A small stringed instrument, tumbi, consists of a small wooden stick attached to a hollow, gourd-like shell to create its acoustics. It has an only string that is plucked continuously to create a rhythm. The Chimta is like a large pair of metallic tongs. Each side of the tongs has bells attached to it that when struck together, ring loudly. The one who plays the Chimta can either accompany other instrumentalists or can even dance with other dancers while playing the instrument at the same time.
The Dhad is a much smaller, double-sided, high-pitched drum. Its body is like an hourglass and one can only beat one of its sides with their hand. The other hand squeezes a cord around the middle of the instrument that controls the pitch of the sound as it is being played. These are wooden instruments consisting of small X-shaped parts that expand and contract. These instruments are used by the dancers. As one uses both their hands to play the instrument, it produces a loud clapping sound that is meant to sound like thunder.
There is also a long, heavy, decorated stick and it is used in numerous ways by the dancers. The Bhangra outfits are very vivid, bright, and colorful. The style of clothing for both men and women is different when doing Bhangra. However, both of their clothes have similar colors and fabrics. There is variety in a color scheme. Even if the performers wear different colors, their dance will be very vibrant and lively.
The traditional Bhangra costume includes men wearing long silk-buttoned shirts, also known as a kurta which is loose to wear, and lungi or tehmat that is a decorated cloth tied around their waist and jugi — a waistcoat with no buttons. The men wear a turban pudgee with torla — a fan-like thing that can carry a rummal — colorful scarves tied onto the fingers.
The Jugi is one of the most heavily embroidered elements in the entire outfit. The Bhangra outfit for women includes a Ghagra — a long skirt and colorful veils known as Dupattas. They wear a kameez which is a type of shirt and sometimes salwar which is loose-fitting pants. With a tikka on the forehead, they wear jhumka — long earrings with Paranda — tassles worn in the braid and Suggi-Phul, a type of jewelry worn on the head. They also wear a Baazu-Band that is a cloth worn around the upper arm and Haar — Hamela, a gold necklace studded with gems, and finally, Pazaibs that are anklets.
The overall attire for both men and women is very vibrant, bright, and attractive. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Get our stories right into your mail box. Before the British colonized India, Punjab was an independent Sikh country. In , Punjab became a part of India and it was the last territory to fall under British rule.
The dance is a reflection of centuries of Sikh and Punjabi culture. Bhangra was originally the dance of Punjabi farmers. After harvesting their wheat crop during the Vaisakhi season, or the Khalsa day, people used to attend cultural festivals while dancing bhangra. Vaisakhi festivals were the main occasions to dance bhangra. Although, this dance was also performed by farmers while they were doing agricultural chores. Many of the main bhangra moves have origins in specific farming activities.
For example, when farmers needed to pick something from one spot and place somewhere else, they developed a bhangra move to do it in a fun way. That bhangra move is known as pick and place or pick and let it go. This used to make a tough job tolerable and even fun. After harvesting their crops, after all their hard work, and after everything was done, farmers in Punjab used to dance to show their sense of accomplishment.
Nowadays many people dance bhangra for high-energy workouts and rigorous physical exercise. However, as time passed, women began to participate as well, and it is now an art danced by all genders. It is heavily present in the Sikh and Punjabi culture, weddings, parties, and all kinds of celebrations.
Bhangra has evolved from farming life and villages, to now reaching big cities and modern life. Today bhangra music and dance is also seen in Bollywood movies and other genres of large-scale musical fusions. Many people go to bhangra sessions to stay healthy and fit, as the best alternative to the gym. Despite its evolution, bhangra has succeeded in maintaining its core elements.
It remains the dance of joy, the dance of happiness, the dance of good health, and the dance of productivity. Following the Partition in South-Asia in , different regions of the country began to interact and share their different forms of Bhangra. This resulted in a hybrid which incorporated many different styles. A large part of the popularization of Bhangra was due to the Sikh community, which helped to integrate this style of music, as they immigrated to different parts of the world, taking their culture with them wherever they went.
In its purest form Bhangra is a mix of singing accompanied by music and the beat of a single drum known as a dhol. The lyrics are always sung in the Punjabi language and usually relate to social or cultural issues.
These issues can range from marriage and love to money and dancing, or even getting drunk. Current Bhangra artists take their inspiration from all kinds of sources, often dealing with current events or controversial issues. Bhangra seeks to offer a message along with its music. Bhangra dances differ from region to region and still retain their own unique identities. The dancers sing the chorus of the song while dancing around the drum, or dhol, which sets the unique and distinguishing beat of the dance.
Different regions of Punjab have their own influence on bhangra. For example, Sialkoti style of bhangra developed in the region of Sialkot and is performed with one leg in the air. Jhoomar, from Jhang-Sial region of Punjab, can be traced back to the Aryan period and consists of a beat dhol cycle.
Sammi is a dance specifically dedicated to singing about a fabled girl. In the s, communication between villages and regions in Punjab sharply increased due to ongoing independence movements. Thanks to several celebrated dance pioneers, these dances were shared, both in times of celebration, along with times of hardship. Each region quickly adapted the shared dance forms into their own folk traditions.
Eventually, a standard Bhangra routine across Punjab came to consist of certain components, such as a Jhoomar segment, or a Dhamaal segment. Bhangra has a very energetic and lively tone and the dance is equally vivacious. The festival is celebrated with much pomp and fervor and the dresses worn by the male and female dancers are quite different from each other although both are a reflection of the joyous celebrations.
The Bhangra is said to have started by Punjabi farmers in the 14 th or 15 th century to celebrate the harvest season. As time progressed, the Bhangra became used in almost all major celebrations in Punjab such as weddings or festivals. The Bhangra is danced to the rhythm of a drum, known as the dhol.
One of the other accounts of its origin dates it to the s as a community dance in the month leading up to the Vaisakhi festival. While the dance has now spread to not just Punjab in its entirety, but India and many parts of the world, at the time of its origin it was prominent only in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gurdaspur and Sheikhpur areas of Punjab.
The dresses that are worn during a Bhangra performance are very bright, bold and colorful to symbolize the joyful and celebratory nature of the occasion.
Since there is a lot of movement associated with this dance form, it is very important that the dresses allow the dancers to move freely. Bright shades generally mean different things. The wearing of the turban by male dancers is very important as it represents the pride as well as honor of the people of Punjab. Women wear long flowing clothes as well as fine jewelry for elegance and grace.
The Bhangra dress is quite vivid and colorful and is quite similar to the clothes worn every day in Punjab although the hues of the clothes worn on a daily basis are lighter. The style of clothing worn by men when performing Bhangra is different than the type of clothes worn by women.
However, they share certain similarities such as color and fabric.
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