Sherdukpen Folk Dance

Understand

Where Sherdukpen Folk Dance comes from

The Sherdukpen folk dance is the community-festival-dance of the Sherdukpen community of the West Kameng district of western Arunachal Pradesh. The Sherdukpen are a community of mixed Monpa-Tibetan and indigenous Aryan-Akha heritage, settled in the villages of the West Kameng district. The dance is one of the documented regional traditions of Arunachal Pradesh and is performed at the community festivals of the Sherdukpen. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the regional community festivals.

How it's practiced

The Sherdukpen folk dance is performed by men and women of the Sherdukpen community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the community cycle and to the rhythm of the dhol and the small regional instruments. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Sherdukpen tradition. Costume is the traditional Sherdukpen dress — the colourful wrap and the small regional headdress. Performances are at the village festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.