Buhchhim (Buchhim)

Understand

Where Buhchhim (Buchhim) comes from

Buhchhim (also spelled Buchhim) is the Mizo warrior-dance, performed at the Chapchar Kut festival of the Mizo community and at the war-celebration (the historic Kuki-Mizo warrior tradition). The dance is performed by men of the Mizo community in a circle (or in two facing rows), with the men wielding the small sword and the spear (the thang and the ta) of the Mizo tradition. The dance is associated with the warrior-culture of the Mizo and the historical Kuki-Mizo warrior cycles. The form is one of the most distinctive warrior-dance traditions of the NE region and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of Mizoram.

How it's practiced

Buhchhim is performed by men of the Mizo community in a circle (or in two facing rows) at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men wield the small sword and the spear of the Mizo tradition, performing mock-combat and the warrior-dance sequences. The dance is energetic, with the men's lunges and the small steps of the Mizo warrior vocabulary. Music is the khuang (drum) and the darbu (gong), with the small cymbals. Costume is the traditional Mizo warrior-dress — the puandum and the small regional cap, with the small sword and the spear. Performances are at the Chapchar Kut and at the cultural programmes of the state.