Address:
AMDAVAD HAAT VASTRAPUR, AHMADABAD ,GUJARAT - 380015
About type of art
Part 1 General Information
1. Name of TRI TRI, Gujarat
2. Name of Officer In charge for cultural mapping project with mobile no
Dr.TejalbenAdhvaryu, Research Assistant, Mobile No.9427313765
Part 2 Specific Information Select the relevant section and fill out accordingly
A. Tribal Dance Forms
Name of Tribal Dance Dovlu Dance
Name of Tribe Chaudhary, Gamit
Name of Performers with mobile Numbers Mr. Ratilalbhai Chaudhry Team Leader, At. Vaghesiya, Tal. Mandvi, Dist. Surat, Mobile No.-884993497, 9978330224
Meaning Significance
Festivals and dances are interwoven like a warp in tribal culture. Every festival, fiestas dances with songs according to the occasions have an important place. Equally important is the combination of songs and instruments with the dances. Festivals, fiestas, fairs seem incomplete without dances.
Dovla dance is traditionally performed by the Chaudhary and Gameet tribes residing at Surat and Tapi districts of Gujarat state. Since the dovlu drum instrument is used in the dance, the dance is known as Dovla dance or Dovla dance. Dovalo dance is a dance performed during special religious events and worship. Dovalu dance is performed while, Dungar devani pooja, Gamdev village god pooja, Bhavani ma pooja, Devli madi pooja, Ahandiya hill pooja, Bonbho hill pooja, Ganesha festival, Ramnavami, weddings .
In Surat and Tapi districts, after Diwali every year the festivals of gods and goddesses start in the month of Kartak. Dovla dance is performed in these festivals. Bhavani mata i.e. village mother is worshiped first on the day of Devuthi Agiyaras in the month of Kartak after Diwali. This festival lasts the whole day. During the festival men and women perform dovla dance. Devuthi Aghiaras is followed by the festival of Dungardev as well as the festivals and rituals of other gods and goddesses. These religious festivals are celebrated under the supervision and guidance of the Bhuwa hex-bhagats religious leaders of the society. During the religious ceremony, the dovli player creates a devotional atmosphere by continuously singing the melodious tunes of the dovli. Mandatory playing of dovali during rituals, this dance shows the importance of traditional instruments in religious occasions.
In every festival, along with religious rituals, people immerse themselves in devotion and feel blessed and entertained by doing dovalo dance. These religious festivals bind the society and the villagers together in a sense of unity and oneness. All the people of the village are seen doing all the work voluntarily in the spirit of service and in a collective spirit, understanding the occasion of their family.
Chaudhary and Gameet tribe people perform dovla dance during religious worship to appease their traditional deities. The tribals who are connected with nature have invented melodious, dulcet instruments like dovla, tadpu, dovli, pihvo. These instruments require constant blowing, which creates a melodious musical atmosphere created by the harmony of the blown air and the breathing process. Mr. Ratilalbhai Choudhary, President of Dovalo dance Mandal of vaghesia village, Mandvi Taluka of Surat district says that for protection human life from difficulties, diseases, wild animals and poisonous creatures as well as for happiness, peace and prosperity in the family and village, they worship Dungardev, village dev-Bhavani Mata, Devlimadi, Ahandiya Dungar, Bonbho. Hills etc. worship the gods and goddesses through these festivals.
Since ancient times, the ancestors of the Chaudhary, Gameet tribe used before using the grains harvested by them only after offering it to the gods and goddesses with the ritual of puja, tradition is still in habit of them, This reason behind that should be the grace of ones gods and goddesses for good production in agriculture, happiness, peace and prosperity. In each of these festivals, people used to celebrate the festival by dancing and singing together with great enthusiasm. This tradition is still followed today. Thus, Dovalo dance is of great importance socially, culturally and religiously among the Chaudhary and Gameet tribes living in Surat and Tapi districts.
Performance Context
Chaudhary, Gameet tribes residing at Surat and Tapi districts celebrate the festivals of the village gods and goddesses, Dungardev, Devlimadi, etc, after festival of Diwali in the month of Kartak every year. This dance is performed during religious festivals. The instrument used in this dance is tadpu, also called dovli, apart from this pihvo, devlakadi and big manjira cymbals are used in the dance instruments. Usually in dovla dance many members can dance together, in which one artist dovla, one artist tadpu, one artist dovli, One performer plays the Pihvo, various performers play the Big Manjira cymbals. Along with this, more than one performer takes a dev stick in hand and strikes the lower part of the stick devlakdi which is a 5, 6 feet long bamboo stick, with small iron fish attached to iron links like ghungharoes jingling bells at the upper end, so that the lower end of the stick The small iron fishes attached at the top hitting the ground produce a beautiful sound
During Dovla dance, Dovla, Tadpu, Dovli, Pihvo players are mainly in the middle and dance slowly in periphery of them while playing instruments, while Manjira cymbals players and Devalakdi players dances in periphery of other dancers and dance in a rhythm. The women often hold each others hands around their waists and perform n peripheral circle together in an artistic pose, which gives rise to a new variety in the decoration of the dance. During the dance, the dancing women sing songs related to gods and goddesses and social life. Two or three women sing first, the lines of the song followed by the rest of dancers. During the dance, songs are sung according to the occasion and there is a lot of emotion and passion in the musicians and dancers.
More than 50, 60 men and women dance with instrumentalists in religious as well as socio cultural festivals such as Gamdev, Dungardev, weddings etc. There is no limit to the number of dancers participating in the dance in these events, any male or female present can join in the dance. A dovla dance troupe is invited to professional events, in which a total of 15, 20 male and female members with musicians and dancers participate in the dance.
Chaudhary, village people living in each village celebrate festivals together with the spirit of one family according to their plan. Some temples are located far from the village. E.g. Devlimadi, Ahandiya hill, Bonbho hill etc. In tribal culture elements of nature are worshiped as gods. Hence they perform various worship rituals of Dungardev. Devotees who are far away take a big vehicle together for worship during the time when they are not working in agriculture. In which all the members of the blade are accompanied by the Bhuwa Hex Bhagat religious leaders and the dancers. The participating families share the cost of worship and its materials, offerings, food, transport etc. Sometimes when a family has held a Bhadha vow manata votive and its work is successful, one person completes his vow votive by taking along all the family members, relatives, Bhuwa hex Bhagat of the society and dovalo dance performers at his own expenses. At this time the ritual is performed by the Bhuva hex Bhagat, the dovli players play the dovli during the ritual giving a more sanguine form to the worship by melodious tunes. As the religious ceremony end then take food as prasad, everyone sings and dances with devotion, getting absorbed in the beautiful music of songs and instruments.
Costumes and Jewellery
Dovalo dance is performed by women and men. In social, cultural, religious festivals, the leading male dancers wear a white Gandhi cap, the musicians sometimes wear a small saffron turban, a white shirt or jhabho long and lose shirt or cloak and a white dhoti or lehenga and other dancers. Men dance in simple traditional or pant-shirts. Women use blouses and sarees in their modern dress as well as in traditional dress, which covers part of the body. While both men and women wear quite similar traditional dress in government-organizes events, men wear white shirts, white dhoti and white Gandhi cap, while women wear colourful and attractive blouses and sarees.
Men dont wear any special jewellery in the dance, while women wear bangles and silver ponchi hand harness on their hands, silver jooda and chain around their waist, silver chains on their feet, traditional pearl beads around their neck and married women wear mangalsutra.
Music and Instruments
Dances and instruments are interconnected. Instruments are very important in dances. Dance is impossible without the melody and rhythm of the instruments used in the dance. Different types of instruments are used in Dovlao dance. Dovlao, Tadpu, Dovli, Pihvo, Mota Manjira and Dev Ladka these six types of instruments are used. In which most of the instruments are wind instruments. Dovla, Dovli, Tadpu are the same type of instruments, but there is a difference in their size and chords. Both are made from bottle gourd. Bottle gourd is carved and hollowed out from the seeded part and arranged at its upper end in bamboo poly rods. While at the lower end the instrument is prepared by making a bulls horn or a palm leaf round bhunglu. a hollow pipe like structure They are jointed between them using wax and the upper part is decorated with peacock feathers. These instruments are played by blowing through the mouth. So the melodious sounds of music are produced.
Instruments like Dovla, Dovli, Piho are prepared by the tribal artisans themselves, which are prepared with a simple and very simple technique.
Dovla dance is performed to the sound of a traditional instrument called Dovla. The melodious tunes produced by this instrument are danced to music.