Dance in Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir is famous not only for its scenic beauty but also for its traditional dances. Kashmiri people celebrate their festivities with a number of Kashmiri folk dances. The folk dances and music of the Kashmir valley form an important part of the Kashmiri culture. Given below is a list of some of the famous Kashmir dances:

ROUF

Rouf is the most popular dance in the Kashmir Valley and is restricted only to the womenfolk. Usually performed during the harvesting season, but the most essential occasion of its performance is the month of Ramzan when every street and corner in Kashmir resounds with Rouf songs and dance.

DHAMALI

Dhamali is a devotional dance performed by men in Kashmir to invoke the blessing of the gods. The occasions of the dance are ceremonial ones, but it is very popular with the pilgrims going on Ziarat (shrine). The flag bearer leads the dancing party in procession. The flag of 'Alam' is fixed in the ground and the dancers form a circle around the pole and perform the dance.

HIKKAT

HIkkat is a playful dance of the young boys and girls in Kashmir. The young ones form couples and the partners, interlocking their arms, hold each other's hands. Joining their feet close, they bend their bodies and heads backwards. Facing each other, they go round and round with perfect precision in a fast dizzy spin. They also sing of their innocent and affectionate relations with their elders. A unique part is that no musical instrument is played while performing the Hikkat.

BHACHA NAGMA

Bhacha Nagma is a folk version of the Hafiz-Nagma, a dance meant for the sophisticated and initiated audience. Instead of Hafiza - a women dancer, a boy wearing the costume and jewelry of a women dance in Bacha Nagma. He sings and dances with the musical accompaniment of Sarangi, Rabab, Shehnai. Tumbaknari, Dholak, etc. This dance is a popular form of entertainment for the common masses.

CHHAKARI

Chhakari is the most popular form of folk singing in Kashmir. The singer while singing Chhakari songs also depicts the meaning of the verse through dancing movements. Thus, it is the dancing, singing and musical part that brings out the latent meanings of the Chhakari songs. Chhakari is sun on all festive occasions. The musical instruments such as the 'Rabab', 'Noot', 'Tumbaknari', Sarangi, etc support the singing and dance in Chhakari.

KUD

Kud is a typical community dance performed in the middle mountain ranges of Jammu. During the rainy seasons, when the maize is harvested, the villagers come down from the nearby hills and gather in the vicinity of the local deity - "the Gramdevta". To express their gratitude for protecting their crops, cattle and children from natural calamities, the farmers dance Kud for the deity. Men, women and children, attired in their best, gather around a bonfire for the nightlong festivities.

PHUMANIA

Phumania is an invocative dance that is performed in the villages of Jammu and Kashmir, in which worshippers of "Gagaihl" expresses their gratitude to the deity. The villagers dance and pray to the deity to protect their cattle & children from the natural calamities. The dance is performed only by the menfolk.