The trance dance connected with the Chaitra Parba, as celebrated in Mayurbhanj of Orissa and in Seraikela of Bihar, is totally different from the trance dances covered earlier. The well known Chhau dances are also performed as another part of the Chaitra Parba. In the lunar calendar Chaitra, corresponding to March/April, is the last month of the year. The last day of the month falls on 13th April. The Indian New Year begins from 14th April. The last 15 days of the month of Chaitra is celebrated as the Chaiira Parba both by the tribal as well as the non-tribal communities. The tribal celebrate it in a different way. The celebration of non-tribal communities has several components,. The performance of Chhau dances on the last two days of the month is one of the components. The way the Bhaktas, a special kind of Shaivite devotees, observe the Parba is another component. The Bhakas belong to the caste of Teli (oilman) which is a lower rung of the caste ladder. Thirteen hereditary members of the Teli caste observe the Parba in quite austere manner for about 15 days. On the first day they perform a ritual to belong to the Shiva gotra (Lineage). From that day they wear sacred threads like the Brahmins till the end of the Parba. They take only one meal a day and perform some rituals daily in the afternoon after taking ritual bath in a river. The rituals of the last four days are extremely arduous. After taking the ritual bath the Bhaktas go to the temple of mother goddess and from there to the place of the ritual. Their leader goes into trance and shakes his head rhythmically to the beat of the drums. Then they roll on tough thorns but their bodies do not show any prick mark of the thorns. This is called Kanta-paat. The next day they do the same rituals but lastly they walk on burning coke. It is called nian-patt. Next day the last ritual is called jhoola-paat in which the Bhaktas, one after another, hang themselves upside down over burning fire. The last day ritual is called udaa-paat. in which the devotees gyrate high above the ground tied to a T-shaped pole. The leader while gyrating releases a pigeon which he would be holding with both hands. This release of the pigeon is the symbol of the release of the soul from the Maya.
Hemant
In southern Orissa, the Paraja tribal community of Koraput district perform the autumn dance called Hemant. The autumn includes two seasons : Sharat, comprising two lunar months of Bhadrava and Ashwina and Hemanta comprising the next two lunar months of Kartik, and Margasheersa. Thus the autumn is spread over a period from the later part of August to the later part of November. The Hemant dance is performed on the festival called Nandi Parva that is held in November. It is also danced only by women. The accompanying songs are known as Nandi songs. Musical instruments used with this dance are : Dhol, Nishan, Tamak, and Mahuri, the reeded wind instrument.
Dalkhai
Jadur
Like many tribal communities, the Oraons of Chhota Nagpur region of Bihar perform dance to celebrate each of the seasons. They perform Karma dance during the rains, Boroya dance during the autumn, Soharai just before the winter, Kharia during spring and Jadur, on the threshold of summer towards the end of February and beginning of March. Both men and women participate in the Jadur dance. For the musical accompaniment the instruments used are : Mandar and Dholak, both drums with two faces; Turhi, a straight trumpet; Jhanj, the cymbals; Theska, a wooden idiophone; Soynko, a circular iron rod attached with jinglebclls and shaken rhythmically.
Baa Parab
The Santhal and Ho tribal communities living in Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, celebrate the Baha or Baa Parab in February/March when the Sal trees are in bloom. Parab means festival. It is the most important festival for the Santhals and Hos. The region where the two tribal communities live is full of dense forests of tall Sal trees. They use the wood and leaves of the Sal trees for various purposes. Therefore, they admire the Sal trees which are in blossom with the advent of the spring season. Baha or Baa in the tribal dialect means flowers. On the day the festival begins, the village priest called Diuri offers Sal flowers to the presiding deity of the village along with the sacrifice of a fowl. During the offering, the ritual is performed strictly according to the tradition. After the ritual, the young girls go to the forest to collect Sal flowers. They offer the flowers to their brothers as a token of love and affection. It is similar to the tying of rakhi by the girls of non-tribal communities, especially in North India. After the offering of flowers the dance is performed. The girls and the boys stand in two files, facing each other. While dancing, the two files come closer and separate alternatively according to the rhythm. Dances are performed in as many as ten different rhythmic cycles, namely, Saar, Baa, Racha, Jape, Ghanguriya, Gaudua, Daonria, Gena, Jadur and Khemta. Some of the rhythmic cycles are influenced by the-non-tribal music of the region. The drum that rules the dance is called Mandar, a conical drum with two faces. The melodic content of the accompanying music is provided by Basni the bamboo flute.
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