Chhau

Chhau is a folk dance. It is popular in Jharkhand, West Bengal and some parts of Orissa. The Chhau Dance follows the basic principles of Hindu Dance. Chhau in local dialect means six. This dance include six faces, viz. forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, lips and chin. The masks used in this dance bear the six parts of the face.

The word "Chhau" has been derived from the Sanskrit word "Chhavi" which means image or picture. "Chhau" is Chhabila in Sanskrit and fancy or picaresque in English. In the opinion of Late Bijay Pratap Singh Deo of Seraikela who was an architect of Chhau dance of Seraikella school, Chhau is a masked dance, the motif of which has been drawn from the mythology. According to Sitakanta Mohapatra, Chhau is concocted pronunciation of the word Chhauni (Military Barrack or Cantonment). In his views, the militia man (Paikas) staged and performed in Chhauni (cantonments) for amusement during leisure time and enjoy their success or victory in battle field, so the people called it as "Chhauni dance", which in course of time changed to Chhau dance.

"Chhau" dance flourished at eight Akhadas on the basis of Parikhanda. It is also connected with religion. In Seraikela area a particular ritual is associated with this dance. This dance starts in the last four days of Chaitra month of the year with "Yatra Ghat" and concludes in the last night with "Kalika Ghat". It is also known as Chatra Parva. In early days the dancers used masks of bamboos and gourds and these dances were related with mythological tales of Mahabharata, Ramayana and the life and nature of human beings. Later on masks made of paper mache were used. Presently beautifully decorated masks are used.

Modern Chhau dance started in 1920s. Kunwar Bijay Pratap Singhdeo made great contributions to this. The Chhau dance relates to the worship of Lord Shiva in the month of "Chaitra". In Jharkhand, Manda fair is organised in night, and the Chhau dancers dance the whole night. The different styles of Chhau are Seraikela Chhau, Kharsawan Chhau, Manbhum (Purulia) Chhau, and Mayurbhanj Chhau.

Nearby pages
Chhawmanu Vidhan Sabha Constituency, Chhaya, Chhayasut, Chhendipada Vidhan Sabha Constituency, Chhibramau Vidhan Sabha Constituency