Sway with the snakes
- POSTED ON: 17 Aug, 2023
- TOTAL VIEWS: 177 Views
- POSTED BY: Rohini Ramakrishnan | Article: Bhavya Venkatesh
- ARTICLE POINTS: 100 Points
(Unravel the shuffle puzzles as you read)
The black-and-red skirts swirl and flow, as the women twirl faster and faster in keeping with the music. The audience is mesmerised as the dancers sway in imitation of the serpent’s movements. The Kalbelia dance, also known as the Sapera Dance, is performed by the Kalbelias, a tribe of snake charmers from Rajasthan. The traditional occupation is snake catching and selling venom. In the villages of Rajasthan, the Kalbelias were called if a snake was found within human habitation. The Kalbelia dance is central to their culture and the movements and costumes are meant to resemble snakes.
After the Wildlife Act 1972 was enacted, the members of the tribe were prohibited from handling snakes. The performance of the dance, then, became a major source of income. The women perform while the men give the musical accompaniment. The dancers wear flowing lehengas in a mixture of red and black, richly embroidered and set with mirrors. Above the lehenga is the angrakhi and the head is covered with an odhani. The women also adorn themselves with tattoos and heavy jewellery.
The music is provided by instruments such as the pungi or been, a wind instrument traditionally used to capture snakes; the morchang, which is similar to a Jew’s harp; and the dafli or dholak, which are percussion instruments. Special performances are held during Holi. The songs sung during the performance are based on stories from folklore and mythology. However, the musicians tend to improvise and create spontaneous compositions even during the performance. Part of an oral tradition that is handed down across generations, the Kalbelia dance is not documented through writing or training manuals.
In 2010, the UNESCO added the Kalbelia dance to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
Star performer
In 1980, the folk art shot to prominence when officials from the Rajasthan Tourism Department spotted seven-year-old Gulabo Sapera dancing along with other women during a fair in Pushkar.
In 1985, Gulabo was part of a cultural contingent that went to the U.S. and performed in Washington for over two months.
She has become a cultural icon and received the Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2016.
Photos: Photo : A.M.FARUQUI, Wikimedia Commons