Performing Art · Lakshadweep

Utheemu (Utheem) Dance

Utheemu

The Minicoy community-festival dance — performed at the Utheem (the central cultural celebration of the Minicoy island) with the men-and-women's dance and the regional songs of the Minicoy Mahl tradition.

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Where Utheemu (Utheem) Dance comes from

Utheemu (also Utheem) is the Minicoy community-festival dance of Lakshadweep, performed at the central Utheem (the cultural celebration of the island) with the men-and-women's dance of the Mahl tradition. The form is one of the lesser-documented but living traditions of the Minicoy and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the union territory and at the regional festival of the island.

How it's practiced

Utheemu is performed by men and women of the Minicoy 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 Utheem cycle and to the rhythm of the small regional instruments of the Minicoy tradition. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Minicoy tradition. Costume is the traditional Mahl dress of the Minicoy — the colourful lungi and the regional dress. Performances are at the central courtyard and at the cultural programmes of the union territory.

From discovery to practice

The Journey

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Where Utheemu (Utheem) Dance comes from, why it started, and what it means today.

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