Performing Art · Jammu and Kashmir
Hafiza
हाफिज़ा
The women's devotional dance of the Kashmiri Muslim community — performed by the women of the village at the religious celebration of the Muslim saints of the valley, in honour of the Sufi reshis.
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Where Hafiza comes from
Hafiza is the women's devotional-dance of the Kashmiri Muslim community, performed at the celebration of the Sufi reshis of the Kashmir Valley. The dance is associated with the women's religious life of the Muslim community of the valley and is performed at the central courtyard of the host's home at the celebration of the reshis. The form is one of the lesser-documented but living traditions of the Kashmiri Muslim community and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the regional celebration of the Sufi saints.
How it's practiced
Hafiza is performed by women of the Kashmiri Muslim community in a circle at the central courtyard of the host's home or at the open ground of the celebration of the reshis. The women perform in coordinated swaying steps to the song of the Hafiza cycle and to the rhythm of the small regional instruments. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Kashmiri Muslim tradition. Costume is the everyday Kashmiri dress — the pheran and the regional jewellery. Performances are at the celebration of the reshis and at the cultural programmes of the state.
The women's devotional dance of the Kashmiri Muslim community — performed by the women of the village at the religious celebration of the Muslim saints of the valley, in honour of the Sufi reshis.
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More traditions of Jammu and Kashmir
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