Domkach Dance

Understand

Where Domkach Dance comes from

Domkach is the rhythmic dance of the Dom community of the Chota Nagpur plateau — the historic drum-beater community of the region, whose hereditary occupation is the playing of the dhak-dhol drum at life-cycle ceremonies. The dance has a long history in the region and is closely associated with the Munda and Oraon tribal-culture cycle of Jharkhand. Domkach is performed at the weddings of Munda and Oraon communities and at the autumnal Karma festival. The Dom dancers are considered essential to the rhythm of the festival and are often the lead-band of any ceremonial dance of the region.

How it's practiced

Domkach is performed by Dom musicians in their characteristic dance formation — a lead musician followed by a sequence of Dom drummers, each carrying the dhak-dhol drum (a traditional Dom drum of the Chota Nagpur plateau), and striking the drum in coordinated rhythms while dancing in a line or in a processional formation. The Domkach dance is the rhythmic basis of many of the regional dances — the Dom musicians often accompany the Jhumar, the Karma and other Munda and Oraon dances with their Domkach drummer-dance. Costume is the everyday Dom dress of the region — the dhoti-kurta with the small ceremonial turban. The dance is performed at community gatherings and at the central Dom courtyard of the village. It is also part of the cultural programmes of Jharkhand and is regularly featured at state cultural pageants.