Andaman Settler Folk Dance (Bengali/Bengali-descended)

Understand

Where Andaman Settler Folk Dance (Bengali/Bengali-descended) comes from

The Andaman Settler folk dance is the dance of the post-Independence settler community of the Andaman Islands (the Bengali and the North Indian and the Tamil communities that have settled on the islands since 1949). The dance is the regional adaptation of the Bengali folk-dance tradition (with the influences of the West Bengal and the North Indian dance forms) and is performed at the cultural festivals of the settlers. The form is one of the documented regional traditions of the Andaman Islands and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the union territory.

How it's practiced

The Andaman Settler folk dance is performed by men and women of the settler community in a circle at the central courtyard of the settlement or at the open ground of the cultural festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Bengali folk cycle and to the rhythm of the dhol and the small regional instruments. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Bengali tradition. Costume is the everyday Bengali dress of the settlers — the sari for the women and the dhoti-kurta for the men. Performances are at the courtyard and at the cultural programmes of the union territory.