Brief History of Garhwali Folk Plays/Traditional Dramas -2

Review of Characteristics of Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Rituals and Traditional Plays part -5

                                        Bhishma Kukreti

                          Brief about Prehistoric Dance by Human beings

          Dance, Music, poetic or prose dialogues, body language are parts of dramas or plays. Dance might be in simplest form started with human being come into this world.

 The earliest dance evidences are found from 8000-3000 BC. Gayle Kassing states that Prehistoric dance was very basic by using everyday movement. The themes of dance of prehistoric human beings were related to life challenges and these challenges were clearly visible even in Vedas. The dance themes of politics, social structures, and religions were interwoven.

The main themes of dance of primitive human beings were -

1-Fertility Theme- fertility of human beings, animals and plants

2-Life span – birth, marriage initiation or winning over woman, death or funeral

3-Winning war, battle, preparing hunt, gaining skill, death in any war or hunt etc

4-Healing dance or medical care dances

5-Suppernatural or religious or spiritual dances including imagination of god or ghost

              History of Dramas in Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages

           The Metal Age brought many changes in human culture.  Human societies stated building /creating commercial centers, houses and started creating cities. The Age also saw interactions among various societies and regions.  These developments brought many changes in dance, musical instruments, music, new knowledge and all these developmental changes also brought development in drama.  Commerce always brings a drama in selling negotiations and ultimately that drama is still used in drams played for pleasure.

               As far as culture of metal Age in Uttarakhand is concerned there are evidences that there was culture in all three Metal Ages.  Mahabharata describes or provide signs that there were many aspects of Dramas in Uttarakhand Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages.

              Kol Culture and religious Drama

            Majumdar and Pusalkar (Vedic Age) describe that Kol culture of India including before Indus culture is responsible for creating various superstition as ‘Dag (envious Eye), Dhag or Ghat, The drama rituals ‘Nakjhad’ was also created by Kol of Uttarakhand (Dr. Dabral). Dr Dabral states that worshipping rivers, rivulets, tress or plants; black magic etc are the creation of Kol culture (before Idus civilization) . later on, Vedas and Ayurveda took many  these superstitions as curing aspects.

  Kol and Dravid  also created vulture, bull,s mouse, dog , lion and many animals as deities and later Vedic culture made these animals as carrer of various deities. Disease and mental unrest cures by worshipping deities and chanting songs were started by Kol, Dravid cultures in India and Uttarakhand. Worshipping the dead soul (Hantya) where the dead soul acts as if the dead person is alive was started in Kol-Dravid . The Hnatya, Pitriprakop,, Bhut, Pret, Dakini, Chudail, Ghat, Dag , Doch, Jhada, tada culture (ritual dramas ) were started by Kols of Uttarakhand before 3000 years back.

  Bhumiya or village deity is also started by Kol, Dravid people.

  The animal sacrifice before deities where many dramas are still played was started by Kol, Dravid cultures.

 Kirat culture gave Rudra, Ghantakarn deity and that shows that there were tens of fok dramas in that age before 3000 years back.

 Khasa brought various dances, religious dramas to Uttarakhand.  The acts at various festivals and events were there.

  Kol, Dravid, Kirat and Khasa developed agriculture and social culture in Uttarakhand and definitely at that period, those cultures brought new dramas in prose and poetic forms. Agriculture brings always newer types of drams with the culture.

Copyright @ Bhishma Kukreti, bckukreti@gmail.com 1/10/2013

Review of Characteristics of Garhwali Folk Drama, Folk Rituals and Traditional Plays part to be continued…6

                    References

1-Bharat Natyam

2-Steve Tillis, 1999, Rethinking Folk Drama

3-Roger Abrahams, 1972, Folk Dramas in Folklore and Folklife 

4-Tekla Domotor , Folk drama as defined in Folklore and Theatrical Research

5-Kathyrn Hansen, 1991, Grounds for Play: The Nautanki Theater of North India

6-Devi Lal Samar, Lokdharmi Pradarshankari Kalayen 

7=Dr Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas part 1-12

8-Dr Shiva Nand Nautiyal, Garhwal ke Loknritya geet

9-Jeremy Montagu, 2007, Origins and Development of Musical Instruments

10-Gayle Kassing, 2007, History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach