Luddi

Understand

Where Luddi comes from

Luddi is a traditional folk dance of both eastern (Indian) and western (Pakistani) Punjab, performed on weddings and on victories (including sports victories). The dance was traditionally performed by all ages of men and women in celebration of the wheat harvest and at weddings, and the form is documented as one of the most inclusive of Punjabi folk dances. The Pakistani singer Noor Jehan popularised the form with the song 'Luddi hay jamalo' in the 1980s, and the form remains a favourite at Punjabi weddings on both sides of the border.

How it's practiced

Luddi is performed by men and women (often together) in a circle or in a line, clicking fingers and clapping, jumping and turning half-turns in the air, all in time to the dhol and shehnai. The dance builds in tempo and energy through the performance, with characteristic claps and single-footed jumps of the dancers. Luddi is closely related to (and is sometimes treated as a regional variant of) Sammi, the women's dance, but is open to men and women. Costume is the colourful Punjabi salwar-kameez or the kurta-lamba for men. Performances are typical at wedding ceremonies, harvest celebrations, and at political or sports victories.