Kahadia

In the Dang region of Gujarat, where majority of people belong to tribal communities, the ceremonial dance named Kahadia is performed to express gratitude and reverence to God for having enabled them to perform the dance successfully. The dance is named after the musical instrument Kahadi which provides the melodic inspiration for the dance. It is a woodwind instrument with double beating reed and a conical bore, much like Shehnai. A longer reeded pipe but without fingerholes, called Sur, provides drone on the tonic, and is an inseparable companion to the kahadi. It is traditionally performed in six different movements and the last but one is the most spectacular, as the dancers, with the skill of acrobats, form a human pyramid while dancing. In the last movement the dancers offer their gratitude to God. Percussion music for the dance is provided by Dholak, a barrel-shaped drum, and Khanjari, a circular frame-drum.