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About type of art
A. Tribal Dance Forms
Name of Tribal Dance Siddi Dhamal
Name of Tribe Siddi
Name of Performers with mobile Numbers Mr. Team Leader, Mobile No.
Meaning Significance
600 to 700 years ago, when the Siddi tribe, originally came from Africa and settled in Gujarat, they brought their native culture with them. Dhamal dance of the Siddi primitive tribeliving in Talala taluka of Saurashtra, is famous not only in Gujarat but throughout the country. The Dhamaal dance is originally from the African Siddi and resembles the legendary Zulu dance. A symbol of extreme vigor, passion and strength, the Dhamal dance of the Siddi caste evokes the traditional religious spirit and showcases the unique artistic and cultural tradition of the Siddis. It is an important means of displaying a unique artistic cultural tradition. Dhamal dance usually has a dance group of 12 people with 08 artists dancing and 04 artists singing their folk songs.
Dhamal dance consists of Siddi caste performers dressed in their traditional attire accompanied by musical instruments and folk songs. Their various bodily symbolic expressions make this dance very attractive. In ancient times, the Siddi caste people used to go on hunting in the forest and used to danced express their happiness or joy of hunting, which is known today as Dhamal dance. In ancient times this dance was also known as Misra dance. While performing this dance, artists of Siddi caste paint their bodies and dances by tying leaves of special types of trees, peacock feathers.
Dhamal dance of Siddiprimitive tribe conveys social, cultural and religious sentiments along with the sense of victory, victory in war. Primarily this dance is associated with hunting in the forest, the joy of success in their lifes work is an important element in this dance. The whole process of hunting which is traditionally described by them is seen as hunting as part of a festival. It also shows the collective spirit of the Siddi tribe people and the joy of doing a successful completion of task collectively instills happiness and enthusiasm in their lives. Generally the Siddi caste people of poor economic condition consider hunting as a festival and derive happiness and joy in their life through it. This has been their tradition but at present in the Dhamaal dance has seen many changes and replacements. Even in the professional spheres of the Siddis, the influence of their cultural life is still observed.
The Siddis prevailingly perform Dhamal dance on their wedding occasions, religious occasions and auspicious occasions. In this dance, the artists perform different types of steps to display their cultural, religious spirit. Which is the unique feature of this dance.
Performance Context
In ancient times, Dhamal dance was very important for the entertainment of kings and maharajas. The Raja Maharajas used to invite Siddi caste people to perform this artistic dance in the Raj Palace on their happy occasions. Moreover, if we look at the Dhamaal dance from the historical perspective of the Siddis, the Siddis used to go out collectively in the forest in search of prey, carrying their hunting weapons and playing their traditional instrument, the Dhamaal Misra and while dancing they looked for prey and when they found prey, they danced in circles in the joy of hunting. Being a very popular and attractive dance socio-culturally, the nobles in ancient times performed this dance on their happy occasions. That is, a glimpse of the cultural heritage of the Siddis has been an important medium in the lives of the kings and maharajas. From time to time on auspicious events of the Siddi tribepeople are performed especially on the occasion of their festivals, special days and the worship of their deity Sufi, Bandagi prayer. In the socio-religious life of the Siddi tribe, Ajwali Bija 2nd day after full moon and Agiyaras 11th day after full moon of every month are considered their special days and on these days when their auspicious events take place, the Dhamal dance is performed.
On the occasion of Siddi's religious festivals like Bakri Eid, Muharram, Eid e Milad, Ramzan Eid, Dhamaal dance is performed by people together with expression of happiness and joy. Siddi Dhamaal dance is performed especially on their social, cultural, religious and fair occasions.
Costumes and Jewellery
Ancient times, historically the Dhamal dance is a dance performed by men of the Siddi tribe. It is a dance performed by men while hunting in the forests and performed by male performers. Traditionally women do not take part in this dance. The dance is associated with the hunting of wild animals and is still practiced by dancers today. Performers hang peacock feathers on their bodies, wear tiaras on their heads and paint their bodies with dots of black, white, red colours . One or two artists have a bunch of peacock feathers in their hands. In the Siddi Dhamaal dance, the traditional dress consists of a dress below the waist, leaving the neck to the waist exposed. So the two colour dots painted specially on the bare body, thus turns the body of the artist very attractive and artistic. In this dance, the performers entertain the audience by displaying their exposed body parts in a unique style. Performers perform distinctive gestures like squinting their eyes, shaking their noses, turning their cheeks into different shapes, changing the shape of their lips. In the Siddi Dhamaal dance, the traditional dress consists of a dress below the waist, leaving the neck to the waist exposed. So the two colour dots painted specially on the bare body, thus turns the body of the artist very attractive and artistic. In this dance, the performers entertain the audience by displaying their exposed body parts in a unique style. Performers perform distinctive gestures like squinting their eyes, shaking their noses, turning their cheeks into different shapes, changing the shape of their lips.
Music and Instruments
In Siddi Dhamal dance various instruments are usedc like Shelanji, My Mishra, Masido, Dhamama, Mugarman, Nafeer, Sarmukta Ka Sota etc. It is called Maimishra, using in coconut shell and wrapped in green cloth. This instrument is considered important in maintaining the sanctity of music during dance. So the people of Siddi caste do not wear boots or shoes while dancing and use a big drum which is called mugaraman in Siddi dialect. which is played by the artist standing during the dance. The small drum is called Dhamama and the big drum is called Mushro.
Dhamal dance music is a traditional instrument of the Siddi tribe, played with a distinctive high-pitched music, as per the word associated with its name, Dhamal. Hence a special kind of spirit of dance is produced in the artists. The entire dance has a theme based on peacocks and snakes and the performers dance with unique gestures and the sounds of animals, birds and wild animals, the entire atmosphere of the dance creates a unique kind of sound-based feeling. Mostly this dance performed with enthusiasm and verve, the chirping of these dance artists and the chirping of various types of animal and bird sounds mesmerized the entire atmosphere. According to their belief, traditional instruments used for the Dhamal dance of Siddi tribe are purified and played according to their belief and all those musical instruments are kept in the religious place of Siddi tribe i.e. Dargah. . In short, the music of Siddi Dhamal dance creates a totally different mood from the dances and music of other tribes of the state.
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