One of the renowned folk dance forms of the people of Lakshadweep is Lava dance. The dance is a pure delight to behold and may be described as a riot of colors. Such highly charged dance is particularly performed in the Minicoy Island of Lakshadweep. The costumes of Lava dance performance are multi-hued costumes and the dancers accompany it with a head gear. The Lava dancers also carry a drum and dances to the rhythmic beats of drums and accompanied songs. The other colorful dance forms of Minicoy are Lava, Dandi, Bandiya and Fuli .
The Kolkali dance literally translates as stick dance.
The word 'Kol' refers to a stick and because the dance is performed with sticks, it is called Kolkali. Kolkaki dance is the most widely known and popular folk dance of Lakshadweep. The performers comprise only of men. The women are not allowed to perform and practice this dance form. Kolkali is danced in pairs and the pairs move in circles to the rhythmic beat of sticks. The performers hold these special sticks in their hand and use them as props while dancing. The dance begins with a slow pace but slowly as the time passes the rhythm becomes fast and ultimately reaches to the height of frenzy. With the accompanied folk songs the dancers dance in a variety of alignment in due course.
Parichakali dance
The Parichakali dance is also a popular dance form in the islands of Lakshadweep. Parichakali literally translates as Shield dance, as Paricha refers to a shield and as the dance performed with sword and shields, it is called Parichakali. This dance form can be somewhat called a martial art form. The dance resembles fighting and therefore shields and sword are used as props. These are, however, made of very soft wood so that it does not wound anybody while enacting. Brave wars and warriors and freedom struggle are common themes. The dance usually involves dual combats and the bravery is honored in this Lakshadweep dance form. The performance is accompanied by songs. What slowly begans as a slow dance increases to culminate into a highly energetic dance.
Last Updated on 02 April 2013
