Bulletin of Tibetology

FOLK SONGS AND DANCES OF SIKKIM

-Kripal Singh

We cannot but accept Washington Ervings vIew that the beauty inherent In the folk
songs and dances have a great aesthetie value. It was his strong belief that in order to study
and knov.; the people of a certain region. it IS always better to kno\,. about their songs and
dances and other fornls of their entertainments. Perhaps because when an mdlvldual is in-
volved in an acsthetlc performance. his mind is cleared of all inhIbitIOns whu.:h IS a free act b\
itself
Folk songs have been defined by different people at different times. The II1ternational
folk songs council 1954, strove to interpret it as an oral tradition which passes fornl one
generation to another. The reason that the folk traditions sull survive an: many, VIZ
(i) Folk traditions bridge the gulf between past and present
(Ii) varied cultural traditions resulting from cultural interaction between people of a commu-
nity
(UJ) SOClctv StrIvlI1g to retall1 folk songs and deternunmg in what ways it should be preserved.
Like folk songs. folk dances are vaned and belong to an inherent tradition of the peo-
ple The n:asons for preservation off(1lk dances are many such as (i) folk dances have emerged
as a resllit of suntained practice by a community (ii) folk dances that passed from olle genera-
tion to another adopted their style to the changing time and inculc<lted new movements. In
India, folk dances may be broadly claSSIfied into two groups folk dance performed by the
melL and pcrform,~d bv the women. Howevcc this IS not applIcablc in the northern states of
India and slIch states like Madhya Prcdcsh and Bihar. The folk dances of such places may be
claSSified In three categories, viz: (i) dances reflecting bravery (ii) dances related to dinerent
socw-religlOus festivals and (iii) ritual dances.
Folk songs and folk dances OCCUPy a prominent place in the culture of Sikklm Men
and womenfolk fully participate III dances to mark such important occasion like birth, wed-
dings. rituals or any other festivals For those belonging to the peasant & labour class the
mdodlOlls folk songs and danccs arc indeed life giving ambrosia whose lifting tOiles & rhyth-
mic pattern \\ipes away their fatigue. hunger & worries.
In order to analyse folk songs and dances. it is bettor to analyse some folk songs and
dances from neighbouring states of SikkinL In West Bengal. the dances such as "Stuti ",
"Arva ", "Baya" and "Kalkade(' are performed according to the rules of the ritual books.
Humorous. witty dance forms from this state arc "Kudiram's headachc", "collcction of
berries". "burning tabacco". "Bha.lo dance" is performed to invoke the God lndra Another
dance is called "Mandai Puja" The important dance of West Bengal is the "Kirtan Nritya"
This dance is perfoffiled in honour of Lord Vishnu. However, the present dance form evolved
from effcms made by the great samt Chaitannya Mahaprabhu
The "Namgkrim dancc" of Meghalaya is very famous. The "Khukn dance" from Assam
is very vibrant. The "Sola dance" of Madhya Pradcshis also very Important. The Santha dance
from Bihar and Orissa an~ also very popular It is a pkasurc to watch the dance of Santhals
"Collection of Indigo" Gujarat is famous for the "Garbha dance" This dance is pcrflmned by
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both men ami ,Yomen and IS related te, Knshna Lila.
The South India folk dances arc repl<::tc with spintual connotations. The nomads
perform a pot dance "Kudekutta" IS very popular. Tradilion has Il that this dance was
perfonned after Lord Knshna defeated Banasur or demon Another d,illce called "yekkun
Nityum" or devil dance IS also performed in South India This dance IS perfonTlcd by men
with the intention to drive away evil spint". This dance is specially perfrmcd when some-
body falls ill The dance IS akin to the dance performed bv the Jhakris of Sikkimese Nep,tli
cormnul1Ity
"Nauk1.nki" and "Ras Nnt~'a" are popular dance forms of Uttar Pradesh. These dances
depict the life of Lord Krishna and Radha USlJidly III . Nautanki "dance boys dress up 1HZ';
girlS. the boys sings on the stage accompanied by drum beau, and at Intervals, other Jom
them in chorus [n Sikkim, too,"Maruni dance" boys dress up like girls
Another popular dance form among the village women of Uttar Predcsh is known as
"Brat Nritya" This is done in order to appease the powers which drive av/ay contagiolls
diseases Before any occasion, tht:. women of thiS state perform "Shirala Plq,," Afkr that
tht:.y sing songs amI d<:U1ce to its rhythm Boll or the festival of coloms is also the han'c';llllg
time so the people arc full of JOY and gaiety. On this occaSion, the men and WOlHt::11 make; a
group and dance together emphasizing the happy note.

LEPCHA FOLK DANCI<: "CHU-FAAT"

ThiS age old f()lk dancf; of Lepcha:; is perfom}(;d in honour of tili: Mt. K;lIh..:lir:nlunga
and its four associate pf:aks Mt. Kabru. Mt. Pandlm, Mt. Simbrum and Mt Narsmg. Thcs,:
five snowy peaks are believed to bl; the repository of fivt; hidden lreasures such as salt
medicine. minerals. sacred scriptures and foodgrains
Carrying butter lamps and green bamboo leaves, the dancers p,,-,rform thiS rttual dance
"(hu-faat" WIth lhe devollonal song.

Tzcra-Chu Ve Pum Rum Pongi

Tzcr-Kong Chen Zu Rum Pong Ho Yo-Yoil

Mum Hait Lok

It is ritual Lcpcha folk dance performed by both men and women to the accompa-
niml:nt of devotional hymns. The Lepchas believe that the evil spmts an: tht; cause of
fatal diseases and only the "Mum" or the Shaman Priest can control tbt; evil forces b)
dint of his spiritual powers. This dance depicts the Mun performll1g the age old ntual
dance.

Ha-Ho-Ho-ha-Ho-HOI
Ho Sak Mu dok ho sam mu dok/l

Mon-Dryak-Lok
It is Lepcha bunting dance. The Lcpchas arc skilled hunters They never kill WIld
animals and birds for pleasure. but their approach towards hunting al1lll1als for food is highly

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ntualistlc and hunt v"hat IS n..:qulrcd
Tht: dance depicts the huntmg style carrying bows and arrows as theIr \,eapons When
any animal is kilkd. the hunter cut certam portion of the tksh and offer it to the Pong Rum
·'Forest Deity" of hunting. They believe that such an act will ml:d With great success 111
huntmg. A ncr this. the remaining carcass taken home and distributed among members of the
family and fnends.

D-I.\ai Owai Ovvail

MUll dyak ka no 0 chang gyam ka kall

Tendong Faat
It is a t~unou::. Lcpcha f(llk lore \"hleh IS often narratl:d to the I1C\\ generatIOn 111 the
form oflyrical poems ThiS folk lore corresponds to the divine occurrences as described in the
1\1alS\3 Puran and III Bible as the great flood

Folklore of Tcndong Faat runs like this.

Long long ago. the mighty Tista and Rangit RJver became unusually turbolCll1 and
their \ olul1\e increased to such an extent that everything all around. lll.:re drowlll:d .Immense
panic \\as unleashcd ner~wherc \,,,·IK'l1 men. WOI11I:Il. children and animals were swcpt away
b\ tlK powerful waves of the t\\O mer. Steady \\ ater level kc;pt rismg and small hills soon
v;tJl!shcd fi..lfm sight
SI.'l'i!lb tillS. the Lepcha of the "Tendong HiIr' in South Sikkim began offering pra"l:rs
Iz) thl.' Cod Trough a sacred religiolls cercmony they requested the Ahmghty to save them
hum uisaster.
As a reply to their pray er the folklore says that God came as a "Kohomfo" t)!rd and
sprinkkd sacred millet beer ill the raging ','"atef, whieh did thl: mirack. Within 110 tltllC, the
flooding \\;ltcr receded back allu \vas fu lIy pacified
Among the other Lepeha fiJlk dances, \\C may consider the name of ZO MAL LOK
DHAl{MRA JO-LOK and IANKISA ALOK

BIHlTIA FOLK DANCE "CHI-KIMlj'

Chl-RllllU I:' popular Bhut/a folk dance. It is performed ill praise of Sikklln - a land
of eternal beauty which has bcen blessed \\lth peace and happiness by great saints and
lamas The Sikkimcse arc happy. prosperous and peace loving people. Therdc)re. they
alwa\s find occasions for get-together to sing and dance in praise of Slkkilll which is 1I0t
0111\ endowed wtth natural beauty but also \\'Ith spintual contentl1l\.:nt. ThiS dance is a
n:gu lar fcatll re at every happy occasion when y Ollllg and old folks alike partlcipatc in it
Through thiS song-cum-dance, Bhutias express their rcvcn:nce to great teachers and sacred
places by \\l1osc grace Sikkim has become a happy land and welcome c\erybouy to Jom
them

Dhl-Rimu vale pc-ne zangpo dila rul

Kungsang thldo gnemla shap jda phel
khidu IlIlzi gnonala Sing shap jcla phe:;
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 BullEtin of TibEtology
GNlJNGMALA-GNUNGSHEY
This is a typical Bhutia folk dance performed in praise of the multi-purpose majestic
bamboos. Since the da~n of civilization when human beings slowly deserted the caves and
started building houses, man used bamboos extensively for countless purposes.
As such, Bhutlas being skilled craftsmen, have also utilised bamboo in geat many
things. This dance and accompanying song descnbe the usc of bamboo.

Gnungmala gnungshey lela pal

Demula Zongki gnunglama 2i!

TASHI ZALDHA
It is a dance depicting the Sikkimese Bhutia custom of offering scarves on auspicious
occasions. The white scarf is symbol of purity, peacc, good luck and prosperity. Carrying
snow white scarves in their hands young boys and girls perform the dance.
So-ho-yagi kungson chhosu!
thidula gyatang chagell

YAK DANCE
High among the mountains, man's friend is yak. It is the sole means of transportation
besides providing hm1 with milk meat for sustaining himself during the long \vintcr months.
111is dance depicts the yak and projects the simple life style of the herdsmen in the
mountains.
This dance depicts the yak and projects the simple life style of the herdsmen in the
mountain.
Among the other Bhutia dances we may make the mentIOn of Dina-Depay-Nima,
Rechungam. Danzong Norling, Ta-La-Si and Singhi.

Sikkimese Nepali Dance - DHAN NACH

This dance is a symbol of good spirit with which the farmers work hand in hand
undeterred by relentless ram and scorching heat of the sun, which cause them termendous
discomfort while working in the fields Yet they newr stop their work. To break the monoton\
of routine field work, men and \vomen find tIme to break into merry making songs and dances
to ovcrxome fatigue. Thus Dhan Naeh or paddy dance has become since time immemorial, a
ritualistic dance performed by yound and old folk alike in their traditional costume. I:SPC-
ciall\' it is very popular with the Limboos of this state.

Dhan hai ropun chpoo ra chupool

aasari mahinama da]aill

Chabrung
It is Iimboos traditional musical instrument. This typical musicla instrument is like
dholak in shape but much bigger in size. The dancer hang the chabnmgs around thier necks
with the help of a string and beat the drum with an open palm on one SIde and with a stick on

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the other side. This produces two different sound which echos very loudly in valleys and
mountains.
In this fashion, groups ofIimboo youngmen dance executing delicate and complicated
footwork on the hypnotic beats of the chabrung. Chabrung is a songless dance which is only
the 1)1hmic music. But often young girls join the merry making with the soulful songs which
arc typically of their own.

Maruni Dance
Maruni is one of the oldest and most popular dance ofSikkimesc Nepah community.
This dance is always performed by young girls is colourful constumes and rich omament on
the occasion of tyohar of deepwali. Sometime a serious theme can spoil the gay festival
moods. Therefore, there is always a man called "DHATU-WARAY' who acts the court Jester
wearing funny masks, awkward clothes in order to make people especially children laugh.
Tamang Selo or Damphu Dance
Tamang Selo is yet another Sikkimcse Nepali folk dance patronised by the 'Tamangs·.
This dance is also known as Damphu dance. Damphu is the traditional musical instrument.
I'his dance is performed on occasions like child birth. marriage ceremony. village fares, etc.

Appaki choree maichanglai, yeo maya dina hunchakil

appako chora changbalaL mayat dina rajec cha, pirathi laul1 rajce chal!

Among the other Sikkimesc Nepali dances. mention may be made of Asare Nntya.
Ratauli 10k nritya, Majhi nritya. Sangini Nritya, Balan Nritya and Chudki Nntya ..'

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