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| The people of Jharkhand have their unique and specific types of dance and music styles. The most popular dances of Jharkhand include Jhumar, Paika, Chhou, Agni, Santhal, Nachni, Jamda, Ghatwari, Natwa, Choukara, Sohrai, Lurisayro, and Matha. These dance forms are very graceful, rhythmic and attractive, and are heavily accompanied by the drum beats and the songs or music. Some of the important dance forms which are practiced in Jharkhand include:
The Santhal Dance- This dance is based on the folk dance of Madhya Pradesh. This is the dance that generally covers the themes related to the issues of gender and land rights. Both men and women participate in the Santhal dance.
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Agni Dance- In the Rig Veda, Agni was described as the god of fire. The Agni dance is considered as the religious dance of Jharkhand. It is usually performed on the occasion of Bipu or Manda worship in Jharkhand.
Jhumar- It is a folk dance that is performed at the time of the harvest season. It shows a live demonstration of the happiness of the man.
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| Jhumar is performed anytime, specially during the weddings, melas or some other important functions and celebrations. This dance is generally performed in a circle. The dancers wear very colourful costumes.
Paika Dance- Paika is the dance of Jharkhand that is performed on the ceremonial occasions such as festivals and weddings. This dance is performed by the males along with the traditional weapons like the shield and the sword. The musical instruments that are used to accompany this form of dance are nagara, dholak and shehnai.
Phagua- This is a dance that is performed by the males during the time of Hindu festival of Holi. During their performance, the dancers throw coloured water and powder on each other. Women also join this Phagua dance in some of the parts of Jharkhand.
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Chhou Dance- It is one of the chief tribal dances of Jharkhand. This is a dance form that is performed in the tribal areas of Jharkhand as well as some parts of Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The Chhou dance is performed in an open space or a ground field, generally at the night time. The dancing area is surrounded by the fire poles called the mashaals, for the sake of lighting in the dark. But in some of the advanced parts of the state, electrical lamps and light have started replacing the fire poles. The dancers have a bath and perform some puja before their performance. This is for maintaining the sacredness of the dance, because the characters in the dance are of those of various Gods.
These dancers use colourful, big sized and decorative masks. Chhou dance is one of the tribal forms of the 'nritya natika' that means dance drama. Most of these Chhou dance performances are based on the stories of Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The dance is accompanied by the traditional nagada i.e. the drums, and the flute, which provide the background music.
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