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Also known as the 'stick' dance, this is another form of
dance that is also a feature of Navratri. Here, men and women join the
dance circle, holding small polished sticks or 'dandiyas'. As they whirl
to the intoxicating rhythm of the dance, men and women strike the
'dandiyas' together, adding to the joyous atmosphere. The best 'Raas'
dancers are the Kathiawari Raas dancers, who hail from the Saurashtra
region.
Dandiya Raas is a simple, rhythmic dance performed by young people moving
around an imaginary circle in measured steps to the beat of Dandiya sticks
that they carry in their hands. The beat for the dance is kept by the
clacking sticks, with clapping hands keeping pace. A variation of this
dance is 'Matka Nritya' in which performers strike their fingers against
empty pots to generate a distinctive beat.
VARIATIONS OF DANDIYA RAAS
Mer Raas
In the Mer Raas, the dance begins on a slow note but the tempo speeds up
during the performance.
Gher Raas
Members of the shepherd community perform the 'Gher Raas' using long
sticks.
Gheria Raas
Another agricultural community performs the 'Gheria Raas' holding a stick
in one hand and a peacock feather in the other.
Gof Gunthan
Yet another variation of the Dandiya Raas is the Gof Gunthan in which
dancers carry sticks in only one hand, and a length of colored string in
the other. The latter is woven into a unique pattern as they move around
in a circle.
Raas
The Raas dance is considered a form of Raas Leela, which Lord Krishna
used to perform at Gokul and Vrindavan. The Raas is simple and is
generally performed by a group of youthful people who move in measured
steps around a circle, accompanied by a singing chorus and a host of
musical instruments like the 'dhol', cymbals, 'jhanjh', 'Shehnai' (flute).
The typical folk costume for this dance is a short shirt like attire
called 'kedia', with tight sleeves and pleated frills at the waist and
highly embroidered borders, tight trousers, colourfully embroidered cap or
coloured turban and colourful 'kamarbandh' (cummerbund).
Navratri:
The Festival For Raas
The festival of Navratri is essentially religious in nature and is
celebrated with true devotion in the various temples
dedicated to the Mother Goddess or 'Mataji' as she is familiarly called.
An interesting feature of Navratri is the Garba and the Dandia-Ras
dances. The costumes worn for the dances are traditional and extremely
colourful. These dances start very late at night and end in the early
hours of the morning.