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Types Of Kathinacha
"Kathinacha" or Stick dancing is common all over India. In
Orissa they are of two varieties, one with comparatively long sticks and
the other with short sticks. The cowherd community of coastal Orissa
performs the former with long sticks.
'Dusserah', 'Giri Gobardhan Puja' and
'Dola
Yatra' (Holi) are the important festivals on the occasion of which
the young boys perform the dance. They weave out different geometrical
patterns with simultaneous tapping of sticks and singing of traditional
songs relating to the sports of Lord Krishna.
The people of the scheduled class of Mayurbhanj and Bolangir perform the
other type with smaller sticks. In this, the sticks are about two feet in
length and are made of resonant wood to produce percussion. The sticks are
held on pairs. The dancers are all young boys who standing in a line begin
their dance, striking each other sticks according to the rhythm of the
'Madal'. Two or more singers and drummers move with the dancers.
The Festivities
Following the rhythm of the 'Madal', they increase the speed of various
movements until the dance ends in a crescendo of sound produced by the
sharp taps of the sticks. 'Makar
Sankranti' and 'Nuakhai'
festivals are the occasions for this dance. In the district of
Bolangir, this is known as 'Kalanga' when the dancers wear costumes like
the Karma dancers of the 'Binjhala' community.