Dhoori (Sikkim folk dance)

Understand

Where Dhoori (Sikkim folk dance) comes from

Dhoori is the Sikkimese community-dance of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities, performed at the regional festivals of the Bhutia and Lepcha. The dance is one of the documented regional traditions of Sikkim and is associated with the celebration of the harvest and with the cultural life of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the regional Sikkimese community gatherings.

How it's practiced

Dhoori is performed by men and women of the Bhutia and Lepcha community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Dhoori cycle and to the rhythm of the small regional instruments. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Sikkimese tradition. Costume is the traditional Sikkimese dress — the men's wrap and the women's wrap (the dumvum). Performances are at the village festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.