Folk dances portray feelings of joy, mirth and the festive spirit of the hardy peasants and the toiling womenfolk of Punjab, says Joginder Singh Bedi
The evergreen folk dances of Punjab

THE folk dances which have dominated the socio-cultural life of the people of Punjab for the last over eight decades include bhangra, giddha, jhoomar, chhaj, luddi, jago and kikli. Performed in a group irrespective of caste, creed and religion, these dances are the spontaneous feelings of the joy, mirth and festive spirit of the hardy peasants and the toiling womenfolk of rural Punjab.

Of all these dances bhangra and giddha have retained their pristine charm till today. Bhangra is not only the most popular but also the liveliest dance which projects the vigour of both the body and spirit of the Punjabi youth. Basically, this dance owes its relevance and significance to the festival of Baisakhi falling in the month of April. When the peasants are overjoyed at the sight of their golden fields brimming with a rich harvest, they perform the bhangra to the thundering beats of the drum called dhol. Then everybody including men, women and children gather together in the open spaces and lawns where the bhangra dancers encircle the drummer. With joyful shouts of oye-oye, balle-balle, and whistles they dance vigorously with bamboo sticks in their hands, to which are tied multicoloured handkerchiefs. Dressed in embroidered kurtas, sleeveless silken jackets, tehmats, and colourful pugrees, they dance and sing folk songs popularly called boliyan.

The tradition of wearing the tilledar desi jutti has been done away with probably to facilitate the smooth movement of footsteps. It is to be mentioned here that the folk dances have boliyan as their composition. It is these boliyan that enliven the mood of the dancers. They are traditional but time has made changes in them too. The boliyan are not composed by a professional person only. Even a peasant contributes to them. They have a uniform rhythm, and often their appeal is enhanced by a meaningless rhyme added to them.

It is commonly believed that the evergreen bhangra dance originated in Sialkot in early years of the 20th century. But an in-depth study reveals that while there is no doubt that this dance flourished with a new shape and form in the Sialkot and Gujranwala regions of West Punjab, its roots can be easily traced back to the 12th century when Sufi saints like Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti of Ajmer, Farid-ud-din Ganj-i-Shakar of Multan and Nizam-ud-din Auliya of Delhi and their disciples danced in spiritual ecstasy to perform sama ceremony to invoke the blessing of Allah. Later, this sama dance was reverently performed by Sufi saints like Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah, Sultan Bahu and Muhammad Fazil.

Sama was a circular dance marked by the congregational singing of spiritual hymns. It was taken to be the easiest and the most popular mode of concentration and meditation for the common man.It is said that while the Sufi saints and faquirs performed the sama dance, their followers grinded the bhang, and took to dancing after drinking bhangura — a delicious nectar prepared from the mixture of the bhang, fruit juice and dry fruits. Then, history has it that for concentrating on the worship of Lord Shiva, the Shiv bhakatas prepared the bhang-ras and danced in meditation after taking it. During the dance performance the movement of their steps came to be known as bhangra. It is, therefore, quite convincing that the Punjabi folk dance bhangra derives its name for bhangura. It is quite significant to point out here that while the sama and the bhangura dances were sacerdotal in character and spirit, the Punjabi folk dance bhangra has been temporal throughout.

Practically, it has been observed that those bhangra dancers who are dedicated and devoted to this dance in both letter and spirit avoid consumption of liquor or any other intoxicant before its performance so that utmost accuracy and uniformity could be maintained in the movements of the steps and the appropriate gestures of the body.

Besides, like other prominent dances of the country bhangra has no religious theme as its basis. In fact, Punjab is the only state of the country where its folk dances completely diverge from religion.

The bhangra dance, today, is no longer associated with the Baisakhi festival alone. On any festive occasion, say Lohri, betrothal and marriage ceremonies, the birth of a son, cultural and sports meets, agricultural fairs, including cattle fairs, one can witness this dance. That’s why it has gained popularity in the country and abroad. A large number of traditional musical instruments like tommbi, cheeka, chimta, kato, dafli, manjir, dhad and algoza have been instrumental in making this dance very interesting and captivating to look at.

Originating in West Punjab, the other evergreen folk dance is the giddha, in which young ladies gorgeously dressed in kameez, salwars and chunnis sing folk songs in mellow but sonorous voices, especially to the beat of the clapping. Drums and earthen pitchers are also used to lend enchantment to the ears of the dancers and spectators. Since this dance has nothing to do with men, only women can participate. During its performance, the leader of the chorus sings a boli, which is repeated by the participants. The earthen pitcher called ghada is gently played with gentle strikes on it by a ring or a stone in keeping with the rhythm. This dance is performed on festive occasions such as marriages, mundan ceremonies, the festival of Teej or occasionally at the time of harvesting. The most significant aspect of this dance are folk songs called bolian, which are accompanied by the beat of the dholak, ghada and taliyan. By singing bolian the ladies outpour their feelings of resentment, agony, pain, jealousy at their in-laws, and affection, warmth and love for their parental homes.

It is worth pointing out that in the past in most of the regions of Punjab group dances did not have men and women together, as the latter were confined to the four walls of their homes. They were forced to observe the purdah tradition by which they covered their face with ghund, dupatta or veil. They were, however, permitted to witness the bhangra and other dances of the menfolk but the menfolk were not allowed to watch the giddha, luddi, jago etc. But now there has been a sea-change in such traditions. Both men and women come together to perform folk dances in the vicinity of modern villages and on the cultural platforms in the towns and cities of Punjab. It is indeed a healthy trend in a state like Punjab where today men and women join together in all spheres of life to promote culture, education, agro-industrial economy, social welfare scheme etc for the benefit of society at large.