{{Short description|Mizo traditional bamboo dance from Mizoram, India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}} {{Infobox dance | title = Bamboo Dance | name = Cheraw | image = File:Cheraw jampui.jpg | alt = | caption = Mizo girls performing the Cheraw dance | genre = Folk dance | signature = | inventor = | year = 1st Century A.D | origin = *Mizoram, India *Yunnan, China (historically)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santosh |date=2024-01-14 |title=Folk Dance Of Mizoram {{!}} Traditional Dances of Mizoram |url=https://www.worldblaze.in/folk-dance-of-mizoram/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=World Blaze |language=en-US}}</ref> }} [[File:Chapchar Kut cheraw dance 2014.webm|thumb|300px|Chapchar Kut Cheraw dance in Mizoram.]] '''Cheraw dance''' is a traditional bamboo dance performed by the Mizo people of Mizoram, India, consisting of mostly six to eight people holding pairs of bamboo staves on another horizontally placed bamboo on the ground.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mizo Cheraw Dance (Indian Administrative Service - IAS) |url=https://prepp.in/news/e-492-cheraw-indian-folk-dance-art-and-culture-notes |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Prepp |language=en}}</ref> The dance is considered one of the oldest known Mizo dances, with origins possibly dating to the 1st century AD, during the era before the Kuki-Mizo migration into the Chin Hills and later Mizoram.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
Mizoram set a Guinness World Record in 2010, when over 10,736 dancers performed Cheraw in unison for eight minutes on a 3 km stretch in Aizawl.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |last4= |last5= |last6= |first6= |date=2021-04-29 |title=A Dance with Bamboo-- from the Land of Mizos |url=https://www.joyofdance.in/2021/04/a-dance-with-bamboos-from-land-of-mizos.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Joyofdance |language=en}}</ref>
== Dance == In the Cheraw dance, pairs of long bamboo poles are rhythmically tapped on the ground and struck together by participants, usually men, seated opposite each other. Female dancers move in synchronization with this rhythm, stepping in and out of the bamboo poles, crossing over them and performing controlled hops, slides and glides.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The rhythmic beats of Cheraw Dance |url=https://satyaagrah.com/sanatan/dharm-sanskriti/2890-cheraw |website=satyagraah}}</ref> As the dance progresses, both the speed of the bamboo tapping and the complexity of the dancer's footwork gradually increase. The dance requires careful coordination and timing.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Gkseries |date=2025-05-23 |title=Cheraw dance - Indina Folk Dance |url=https://www.gkseries.com/blog/cheraw-dance-indina-folk-dance/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Gkseries.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-06-10 |title=Bamboo Dance (Cheraw) – Traditional Dance of Mizoram - Humans of Northeast India {{!}} HONEI |url=https://humansofnortheast.com/bamboo-dance-cheraw-traditional-dance-of-mizoram/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Miscellaneous Arts and Crafts in Mizoram {{!}} IGNCA |url=https://ignca.gov.in/divisionss/janapada-sampada/northeastern-regional-centre/miscellaneous-arts-and-crafts-in-mizoram/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The choreography of Cheraw incorporates movements inspired swaying of trees or the flight of birds.<ref name=":1" /> The bamboo poles generate the core rhythm, modern versions of the dance are sometimes accompanied by traditional Mizo instruments, including the ''khuang'' (drum) and ''darbu'' (gong), cymbals.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
It is mainly showcased during community gatherings, weddings and national events.<ref name=":3" />
==Modern== Later practice of Cheraw is accompanied by accordion, mandolin and guitar played in non traditional clothes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pachuau |first1=Joy |title=The Camera as a witness |date=13 April 2015 |publisher=Cambridge |isbn=9781107073395 |pages=283}}</ref>
==Dress code== The common costumes worn by the performers during the Cheraw dance include:
Women *Vakiria - is a female headress made of bamboo and decorated with feathers, beetles wings and other colorful objects, from the 1960s it evolved into the present form. *Kawrchei - White red green black blouse. *Puanchei - White red green black sarong. Men *Khumbeu - Bamboo hat *Mizo Shawl All these traditional costumes of Cheraw Dance come in vibrant colors that further brighten up the surrounding environment.
==Gallery== <gallery widths="130" heights="130"> File:The artists performing a dance ‘Cheraw Kanpui’ during the inauguration of the Chapchar Kut -2010 festivals celebration, in Aizawl, Mizoram on March 11, 2010.jpg|Artists perform Cheraw dance during the inauguration of the Chapchar Kut 2010 festival in Aizawl, Mizoram File:Cheraw.jpg File:மிசோ நடனம்.jpg File:The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu witnessing the traditional Cheraw dance performed by the Students of Mizoram University, in Aizawl, Mizoram.JPG|Cheraw dance performed by the Students of Mizoram University in Aizawl </gallery>
==See also== *Bihu dance *Manipuri dance *Chin Bamboo Dance
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120502114607/http://mizotourism.nic.in/index.htm Mizoram Tourism] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120721082638/http://www.mapsofindia.com/mizoram/culture/cheraw-dance.html mapsofindia.com]
{{Dance in India}}
Category:Indian folk dances Category:Group dances Category:Culture of Mizoram