Nacni means ''female dancer'' in north Indian languages. In the east-central

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n states of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, and Orissa, the term nacnī (lit. "dancer" pronounced NUCH-nee) refers to female performers who sing and dance professionally in rural areas, accompanied by male '' ḍhulkī'' and '' nagarā'' drummers who move around the stage with her. Women who perform as ''nacnīs'' are considered "kept women" and are usually paired in an informal "marriage" with a male manager and dancing partner, typically of a higher

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

. In this pairing, nacnīs are thought to embody the goddess

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

while the male dancing partner is a stand-in for

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. The performers are considered out-caste and in many ways transgress usual Indian caste and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

distinctions both on and off stage, taking on a certain power role among their "fans" and often engaging in "typically male" behavior, such as drinking and smoking. This style of performance is rapidly disappearing.

References

Further reading