Deuda () or Deuda Khel is a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of song and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, performed in the

Sudurpashchim Sudurpashchim Province ( ne, सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश, ''Sudurpashchim Province'') (''Far-West Province'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces established by the Constitution of Nepal, new constitution o ...

and Karnali provinces of

, as well as in the

Kumaon Division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is performed on the occasion of various festivals, such as Gaura. The dance is performed by singing Deuda songs in a circulus by holding each-other's hands. It is considered as one of the cultural heritage of

Karnali Province Karnali Province ( ne, कर्णाली प्रदेश) is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is covering 18.97% of the cou ...

. Deuda songs are very popular in

Dailekh Dailekh ( ne, दैलेख), locally known as Dailekh Bazar. Narayan is a town and the headquarters of Dailekh District located in Karnali Province of Nepal. It was Incorporated to Narayan Municipality Narayan ( ne, नारायण) is a m ...

, Kalikot, Jumla,

Achham Achham ( ne, :ne:अछाम जिल्ला, अछाम जिल्ला ) is a district located in Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It is one of the nine Districts of Nepal, districts of the Sudurpashchim, province. The district, with M ...

, Bajang,

Doti Doti ( ne, डोटी), also known as Doti region, Dotigarh (डोटीगढ़) as used in the Jagar (folk tales; जागर), in the Farwestern region of Nepal (Sudurpashchim Province), is a region situated between River Kali bordering ...

, Dadeldhura,

Baitadi Khalanga or Baitadi Khalanga is a town and seat of Baitadi District in the Sudurpashchim Province of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau ...

Bajura Bajura District ( ne, बाजुरा जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Martadi (today part of Badimalika municipality) as its district headquarter ...

and

Darchula Khalanga (also called Darchula) is a town and the district headquarters of the Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. It is part of the Mahakali Municipality in the Mahakali Zone. The town is located on the bank of Mahakali ...

. It is performed by group of male and female. It is performed during the feasts and festivals like Gaura Parva.

Etymology and history

The word deuda means slanted or crooked. The dance is called so because during performance the legs are moved in slanted manners. The song sung during the dance is also known as ''nyaauli'' after a bird. The dance is known as ''Dhacha'' in

Jajarkot district Jajarkot District ( ne, जाजरकोट जिल्ला) a part of Karnali Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Khalanga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population of ...

. The dance form is said to be originated in the historical Khasa Kingdom in

Sinja valley The Sinja Valley is located in the Jumla District in Karnali Province, of Nepal. The valley was the ancient capital city of the Khasa Kingdom and is considered a historically significant place. The valley is also considered as the birthplace of ...

Jumla district Jumla District ( ne, जुम्ला जिल्ला), is one of the ten districts of the Karnali province of Nepal. This district has Jumla as its headquarters, an area of ; it had populations of 89,427 and 108,921, respectively, in th ...

. The dance was then spread around the neighbouring regions of the valley.

Performance

The men and women each form a group and hold hands while dancing in a circle. The song is sung without any musical instrument. The songs sung while performing Deuda is in

Khas language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a ''lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian stat ...

spoken around the far-western and mid-western regions. The verse of the song alternates between question presented by male/female group and the answer by the opposite group. There are multiple subgenres of Deuda such as ''Thadi Bhakha'', ''Rateri'', ''Hudkeuli'' and ''Dhamari''.

Song

Deuda dance song is sung in folk verse. In terms of letter structure, it consists of 14 syllables in a row. The songs sung during Deuda could be of various types such as political, social, domestic, romantic, etc. The lyrics are lyrical and rhythmic in nature. Some of the lyrics may also contains historical elements such as description of the valor of Nepalese people in past.

References

{{reflist Nepalese musical genres Nepalese folk dances Nepalese folk music Khas culture Culture of Sudurpashchim Culture of Karnali

Etymology and history

Performance

Song

See also

References