Hunta dance of the Santals of the Chotanagpur region – Jharkhand

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The Hunting Dance of the Santhals who live in the hilly plateaus of the Chota Nagpur region of the Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand is known as the Hunta Dance. This powerful dance requires a lot of strength and vigour and is performed only by men. The dance depicts the act of preparing for the hunt with bows and arrows, stalking the animal and finally killing it. Mime, slow strong stepping and measured movements are the distinctive features of this ancient tribal dance.

Source: Easrern Zonal Cultural Centre
Address : http://ezccindia.org/jharkhand.html
Date Visited: Thu Aug 25 2011 23:55:14 GMT+0200 (CEST)

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Tribal culture in Jharkhand – Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre >>

The Santals are one of the largest homogenous indigenous peoples group in India […] They have no temples, nor images to worship and no fixed place to worship in; no holy mountains and no sacred rivers for pilgrimages and yet they hold an unassailable religious faith which can be traced through the tradition of the creation narrative, through their festivals, their cleansing ceremonies performed during their birth, wedding, and death, and through their belief in the continuation of life after death | Santal customs >>

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For more details (some with hyperlinks), click on the map button seen on the left top; scroll and click on one of the markers for information of special interest. | Explore India’s tribal cultural heritage with the help of another interactive map >>