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"Karam" or "Karma" literally means
'fate'. This pastoral dance is performed during the worship of the God or
Goddess of fate ("Karam Devta" or "Karamsani Devi"),
whom the people consider the cause of good and bad fortune. It begins from
'Bhadra Shukla Ekadasi' (eleventh day of the bright moon of the month of
'Bhadra') and lasts for several days.
A
Famous Tribal Dance Festivity
This is popular among the scheduled class tribes e.g., the 'Binjhal',
'Kharia', 'Kisan' and 'Kol' tribes) in the districts of Mayurbhanj,
Sundargarh, Sambalpur
and Dhenkanal. In
Dhenkanal and Sambalpur the dance is in honour of Karamsani, the deity who
bestows children and good crops. However, the rituals connected with the
dance remain the same everywhere.
Rituals
In the afternoon of the auspicious day two young unmarried girls cut and
bring two branches of the 'Karam' tree from a nearby jungle. Drummers and
musicians accompany them. The two branches are then ceremonially planted
on the altar of worship and symbolise the God. Germinated grains, grass
flowers and country liquor are offered to the deity.
After completing the ritual the village-priest tells the story or legend
connected with it. This is followed by singing and dancing in
accompaniment of drum ('Madal'), cymbal etc. The dance performance full of
vigour and energy combined with charm of the youth decked with colourful
costumes in exuberance of red cloth, set in peacock feathers skillfully
designed ornaments made of small conch shells, brings the onlookers as
well as the performers to a mood of trance and ecstasy.
Traditional Pattern Of Lovemaking
In this dance both men and women take part and continue to engross
themselves for the whole night. The skillful movement of the young boys
with mirror in hand indicates the traditional pattern of lovemaking in
course of dancing and singing. The dance is performed sometimes by boys
in-group, sometimes by girls in-group and sometimes both the sexes
together. The subject matter of songs constitutes the description of
nature, invocation to Karmasani, desires, aspiration of people, love and
humour.
The Karam dance continues from dusk to dawn. Group after
group drawn from nearby villages dance alternately throughout the night.
In the early morning they carry the Karam branches singing and dancing and
then immerse them ceremonially in a river or tank and then disperse.
The technique of the Karma dance varies a little from tribe to tribe. The
'Kharias', 'Kisans' and 'Oraons' dance in a circular pattern, where men
and women dance together. A leader always heads it and generally the men
are at the head of the line. Only the best of dancers join in right next
to or near him.
Very young girls and children join in at the tail end to learn the steps.
When the dancing grows fast the dancers of the tail end drop out to let
the true dancers show their skill. The dancers hold hands in different
ways in different dances. Sometimes they simply hold hands and sometimes
hands are placed on the neighbor's waistband or are crossed. It is the
legs and the feet, which play the principal part in the dance.
The dance begins lightly with simple steps forward and backward, left and
right, then gradually the steps grow smaller and faster, growing more and
more complicated, until that dance reaches its height. Then it goes
gradually to the first steps as the music leads to give dancers rest. The
dancers have no special costume for the occasion. They dance with their
usual attires, which they wear daily.
Courtyard - The Stage of Performance
The dance is usually held in the courtyard of a village where performance
is arranged. In the center of the courtyard a bamboo is fixed and it is
split into four upto a certain height and then bent to form the arches.
Each split is fixed with a pole on the outer side to form the arch. Then
it is decorated with festoons of mango leaves and water lilies giving it a
festive look. The ground is neatly plastered with cow-dung. Men and women
dance winding in an out beneath the arches.