The Chhau mask

Chhau dance, with its martial origin and strenuous body movements, was once a strictly-guarded male domain. Now several all-women troupes are all the rage.

Context

Chhau dance, with its martial origin and strenuous body movements, was once a strictly-guarded male domain. Now several all-women troupes are all the rage.

Chhau Art form

• The word ‘Chhau’ probably comes from chhauni (camp), and the art form was arguably invented to keep foot soldiers war-ready.
• The martial movements and mock fights subsequently took the shape of dance, becoming popular in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region.
• It is based on the stories from Ramayana, Mahabharataand the Puranas.
• The dance dramas celebrate the triumph of good over evil.
• States: The Chhau dance is mainly performed during festivals in the region of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, especially the spring festival of Chaitra Parva.
• In these pandemic times, Chhau has even been used to spread awareness about COVID-19.
• Chhau was included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in

Variants of Chhau:

• Purulia Chhau: It is practiced in West Bengal.In this men decked in dazzling costumes and masks. They would dance to the rhythm of dhol, dhamsa, madol, shehnai, and flute at night-long performances.It is during the spring festival of gajanparab, dedicated to Shiva.
• Mayurbhanj Chhau: It ispractised in Odisha.
• Seraikella Chhau: It ispractised in Jharkhand.

The most prominent difference among the three subgenres is regarding the use of masks. While, the Seraikela and Purulia subgenres of Chhau use masks during the dance, the MayurbhanjChhau uses none.