The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, among others are peacock dances of

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and in the western and northern parts of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, also peacock dances of Indian subcontinent in Southern

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

China

Peacock as a

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

of the

Dai people The Dai people ( Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; khb, ᨴᩱ/ᨴᩱ᩠ᨿ; lo, ໄຕ; th, ไท; shn, တႆး, ; , ; ) refers to several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and t ...

in the southwestern Chinese province

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

, one of the 56

ethnic groups in China China's population consists of 56 ethnic groups, not including some ethnic groups from Taiwan. The Han people are the largest ethnic group in mainland China. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion). Besides the ...

, is an essential part of the cultural and spiritual aspects of the Dai people. The peacock dance as the most famous and traditional performance dance among the folk dances of the Dai people is prevalent in

Ruili Ruili (; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ; shn, မိူင်းမၢဝ်း; th, เมืองมาว; my, ရွှေလီ) is a county-level city of Dehong Prefecture, in the west of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It ...

, Luxi located in

Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China, and is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of the province, bordering Baoshan to the east and Burma's Kachin State to the west. ...

, Mengding, Mengda,

Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County () is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, China. Administrative divisions In the present, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County has 6 towns and 4 townships. ;6 towns ;4 to ...

Cangyuan Va Autonomous County Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (; Wa language, Va: ) is under the administration of Lincang City, in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. Wa people, Wa/Va people are the main inhabitants here. Wa language is common here. Cangyuan Washan Airpor ...

and other inhabitation regions of the Dai People. The peacock dance of the Dai ethnic group has a very long history and is closely tied with their distinguished ethnic culture. Any festival occasion or celebration such as the annual

Water Festival The Water Festival is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand as well as among the Dai people of China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because they no ...

and the Gate Closing / Opening Festival is accompanied by the peacock dance, to express joy and happiness. In general, there are two different kinds of the traditional peacock dance of the Dai ethic group in China. One is the peacock dance with the wearing of heavy stand made of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

and other materials that imitates the stretching feather of a peacock. One single stand can weigh up to 20 kilos and will be attached to the back and waist area of the performer. The other is the "unarmed peacock dance". Performers do not need to carry any heavy stand. Elephant-foot drums,

gongs A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

and

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

are the usual accompanying instruments for the peacock dance.

India

The

mayilattam Mayilattam ( Tamil: மயிலாட்டம்) is an artistic and religious form of dance performed in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu in reverence to Lord Subrahmanya. Mayilattam performers wear costumes from head to toe like peacock wi ...

(

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: மயிலாட்டம்), also known as peacock dance, is performed by girls dressed as peacocks during the harvest festival of

Thai Pongal Pongal (, ), also referred to as Tai Pongal (), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka.

in the Indian states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Indonesia

it is known as the peafowl dance (Merak dance or ''Tari Merak'') and originated in

. It is performed by female dancers inspired by the movements of a peacock and its feathers blended with the classical movements of

Sundanese dance Sundanese dances ( id, Tarian Sunda; su, ᮒᮛᮤ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ) is a dance tradition that is a part of ritual, artistic expression as well as entertainment and social conduct among the Sundanese people of West Java and Banten, Indonesia. Sund ...

. its one of new creation dance composed by Sundanese artist and choreographer Raden Tjeje Soemantri around the 1950s. This dance is performed to welcome honourable guest in a big event also occasionally performed in Sundanese wedding ceremonies. This dance is also one of Indonesia's dances performed in many international events, such as in

Perahara The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred To ...

festivals in

Gallery

Image:2016 Phnom Penh, Tradycyjny Kambodżański Pokaz Tańca (076).jpg,

Cambodian Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** Fo ...

peacock dance Image:Shan peacock dance.jpg, Shan peacock dance in

Image:Khum Khantoke.jpg, Dancers in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Image:Chiang Mai. Benjarong Khantoke. Traditional Thai dance. 2016-10-14 20-30-01.jpg, Dancers in Chiang Mai, Thailand

References

{{Reflist, 4 Cambodian dances Chinese culture Dances of China Dances of Java Asian dances Social dance Sundanese culture Tamil dance styles

China

India

Indonesia

Gallery

See also

References