Giddha ( pa, گدها, ਗਿੱਧਾ, ) is a popular folk dance of women in the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. The dance is often considered derived from the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

dance known as the ring dance and is just as energetic as bhangra; at the same time it manages to creatively display feminine grace,

elegance Elegance is beauty that shows unusual effectiveness and simplicity. Elegance is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness, particularly in visual design, decorative arts, literature, science, and the aesthetics of mathematics. Elegant ...

and flexibility. It is a highly colourful dance form which has spread to all regions of India. Women perform this dance mainly at festive or social occasions. The dance is accompanied by rhythmic clapping, with a typical traditional folk song performed by elder women in the background. Giddha varies from other forms of traditional Punjabi dance in that it does not require the two-headed barrel ''

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

'' drum to be performed. Instead, women stand in a circle formation and clap rhythms. A lead woman will recite a ''boli'' (lyrics) with a refrain that the entire circle then repeats. The whole form of a giddha song is worked through in this

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

form. Giddha details stories of women's lives, including sexuality.

History

Giddha is said to be originated from the ancient ring dance which was dominant in Punjab in the olden days. Women show the same level of energy which the men show while performing bhangra. Giddha displays a traditional mode of performing Punjabi femininity, as seen through dress, choreography, and language. Since the Partition of India in 1947 and the division of Punjab into

West Punjab West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but exclu ...

(Pakistan) and

East Punjab East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province betwee ...

(India), folk dances of Punjab on both sides of the border have been consolidated, staged, and promoted as iconic expressions of Punjabi culture. While the form of giddha was not seriously affected by Partition, Gibb Schreffler writes that it has been classified as the women's dance counterpart to the male form bhangra, despite that not entirely being the case. As Punjabi dance forms became codified in the 1960s-onward, bhangra and giddha competitions have become popular throughout Punjab and the

Punjabi diaspora The Punjabi diaspora (''pajābī pravāsī'') mainly refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region before Independence of Pakistan and India. The Punjabis who migrated after the independence of both countries ...

. Punjabi dance forms have also spread through collegiate-level dance troupes in Punjab since the 1960s and in South Asian student groups in the US, UK, and Canada since the 1990s.

Dress code

Traditionally women used to wear salwar kameez and Ghagra in the bright colours and jewellery. The attire is completed by dressing the hair in two braids and folk ornaments and wearing a tikka on the forehead.

References

Folk dances of Punjab {{India-dance-stub