Nicobari Hukau (Hukau Dance)

Understand

Where Nicobari Hukau (Hukau Dance) comes from

Hukau is the women's folk-dance of the Nicobarese community of the Nicobar Islands, performed at the social gatherings of the Nicobari women. The dance is associated with the social and the cultural life of the Nicobarese women and is one of the documented regional traditions of the Nicobar Islands. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the union territory and at the regional Nicobari community festivals.

How it's practiced

Hukau is performed by women of the Nicobarese community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Hukau cycle and to the rhythm of the small regional instruments of the Nicobarese tradition. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Nicobari women. Costume is the traditional Nicobarese dress — the coconut-frond wrap and the traditional body-ornaments. Performances are at the central courtyard and at the cultural programmes of the union territory.