Culture of Uttaranchal

Dances of Uttaranchal

Chounphula And Jhumeila

"Chounphula and Jhumeila" are among seasonal dances, that are performed from 'Basant Panchami' onwards to 'Sankranti' or Baisakhi'. 'Jhumeila' is sometimes mixed but is usually restricted to women. 'Chounphula' is performed by all sections of the community, at night, in groups, by men and women.

Bhotiya Dance

Bhotiya Dance is performed by Bhotias and is connected with death ceremonies.  It is believed by the people that the soul of the dead person is residing in the body of a goat or sheep and by dancing the soul can be liberated.

Barada Nati

Barada Nati dance is performed during religious festivals or any other social occasion. It is performed by men and women wearing colorful costumes.

Pandava Dance

Pandava Dance is performed by narrating the story of Mahabharata accompanied by dance and music. This is performed during Dussehra and Deepawali.  

Langvir Dance

This is a acrobatic dance performed by men. In this dance the dancer climbs a pole and balances himself at his navel on the top of the pole. Accompanied by dhola and music he balances and rotates on his belly at the pole and performs other acrobatic stunts.

Music of Uttaranchal 

Chhopati
These are the folk songs popular in the Rawain - Jaunpur area of Tehri Garhwal. 'Chhopati' are the love songs sung between men and women in the form of questions and answers.

Basanti
"Basanti” folk songs are composed for the coming spring season when flowers bloom and new life springs in the valleys of the hills of Garhwal. The folk song is sung individually or in groups.

Mangal
Mangal songs are sung during marriage ceremonies. These songs are basically "Puja Songs" (hymns) sung along with the Purohits (Panditjee/priests) who keep chanting "Shlokas"(verses) in Sanskrit according to the Shastras (scriptures) during the marriage ceremony.

Puja Folk Songs
These songs are connected with the Puja (worship) of family deities. There are other Puja songs connected with 'Tantra' and 'Mantras ' to exorcise evil spirits from human beings.

Jaggar
Jaggar falls in the category of ghost and spirit worship, in the form of a folk song or, at times, combined with dances. Sometimes, Jaggar may also be in the form of Puja folk songs and is sung in honour of the various Gods and Goddesses.

Bajuband
This is a folk song of love and sacrifice among the shepherds. It is a love dialogue between a man and woman, or, between a boy and girl.

Khuded
These folk songs depict the suffering of a woman caused by separation from her husband. The women curse the circumstances under which she has been separated. This is generally when the husband is away looking for a job.

Laman

Laman, another folk song is sung on special occasions, expressing the sacrifice that a man is willing to undergo for his beloved.

 Chhura
'Chhura' folk songs are sung among shepherds, in the form of advice given by the old to the young, learnt from their experience, particularly about grazing sheep and goats.

Arts and Crafts of Uttaranchal 

Wood Carving

Wood carving is an amazing craft work in uttaranchal. Most of the houses in the village have a variety of wood carving designs and the designing is based on the images of Gods, nature and other local things.

Temple Architecture

Flourished by the kings, the temple architecture is an amazing work of craftsmanship in the uttaranchal region. Most of the temples are built by the heavy and big stones and are placed in a very architectural manner one above the other without any support. All the stones of the temples were erected with highly intricate and ornamental carvings. A few example of the temple architecture can be seen at Kedarnath, Jageshwar, Bageshwar, Panch Kedar etc.

Ornament Designing

The design of kumaoni and garhwali ornaments is basically based on the theme which is more than thousand years old. The ornaments are generally made of Gold, Silver and sometimes by the Copper.

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