Jhumur

Jhumur (Assamese: ঝুমুৰ, Bengali: ঝুমুর, Oriya: ଝୁମର, Hindi: झुमर) is a traditional dance form, existing in eastern part of India, basically in Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. The dance is performed by young girls. They are also acconpanied by fewer male members, who by and large maintain the rhythm with musical instruments and vocals.

Performance

The dance is mostly performed in open places (now-a-days in cultural gatherings also). The male members wear long traditional dresses and keep the rhythm with few traditional instruments: generally a drum, hung on shoulder; a flute and a pair of "Taal" (two metallic discs). The girls mostly perform the dancing part, holding each other's waist and movnig hands and legs forward and backward synchronously.

Lyrics

The lyrics of Jhumur are built on day-to-day languages and mostly depict love and or pleasures and pains of day-to-day life.

Locations where performed

Traditionally Jhumur is a dance form of certain tribes of eastern India.

Philosophy

The dance gets its name from the cluster of bells worn round the ankles, which make a clanging noise. There are many variations of Jhumur. This dance is some times performed as a ritual worship of gods and goddesses, sometimes for courting and lovemaking, and yet again as a prayer for rainfall. This dance incorporates songs and dialogues, which depict the joys and sorrows, yearning and aspirations of the everyday lives of the common people. It is believed that Jhumur was originally a means of recreation between phases of tedious agricultural work. Probably the most entertaining form of Jhumur is the Bhaduria, performed as thanksgiving for a bountiful monsoon.^[1]

See also

Kurmi/KudumiMahato

References