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| The Ponung Dance, Arunachal Pradesh
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 The Adi village has a rich cultural way of living. The tribal people are more famous for their Ponung, which is a dance accompanied with songs. This dance is a folk dance of the Adis, performed during the festival that is celebrated before the harvesting. The purpose of this festival is seeking a good harvest and welfare of the village community. This dance is performed on all-important & auspicious occasions. Ponung is an exclusive women dance, which, is performed by the young married women and girls. The dance performance is led by a Miri, who is a man adept in mythical songs about the origin of paddy and other crops.
All the girls dance in a circle by holding each other (stretching their hands over each other`s shoulders). Then the Miri dances and sings in the centre of the circle. He sings the abhanga written on the origin of paddy, at the time of dancing. He is holding aloft and shaking a sword like musical instrument called `Yoksha`. While singing the mythical songs by the Miri, the iron discs that are fitted loosely in the hilt of the sword are rattled. After initiating the singing, the female dancers perform rhythmically at a slow pace, on this background, singing in a chorus.
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