Khukri Naach (Sikkim)

Understand

Where Khukri Naach (Sikkim) comes from

Khukri Naach is the warrior-sword dance of the Gorkha (Nepali) community of Sikkim, performed by the Gorkha men of the state with the khukri (the curved Nepalese knife of the Gorkha tradition). The dance is associated with the warrior-ancestry of the Gorkha people and with the historical Gorkha campaigns of the region. The form is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Sikkimese Gorkha community and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the regional Gorkha community gatherings.

How it's practiced

Khukri Naach is performed by Gorkha men of the community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men wield the khukri in coordinated mock-combat sequences, with the small lunges and the dance-steps of the Gorkha tradition. Music is the dhol, the small cymbals and the small regional instruments. Costume is the everyday Gorkha dress — the men's dhoti and the regional cap. Performances are at the village festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.