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Culture and people are very closely associated with each other. The term ‘culture’ refers to the complex collection of knowledge, folklore, languages, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that links and gives a common identity to a particular group of people at a specific point in time. Uttarakhand takes this vast complex collection and subtly presents it for anyone to experience or immerse in.
Tribals
The Uttarakhand of today brims with the lively hum of life with people from various communities and religions contributing to make it into a wonderful profusion of the festival called life. The original natives of the land of Uttarakhand belong to different tribes having their distinct and plentiful culture. Major tribes of Uttarakhand include Bhotias (or Shaukas), TribalsRangs, Tharus, Buxas, Jaunsaris, Rajis (or Banrawats) apart from indigenous groups like Mahigeers and Vangujjars.
The Bhotia is a generic name that includes the Shaukas of Munsyari (Pithoragarh), Rangs of Dharchula(Pithoragarh), Tolchhas and Marchhas of Niti and Mana valleys (Chamoli) and Jads of harsil (uttarkashi). Most of these semi-nomadic pastoral groups are however brought under one anthropological term – Shauka.
The Tharus were once the largest scheduled tribes in the erstwhile state of U.P. and are now concentrated in the Khatima and Sitarganj tehsils of Udham Singh Nagar district. They claim their ancestry from Kirata. Some researchers regard them as descendants are of the Rajputs, while some others trace their origin from the Mongols of Central Asia. Their language is heavily influenced by Hindi and Nepali.
The joint family system is very inherent here. The Biradari Panchayat is the political organization of the Tharus. The Tharus also believe in 36 deities, as well as in witchcraft, sorcery and sacrifices. They offer sacrifices to all their deities except Jagannathi Devta, who is offered milk only. They are an agricultural community who are also fishing experts. Women do not eat the fish touched by men and so the men and women fish separately.
The Buxas are from Mongoloid stock and claim rajput origin. Closely resembling in their habits and customs to Tharus, they are said to be the original inhabitants of the Terai belt and live in Udham Singh Nagar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. They are the followers of Lord Rama and Krishna and worship Hindu deities.
The term ‘Jaunsar’ represents a number of tribal groups namely the Khasas, artisan classes Koltas and baigis who inhabit the Jaunsar area of the Dehradun district.
Rajis, Mahigeers and Vangujjars are other socio-tribal groups whose distinct lifestyles add more colours to the vibrant tribal life of Uttarakhand.
Paintings
The development of the Garhwal school of painting as a branch of the Pahari school of art is believed to have started in the 17th century and reached its zenith in the latter half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. The chief pioneer behind this growth was the eminent Garhwali painter, poet and historian Mola Ram.
In the 17th century, the Mughal Prince Suleman Shikoh had taken refuge in Garhwal. He was accompanied by a few artists well versed in the Mughal style of miniature paintings. When he returned he left behind Shamdas and Haridas, who had already mastered the new painting techniques. These two were the ancestors of Mola Ram.
The Pahari Painting is inspired by the battles between good and evil. It has covered vast subjects like Indian life; its history, culture and traditions, with a touch of divinity. There is a lot of subtle spiritual content in the art, literature and mythology that has survived for generations in the Indian sub-continent. The Pahari Kalam style of painting was developed in the Kumaon area and was practiced in some of the Himalayan regions.
Aipan or Alpana is a popular Kumaoni art form done on walls, paper and pieces of cloth. This decorative art includes drawings of various geometric and other figures representing gods, goddesses and objects of nature. The pichhauras or dupattas are also decorated in this way. These ritual designs and patterns are an expression of a women’s artistic taste.
Barboond, Patta, Rangwali etc. are some more forms of local ritual paintings to be done on specific occasions.
Besides these some spots like Lakhudiyar, Falseema, Kasardevi in Kumaon and Dungri in garhwal have traces of ancient rock paintings and engravings.
Music & Dance
All forms of folk music and dance date back to no particular phase in time – they are passed on from generations to generations. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the peasants, and as music with unknown composers. Same can be said for the songs that accompany these forms. From the beginning of human history, the biggest wars that human race had to wage were against the very elements of nature, whose essential disposition was to put the human endurance to demanding tests.
The same principle can be applied to Uttarakhand. Living was a very difficult business in old times. Life under the rugged climatic conditions was unimaginably difficult in those days, although in certain parts it still remains the same, if not worse.
The simple and hardworking people took refuge in the consoling lap of music which more often than not was accompanied by a song and a dance. They realized that after every hardship that nature posed in front of them, it always opened up its chest of generosity too.
Folk music, folk song, and folk dance are comparatively recent expressions. They actually are extensions of the term folklore, which abound in both Garhwal and Kumaon. Of course the exceptional beauty of the Himalayan landscapes rendered equally exceptional colors to the folklore.
Thus there are folk songs for every occasion and reason – there are devotional songs to invoke the local deities, auspicious songs to celebrate occasions like marriages, religious songs praising the gods, heroic songs narrating in length the heroic deeds of kings in the battles, ghost songs addressing the elements beyond logical human comprehension, seasonal songs, songs teaching morality and last but not the least, songs about romance, passion and the inevitable separations.
The song-form Nyauli of Kumaon finds its equivalent in Khuded and Jhumeilas of Garhwal. These are love songs interspersed with tones of separation. Then there are other forms as Phag, Bair, Baramasa, Saiddhali, Pavada, Hurkiya Baul and Pandav Songs to name a few.
Customarily most of the folk songs were accompanied by dancing. The dances can be broadly classified into occupational, seasonal, martial, devotional and ritualistic dances. The prominent folk dances are the Bhotia Dance, Chamfuli and Chholia. The Bhotia Dance, Dandala, Chamfuli, Dhusaka and Dhurang are the group folk dances of the Bhotias and are quite similar to the Garba dance of Gujarat. The dance forms are greatly influenced by mythology, religion and social events. Chamfuli is a popular dance form of the Garhwal region. In this dance, men and women dance to the rhythm – separately and together in pairs with vivid facial expressions. The Chholia dance is performed exclusively by the boys and men at marriage processions. A few of them dress up as soldiers and enact the scenes of fierce duels. After this dance, the bride is carried away by her lover. This dance is a war dance and has existed for more than 2000 years.
The Pandava dance performed during Dussehra and Deepawali is enacted by narrating the story of the Mahabharata along with dance and music. The Badra Nati dance is performed by men and women wearing colourful costumes, during religious festivals and on other social occasions. On the occasion of the bride’s first visit to her parent’s home after marriage, the Tharu dance is performed to welcome the newly-married couple. The Chanchari dance is a dance related to the Garhwal and Almora region. The Jhoda dance of Kumaon is staged spectacularly on a full moon night by young men and women, specially during the colourful season of the festival of Holi.
The Hurkiya baul is a community dance, prevalent in Kumaon, and is still part of rural life during the sowing season. Owing to lack of manual labour in the rugged hills, people customarily work together. It is common that all the families of a village do the sowing in all the fields collectively one by one. A singer sings tales of bravery from local history, accompanied by the beats of the traditional instrument Hurka, while the women work together with their laboring hands following an almost dance-like movement. Most of the stories narrated in Hurkiya Baul are about the brave Chand kings of Champawat of a bygone era.
Fairs & Festivals
Typically a fair meant a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy dance and music. It is normally the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may last as long as a few weeks.
The fair is an ancient tradition, and many communities have long had dedicated fairgrounds; others hold them in a variety of public places, including streets and town squares, or even in large private gardens. Fairs are often held in conjunction with a significant event, such as the anniversary of a local historical event, a seasonal event such as harvest time, or with a holiday or a festival or some auspicious occasion such as Makar Sankranti or Nandashtami or Vaisakhi etc.
Uttarakhand is rich in culture and heritage. Fairs (called Mela in Hindi) are clebrated with fervour and zeal. They are an integral part of the social and cultural life of Uttarakhand. Here one can see the cultural diversity of this state. It is at these fairs that the traditional art forms that are on the verge of extinction resurface, so that the
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