Tusu Tusu Song-Dance (Jharkhand variant)

Understand

Where Tusu Tusu Song-Dance (Jharkhand variant) comes from

A closer-look variant of the Tusu Parab tradition, more specifically practiced in the district of Hazaribagh, Ramgarh and the surrounding regions of Jharkhand. The form preserves a particularly strong community-worship character of the Tusu idol, with the dance being part of the wider Sangh Swaroop (community offering) of the village. The Tusu Tusu Song-Dance is one of the less documented of the harvest traditions of the Jharkhand belt and has been preserved by the women's communities of the region.

How it's practiced

Tusu Tusu Song-Dance is performed by women of the Munda-Adivasi community in a circle or in a procession around the Tusu bamboo-and-clay idol that is ceremonially installed in the centre of the village. The dance is accompanied by the songs of the Tusu Pul Bisu cycle and the strings of brass shehnai, with the women's clothing of the regional Adivasi dress. The dance continues over the central days of the Tusu Parab and is concluded by the immersion of the Tusu idol in the village pond or stream.