Dances

FOLK DANCES OF SIKKIM: The performing arts of Sikkim combines folk songs, folk music and folk dances. The range of performing arts, genres, and styles are enormous in Sikkim. Globalization of mass media (TV channels, cinemas, pop songs, classical songs and dances etc.), changing tastes of the young generations, access to new technology, and new performing arts patrons, are profoundly transforming the performing arts of Sikkim in other parts of India as well. Political and economic changes have transformed social relationships between performing groups and their patrons. Many performing arts such as folk songs, folk music, folk dances and folk musical instruments associated with various communities of Sikkim, are disappearing with the passage of time along with the people of  older generations, day by day. Folk culture, especially folk songs, folk music, and folk dances of Sikkim are under intense pressure from the mass media, whose aesthetics are dominated by Hindi and English pop standards.

      Performance traditions provide space to voice these regional and local aspirations set against those of national elites or the national state. Folk music and folk dances provide a forum to protest subordination as well as means of experiencing a few moments of release from the cares of life. This type of folk culture translates uneasily to tourism today, and an important market both for folk artists and livelihood for the people of Sikkim. The state government is trying its best to promote eco-tourism, village tourism, adventure tourism, (etc.) in which this type of performing arts has a major role to play. Regional festivals (sponsored by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, the state government, corporate entries, and civic groups such as - Sukhim Yakthung Sakthim Phojumbho, Tharpu) held annually on 23rd August, provide important performance venues. Folk culture finds that these audiences, both domestic and international tourists, are largely ignorant of local aesthetics and are satisfied with stereo-typed, shortened displays that meet the call for entertainment.

       Different communities (both tribal and non-tribal) living in Sikkim have their own folk dances to celebrate their life, and also entertain the audience. The performing arts, like folk dances of Sikkirn, combine all the components of folk culture - namely folk songs, folk music instruments, traditional messes, make up and folk dances, and thus exists both in time and in space. The religions developed in the western world from the Greek philosophy, believe in one life with the physical body of this world. While the religions developed in the eastern world, from the philosophy of "Karma", believe on a cycle of numerous lives. The Yuma religion based on "Karma" of the eastern world believes, that nature does not provide self-sustaining life on Earth with its physical body. For one's survival, he has to depend on judicious use of the living organisms and non-living materials surroundings him. He has to support his life by his efforts, by collecting and eating plants and animals. When the primitive man was successful in obtaining wild plant food or killing wild animals by hunting, his heartbeat throbbed faster with happiness. He started jumping and dancing with happiness, which ultimately evolved a kind of folk dance. He started producing some sound by beating or rubbing stones, wood or other non-living materials to match his dance, that created the folk musical instruments. He started producing some voice himself through his vocal cord, to imitate the voices of wild animals or to match his dance, which resulted in some kind of folk song. Although, the shaman priests of various communities of Sikkim know the mortal life of man, they continue sing ritual songs (Mundhums), dance with their shaman instruments, predict the cause of illnesses, and try to cure the illnesses in their community through trance and worship rituals; and thus drive away the death temporarily (Subba, 2005: iii). His awakened thought could clearly see that life manifests itself in rhythm. Heartbeat, breathing, walking, all these signs of a living body are basically rhythmic. The difference between a living and a dead, is that while the former has rhythm within him, the latter has no rhythm. Therefore his faculty of reasoning suggested to him, that if he engages himself in some kind of exalted rhythmic activity, life will be celebrated giving him a sense of immortality, even though it was only for a while. What rhythmic activity other than dancing and music, can be more exalted for celebrating life? This is why man began dancing long before he learnt speaking some kind of dialect. Many scholars are therefore of the opinion that dance is the mother of all arts. Pursuing his earliest and the ultimate aspiration, man has been trying unceasingly to conquer & transcend death. He has not been successful, but he has found the way of having a secret sense of immortality in his mortal existence, by immersing himself in dancing. This secret sense of immorality is experienced at the deepest depth of the body (Pani, 2000:1-2; Subba, 2005: 1-44).

    Earlier, dancing was considered the best of all arts, because arts, like music, exists only in time and not in space; whereas arts like sculpture and painting, exist only in space, but not in time. It is only dance and theatre, that exist both in time and in space. Again, the beauty of the human body can be enhanced in two ways - by makeup, jewelry, other accessories, and by dance; while the performer is superficial, dance wells up from within. Further, artists engaged in creative activity can spontaneously experience the divine, with which the God can be worshipped. This is why many tribal folk dances & classical Indian dances, have originated from religious rituals and temples (Pani, 2000: 1-2).

    A group rather than a solo dancer mostly performs folk dances. While dancing in unison with several other dancers, each experience that he or she has been multiplied, and the individual has become universal. It is the pulsating together-ness that they wish to enjoy deeply. Most of the folk dances are performed as an essential aspect of the festival - Utsava. Hence, most of the folk dances are either ritualistic or simply celebrative. They may be those, which are performed basically for an audience, and those, which do not pre-suppose any audience. There are different kinds of festivals. Quite a few are associated with agricultural operations, and others are celebrations of the birthdays of  gods/goddesses or mythological celebrations. Festivals are also held to celebrate the incoming or outgoing seasons. Many folk dances, although can be performed at any time of the year or at any occasion, like the purely recreational dances, according to the tradition, are performed on particular occasions or festivals (Pani, 2000: 2-5). Some of the important folk dances of Sikkirn could be briefly described under ten sub-divisions as follows: