Hemant

In southern Orissa, the Paraja tribal community of Koraput district perform the autumn dance called Hemant. The autumn includes two seasons : Sharat, comprising two lunar months of Bhadrava and Ashwina and Hemanta comprising the next two lunar months of Kartik, and Margasheersa. Thus the autumn is spread over a period from the later part of August to the later part of November. The Hemant dance is performed on the festival called Nandi Parva that is held in November. It is also danced only by women. The accompanying songs are known as Nandi songs. Musical instruments used with this dance are : Dhol, Nishan, Tamak, and Mahuri, the reeded wind instrument.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *