Performing Art · Jammu and Kashmir

Hikat (Jammu)

हिकट

The men's spring-festival dance of the Jammu region — performed by men of the Dogra and the Gujjar communities with the small lunges and the regional songs, particularly at the Hikat of the Dogra wedding.

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Where Hikat (Jammu) comes from

Hikat is the men's spring-festival dance of the Jammu region, performed by men of the Dogra and the Gujjar communities at the spring festival and at the Dogra wedding cycle. The dance is one of the documented regional traditions of Jammu and is associated with the celebration of the new harvest and the cultural life of the Dogra community. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the regional community festivals.

How it's practiced

Hikat is performed by men of the Dogra community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men perform in coordinated small lunges and steps to the song of the Hikat cycle and to the rhythm of the dhol and the small regional instruments. The dance is energetic, with the men's lunges of the Dogra tradition. Costume is the everyday Jammu dress — the dhoti, the kurta and the regional cap. Performances are at the spring festival of the Dogra community and at the cultural programmes of the state.

From discovery to practice

The Journey

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Where Hikat (Jammu) comes from, why it started, and what it means today.

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