Themes
tribal dance
Chaiti Dance, odisha
It is an ancient tribal community of odisha called the Bonda people, which lives amidst the rugged landscape of the kondakambru hills, situated within the khirput block of malkangiri district. They say they speak their language remos. Shifting cultivation and horticulture has now been supplemented by small chunks of rice cultivation. Dance means, in their language, "mime". They consider Patakhanda (Royal sword) as Mapru, the ultimate and unquestionable god of the Bonda. They are very fond of celebrating different festivals, and rituals through songs and dance. Among festivals, Chaiti parab is their main festival. Both men and women perform dance combinedly. The female folk don their traditional costumes and adorn colorful arteries of beads, gross other natural and metal objects.
The Chaiti Dance for the Bonda tribe of Odisha is significant as not just a performance, but a living tradition embodying their festivals. This dance symbolizes their cultural heritage with the display of their rhythm, movements, and dressing. The aggressive bonda have a much finer side of life , expressed through their age old traditions of dance and music. Grown up boys and girls join in youth dormitory: they dance for themselves on different occasions wearing colorful dance costumes. When boys play the music, the girls dance to the tune holding a bunch of peacock feathers.
Bonda people have made their chaiti-a special dance to perform-become more interesting in terms of dress and ornamentation during dancing. The girls will wear bright yellow sarees and beads will adorn their hair for these performances. Meanwhile, the male members will wear their traditional attire which comprise blue dhoti, a white banyan, and red towels wrapped around their heads-that make it more orthodox. In their hands, the women will hold bunches of peacock feathers which will touch, add elegance, and symbolism to their movements while dancing.
In the Indian culture peacock feathers often signify beauty and grace and therefore add more to its attractiveness in performance. The main musical instruments are dholak and changgu, played by men, forming the rhythmic background of their dance. Colorful costumes, symbolic accessories, and rhythmic music make it a vivid spectacle as in culture: the Chaiti Dance of the Bonda tribe. During the chaiti dance, Bonda women wore large and thick brass or aluminum circular and countless colored beads looped around their neck and head. Women wear tiny skirts called 'ringa', which they weave at home on their family loom. Breasts are naked, covered with beads.
The Chaiti Dance of the Bonda tribe is colorfully depicted as a celebration of their cultural heritage, often accompanied by thrilling music and rhythmical drumming. In this traditional dance, it is the drummers who play the most important role, with the rhythmic beats providing the pulse of the performance. The drums may have other musical accompaniment from instruments like gurgles and thams, which provide embellishments that make the overall musical landscape rich and vibrant. The fitting combination of these instruments and the perfectly synchronized movements of the dancers make the Chaiti Dance come alive. It is a wonderful display of the Bonda tribe's culture and community, wherein one can truly see how much these people relate to music and dance in their cultural identity.