Tippani dance is one of the popular folk dances of Gujarat state of India. It originated from Sorath, one of the five prominent regions of Saurastra, along the coastline of Gujarat. This dance typically represents the community related activities and their functional aspects. In this dance, women labourers engaged in construction work strike long sticks on the floor, which are called Tippani, thus the name. They also use a rhythmic musical process to escape from the workload.
This dance is one of the examples of the virile dance forms of the folk dances in Gujarat. Tippani dance is a dance form of the manual worker who splurges their living by flouting stones or echelon the ground to crack the tedium of the work. In the performance, each woman assets a Tippani, conflicting to each other with the accessory of a folk song. Generally, members of the Halli community perform this energetic dance form.
Performance of Tippani Dance:
Tippani dance is practiced in a group. The dance begins through the beating and singing of the earth, done in the identical rhythm. As the rapidity speeds up, the dancers alternately strike the ground and hit the knob of the mallets collectively. Then they start exhibiting different body movements and when the dance is about to end, the women dancers seat in rows and start smacking the floor very swiftly.
Instrument and Sound of Tippani Dance:
Varity of instruments are used to accompany this dance. While performing, some women beat the floor with long sticks which produces beautiful sound. Then they sing in a particular pace, while the others dance by swirling their skirts. With simple instruments like a `Turi` and a `Thali` i.e. brass plate, the dancers generate the music.
Some other instruments that are used in this dance are damru, tabla, nagara, and pot drum. To bring more variety and graceful sound, they also take the help of string instruments like percussion, ektaro, ravan hattho, and jantar and wind instruments such as pavo, shehani, murli, turi, and taturi.
Costume of Tippani Dance
The costumes of Tippani dance are traditional and colourful. Folk costumes for the dance, mostly consists of a short coat called Kedia with tight sleeves having intricately designed borders and shoulders; tight trousers like the Churidars and colourfully embroidered caps or coloured turbans and a coloured waistband.
Popularity of Tippani Dance
Tippani dance is usually performed on festivals like Holi or Diwali and on the ceremonies like wedding. It is also included as competition item in various cultural programmes organized by schools and colleges.
