over venomous snakes and animals. [2] [3]
Kalbelias are divided in two main groups, the Daliwal and Mewara. The Kalbelias moved frequently from one place to another in ancient times. Their traditional occupation is catching snakes and trading snake venom. They rear snakes, dogs, hens, horses, donkeys, pigs and goats. Hence, the dance movements and the costumes of their community bear a resemblance to those of the serpents. They are also called Sapera and Jogira, Gattiwala and Poogiwara. The largest cluster of the Kalbelias is in Pali district, followed by significant other groups in Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Udaipur district. They live a nomadic life and belong to the scheduled tribes. [4] [5]
Traditionally, Kalbelia men carried cobras in cane baskets from door to door in villages while their women sang, danced and begged for alms. They revere the cobra and advocate the non-killing of such reptiles. In the villages, if a snake inadvertently happened to enter a home, a Kalbelia would be summoned to catch the serpent and to take it away without killing it. Kalbelias have traditionally been a fringe group in the society, living in spaces outside the village where they reside. They live in makeshift camps called deras. The Kalbelias move their deras from one place to another in a circuitous route repeated over time. Over the generations, the Kalbelias acquired a unique understanding of the local flora and fauna, and are aware of herbal remedies for various diseases which, in turn, is an alternative source of income for them.[ citation needed ]
Since the enactment of the Wildlife Act of 1972, the Kalbelias have been pushed out of their traditional profession of snake handling. Now performing arts are a major source of income for them and these have received widespread recognition within and outside India. Opportunities for performance are sporadic, and also depend on tourism, which is season specific, so members of the community work in the fields, or graze cattle to sustain themselves. [6]
The Kalbelias are Cultural Hindus and practice snake worship; they worship the Nāga and Manasa, and their holy day is Naga Panchami. The Kalbelias have different traditions from the majority of Hindus. The Kalbelia men wear a Apadravya. Kalbelias bury their dead, instead of cremating them (as is common with Hindus in the rest of the country). The groom has to pay the bride's father a price for the bride and the groom's father has to pay for the wedding. [7]
The Kalbelia dance, folk dance of rajasthan performed as a celebration, is an integral part of Kalbelia culture. Their dances and songs are a matter of pride and a marker of identity for the Kalbelias, as they represent the creative adaptation of this community of snake charmers to changing socio-economic conditions and their own role in rural Rajasthani society.
The dancers are women in flowing black skirts who dance and twirl, replicating the movements of a serpent. They wear an upper body cloth called an angrakhi and a headcloth known as the odhani; the lower body cloth is called a lehenga. All these clothes are of mixed red and black hues and embroidered.
The male participants play musical instruments, such as the pungi, a woodwind instrument traditionally played to capture snakes, the dufli, been, the khanjari - a percussion instrument, morchang, khuralio and the dholak to create the rhythm on which the dancers perform. The dancers are tattooed in traditional designs and wear jewelry and garments richly embroidered with small mirrors and silver threads. As the performance progresses, the rhythm becomes faster and faster and so does the dance. [6]
Kalbelia songs are based on stories taken from folklore and mythology and special dances are performed during Holi. The Kalbelias have a reputation for composing lyrics spontaneously and improvising songs during performances. These songs and dances are part of an oral tradition that is handed down generations and for which there are neither texts nor any training manuals. In 2010, the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared a part of its Intangible Heritage List by the UNESCO. [6]
The pungi, bīn or Murli is a musical instrument that originates from the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a reservoir into which air is blown and then channelled into two reed pipes. It is played with no pauses, as the player employs circular breathing. In street performances, the pungi is used for snake charming.
This type of music originates from the Rajasthan, one of the states of India and home to several important centers of Indian musical development, including Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur. The region's music shares similarities both with nearby areas of India and the other side of the border, in the Pakistani province of Sindh.
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. Bhils are members of a tribal group outside the fold of Hinduism and the caste system.
Naga Panchami is a day of traditional worship of Nag or snakes observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists throughout India, Nepal, and other countries where Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist adherents live. The worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of lunar month of Shravana (July/August), according to the Hindu calendar. Some Indian states, such as Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat, celebrate Naga Panchami on the dark half of the same month. As part of the festivities, a Naga or serpent deity made of silver, stone, wood, or a painting is given a reverential bath with milk and their blessings are sought for the welfare of the family. Live snakes, especially cobras, are also worshipped on this day, especially with offerings of milk and generally with the assistance of a snake charmer.
Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performance staples, like juggling and sleight of hand. The practice was historically the profession of some tribesmen in India well into the 20th century but snake charming declined rapidly after the government banned the practice in 1972. Snake-charmer performances still happen in other Asian nations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. The tradition is also practiced in North African countries of Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Gogaji is a folk deity, worshipped in the northern states of India especially in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab region, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Gujarat. He is a warrior-hero of the region, venerated as a saint and a 'snake-god'.
Ghoomar or ghumar is a traditional folk dance of Rajasthan. It was the Bhil tribe who performed it to worship Goddess Saraswati which was later embraced by other Rajasthani communities. The dance is chiefly performed by veiled women who wear flowing dresses called ghaghara. The dance typically involves performers pirouetting while moving in and out of a wide circle. The word ghoomna describes the twirling movement of the dancers and is the basis of the word ghoomar.
Nagaradhane is a form of serpent worship which, along with Bhuta Kola, is one of the unique traditions prevalent in coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod collectively known as Tulu Nadu, practiced by Tuluva community members. Cobras are not just seen as deities, but as an animal species which should be respected, appeased and protected for multiple social, religious and ecological reasons.
Kathputli is a string puppet theatre, native to Rajasthan, India, and is the most popular form of Indian puppetry. Being a string marionette, it is controlled by a single string that passes it from the top of the puppet over the puppeteers.
Sapera is a form of dance from India. It is commonly thought of as a snake dance it is a dance that features heavily in the twirls with richly embroidered robes flaying out in display.
Bhavai is a genre of folk dance popular in Rajasthan state in northern India. The male or female performers balance a number of earthen pots or brass/metal pitchers as they dance nimbly, pirouetting and then swaying with the soles of their feet perched on the top of a glass bottles, on the edge of the sword, on the rim of a brass/metal thali (plate) and on the broken glass during the performance.
The culture of Rajasthan includes many artistic traditions that reflect the ancient Indian way of life. Rajasthan is also called the "Land of Kings". It has many tourist attractions and facilities for tourists. This historical state of India attracts tourists and vacationers with its rich culture, tradition, heritage and monuments. It also has some wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
Rajasthani people or Rajasthanis are a group of Indo-Aryan peoples native to Rajasthan, a state in Northern India. Their language, Rajasthani, is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages.
The Sapera are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Barwa Sampheriya in West Bengal, Sapela in Punjab and Sparera in Madhya Pradesh.
Sri Gurusar Modia is a village in the Indian state of Rajasthan situated near borders of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab states and the international border of India and Pakistan. This village is located in the tehsil Suratgarh of district Sriganganagar. Suratgarh, once known as Sodhal was believed to be surrounded by the confluence of Saraswati and Drishyati rivers but now the land is a deserted one lying amidst the expanse of The great Indian Thar desert. Suratgarh is famous for its agriculture, air force and army base stations, largest thermal power plant of Rajasthan and largest radio station of Rajasthan called as "Cotton City Channel". Sri Gurusar Modia came into limelight when a controversial self-proclaimed saint and spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was believed to be incarnated there and crowned to the throne of Dera Sacha Sauda at Sirsa in 1991. With setting up of Shah Satnam Schools for both boys and girls, super speciality hospitals etc. this village became nationwide popular
The musical instruments of Rajasthan include: ravanahatha, kamaicha, Sindhi sarangi, morchang, algoze, nagphani, ghara, jantar, chikara, ektara, murali, murli, gujari sarangi, deru, bapang, bhapang and khartal.
"Ghoomar" is a song sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Swaroop Khan from the film Padmaavat. The music of the song was composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali while the lyrics were provided by A. M. Turaz and Swaroop Khan. The music video of the track features Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Anupriya Goenka. The movie is dubbed in Tamil and Telugu and hence the song was also released as "Goomar" in Tamil and "Jhoommani Jhoommani Aade" in Telugu. The Tamil and Telugu versions as well were sung by Ghoshal while the Kannada version was sung by Darshan N and Sparsha RK.
Dhoad, also known under the name Dhoad gypsies of Rajasthan, or Dhoad gypsies from Rajasthan is a group created in France in 2002 and directed by Rahis Bharti which brings together musicians from Rajasthan, India.
Harish Kumar popularly known as Queen Harish was a folk dancer from Rajasthan, India. A person who worked towards revival of Rajasthani folk dances, his performances included various folk dance forms from Rajasthan.