Jhumar: drummers, circles and a changing dance
Regional descriptions, revival research and university rules show several forms of jhumar rather than one unchanged routine.
Historical western Punjab; modern performance in Indian Punjab
Culture · A guide to the archive
Dance, drums and verse
Read movement, repertoire and accompaniment through named descriptions and dated performance settings.
How to approach this subject
A dance can be described in a regional reference work, taught in a school workshop or selected for a university stage. These entries keep those settings separate and attend to the work of singers, teachers and drummers. Compare the account of a gathering with a festival rulebook before assuming that either defines every performance. Short verse forms also need their local terminology and circumstances.
An intentional selection
Begin with these entries
Luddi: shoulders, claps and the drummer’s circle
A movement description, a 2016 school workshop and university rules reveal different settings for luddi.
Punjab’s western districts; Dinanagar and university stages in Indian Punjab
Sammi dance: song, gesture and staged revival
Sammi’s circular singing, regional variation and modern teaching projects need to be read in their particular settings.
Sandal Bar and other western Punjabi settings; revival projects in Indian Punjab
Malwai giddha: boliyan, instruments and ensemble cues
Sung verses, live instruments and the exchange between leader and group shape this form of giddha.
Malwa in Indian Punjab; Bathinda practitioner account and university competition
Kikli: a paired dance-game and its songs
Handholds, whirling partners and a changing song repertoire connect kikli’s play and performance settings.
Punjab, including the regional practices discussed in Punjabi University entries
Dhamaal in Punjab: Lahore shrines, dancers and drummers
Specific Lahore accounts connect dhamaal with a festival, relationships between performers and Pappu Saeen’s musical work.
Lahore: Madho Lal Hussain and Baba Shah Jamal shrine contexts
Boliyan: verses, collective replies and new writing
Short and long forms, group response and named contemporary composition give boliyan a varied performance life.
Punjabi performance traditions; British diaspora gatherings and a Bathinda practitioner account
Tappe: short verses and a flexible name
Scholarly accounts connect tappe with brief expression, varied singing contexts and differing regional terminology.
Punjabi song traditions discussed in regional scholarship