The Bagurumba () is a traditional dance of the indigenous Boro people living in the State of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
North East India
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. It is also called
butterfly dance because it's personification of movements of butterflies and birds. In this occasion, only the Bodo women perform the dance, wearing their colourful traditional attire ''dokhna'', ''jwmgra'' (''fasra'') and ''aronai''. The dance is accompanied by handmade percussion instruments such as 'kham' (a long cylindrical drum, made of wood and goat skin or other animal’s skin), ''sifung'' (flute, carved out of bamboo), jota (made of iron/tama), ''serja'' (a bowed instrument, made of wood and animals skin), and gongwna (made of bamboo), ''tharkha'' (a piece of split bamboo).
The
Boro __NOTOC__
Boro may refer to:
People
* Boro people, indigenous peoples of Amazonas, Brazil
* A variant spelling for the Bodo people of northeast India
* Charan Boro, Indian politician
* Isaac Adaka Boro, a celebrated Niger Delta nationalist and Nig ...
music may lack the sophistication of established schools and forms of music, however, the khams (a long cylindrical drum) provide the beats and the rhythm for the Bagurumba dance ensemble, while sifung (flute) and Serja provide melody, together used to 'invite' young people to the festivities or celebration. The Bagurumba dance resembles the gentle and poetic movements of the butterflies, is believed to be influenced/transpired by elements of the nature. The practice of this dance by the
Boro people
Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are ...
is over thousand years old. Usually, the Boro people live in peace and harmony with the green vegetation and the environment, and worship beauty of the nature. Boro people live and farm along the foothills of the eastern and southern Himalayas, which are evergreen forest. This traditional dance incorporates several symbolic elements, transpired by the natural surrounding environment. For example, dance of plants, dance of animals, birds, butterfly dance, wave of flowing river, wind etc.
Because Bagurumba is an energetic and beautifully choreographed youthful dance, Boro people are usually attracted or drawn to this ensemble. By watching this dance, most Boro people often sing along and dance, unknowingly. Suffice to say, Boro people love to live in peace with the environment and surrounding beautiful evergreen vegetation.
There are no certain days and times to perform this dance; this dance is performed on many occasions, such as festivals and cultural programmes. At present, the Bagurumba dance is attracting quite a bit of attention worldwide. For actual dance, the readers should check the YouTube.
“Jat nongabwla
Cool nongabwla
tabwrwm homnanwi-
bamnanwi lagwomwnka
hai lwgw lagwomwnka”
The origin and emergence of
agurumbasong remains unknown, likely written thousands of years ago. There are several competing interpretations, however, the common theme is that the Bagururmba song and dance signify mutual respect, to honour friendship, to honour relationship, and to live in peace with the environment. Bagurumba is a celebration of life, youthful expression of happiness and togetherness.
Musical instruments
Among many different musical instruments, the Bodos use for Bagurumba Dance:
Sifung: This is a long bamboo flute having five holes rather than six as the north Indian
Bansuri would have and is also much longer than it, producing a much lower tone.
* Serja: a violin-like instrument. It has a round body and the scroll is bent forward.
* kham : a long drum made of wood and goat skin.
* Jota: made of iron/tama.
* Gongwna: made of bamboo.
Composition
Bagurumba uses F Major
Pentatonic Scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale).
Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many an ...
, exactly similar to Chinese Traditional Music, an indication of the ancient Chinese influence.
See also
*
Folk dances of Assam
Folk dances of Assam include the Bihu and the Bagurumba (both danced during festivals held in the spring), the Bhortal, the Ojapali dance. Assam is home to many groups: Muslim, Indo-Aryan, Rabha, Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, Mising, Sonowal Kacharis ...
*
Bodo people
Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are ...
*
Bathow Puja
References
Books
*
*
External links
Bagurumba Bodo folk daceMinistry of Culture GOI Youtube Channel
at indiantraveldestinations.com
{{Dance in India
Indian folk dances
Bodo people
Folk dances of Assam