tribal dance
Cheraw Dance, mizoram
The Cheraw is a popular bamboo dance reflecting Mizos' cultural heritage and beauty. It suggests consistency, integrity, and deep indigenous inheritance of performing arts in Mizoram. This tribe, called Mizo, hails from Mizoram in northeastern India and is known to possess deeply anchored traditions of arts, music, and dance. Over the ages, they have accurately maintained their culture and lifestyle.
The Cheraw dance is performed on customary festivals and other similar cultural events. It requires coordination, meaning that men clasp the rhythmic beaters made of bamboo while ladies leap fancily in and out synchronizing with the beats.
Women wear traditional costumes such as the Kawrchei top and the Puanchei wrap paired with the Vakiria, a headdress of bamboo, feathers, and brilliant green beetle wings. Men wear Mizo shawls by themselves or with the bamboo hat Khumbeu.
Mass (pronounced with silent s) are laid crosswise on the ground while male dancers clap rhythms on them.
The lively combinations of bamboo sticks that are interwoven into simple clubs with beats on the earth set a pleasant rhythm. Moreover, the melodic accompaniment by way of traditional instruments injects a cheerful ambiance to the dance, showing off the artistic tastes of Mizo people.
