Jawara Dance

Understand

Where Jawara Dance comes from

Jawara dance is a folk dance of the Gond and other tribal communities of Madhya Pradesh, performed after the millet (jowar / jawara) harvest. The dance takes its name from jawara — the local name for millet. As with the broader family of harvest-stick dances of central India (compare the Rajasthani Gair and the Madhya Pradesh Saila), the form expresses gratitude for the crop and is performed in the days immediately following the millet harvest, when families and villages gather to celebrate. The dance is also performed during the spring festival of Holi and at community marriages.

How it's practiced

Jawara dance is performed by men and women in opposing rows, each dancer wielding two sickle-shaped sticks that are struck against their partners' sticks in time to the dhol. The dance moves through several rhythmic patterns, with the leader calling changes and the ensemble responding. The intensity of the dance builds as the tempo accelerates. Costume is the everyday tribal dress of the Gond community — coloured turbans for the men, bright saris with heavy silver jewellery for the women. Performances take place in open village grounds or in the fields immediately after the millet harvest.