Jadur

Jadur of Bihar is a folk dance particularly popular among the tribal people of South Bihar called the Oraons. The dance is a part of the celebrations of the Sarhul festival. Bihar's Jadur forms an integral part of Bihar's folk tradition. Celebrating the celestial union of the mother earth with the sun god, the dance represents vitality, fertility and plenty. The tribal dances are largely stylized representations of fundamental life-forces. The tropes of union and resultant fertility are recurrent themes within the tribal dances.

Typically, Jadur in Bihar dance form employs combined participation of both men and women. The dances are athletic in nature and is held to the accompaniment of sonorous and repetitive rhythm schemes. Footwork is of paramount importance in the performance of Bihar's Jadur dance. The arms are interlocked, the upper halves of the bodies are kept straight. The dance involves gentle swaying to the rhythm of the drums, the 'madols', cymbals and flutes. Members of every Oraon village participate in great numbers in these performances.

Jadur at Bihar is noted for its subtle lyricism. It also has a great controlled energy to it. The repetition and the sublime monotony of the drums create an intoxicating charm, almost urging everyone to join in this community celebration of fertility and nature. Being close to the earth, the fertility of the human self is closely associated with the fertility of the soil among tribal belief systems. Therefore, the divine union and the resultant fertility is the dominant theme of Sarhuli. Jadur is performed to celebrate this occasion every year. Essentially a dance celebrating love and the union of the masculine and the feminine forces in nature, Jadur is a dance of great religious and social significance to the tribal community.