Cheraw dance

The tradition & historical record

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. 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. 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. ¹

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. 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. The choreography of Cheraw incorporates movements inspired swaying of trees or the flight of birds. 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. It is mainly showcased during community gatherings, weddings and national events. ¹

Later practice of Cheraw is accompanied by accordion, mandolin and guitar played in non traditional clothes. ¹

The common costumes worn by the performers during the Cheraw dance include: Women ¹

Vakiria - is a female headdress made of bamboo and decorated with feathers, beetle 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 ¹

Khumbeu - Bamboo hat Mizo Shawl Costumes of Cheraw Dance typically come in vibrant colors. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Cheraw (dance)”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Cheraw dance is traditional dance of Mizoram, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²