Hurkiya Boli (Hurkiya Nritya)

Understand

Where Hurkiya Boli (Hurkiya Nritya) comes from

Hurkiya Boli (also spelled Hurkiya Boli Nritya) is the women's folk-song-and-dance tradition of the Jaunsari and other hill communities of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, performed at the Harela festival and at the Diwali. The form is the regional song-cycle of the Jaunsari community (the hill community of the Chakrata and the Kalsi valleys of Dehradun district) and is preserved as a community-women's tradition. The dance is performed with the women of the village in a circle, with the song-cycle providing the rhythm and the dance accompanying the melody. The tradition is part of the wider Garhwali women's folk-song repertoire (which includes the chhura, the jhoda, the thadya and the mangal songs).

How it's practiced

Hurkiya Boli is performed by women of the Jaunsari and the Garhwali community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the temple square at the festival. The women sing the Hurkiya Boli song-cycle in the regional dialect and perform the small hand-claps and the swaying steps of the dance. The dance is gentle, with the women's movements in time to the song and the light clapping. Music is the Hurka (the small hand-drum) and the brass shehnai, with the women's voices carrying the melody. Costume is the colourful regional dress — the sari or the ghagra-kurti with the heavy silver jewellery of the Jaunsari community. Performances are at the Harela festival and at the Diwali of the Garhwal region.