Dhali is a war motive dance style very similar to Pyrrhichios, but it expresses the defensive manner of war. Dhali comes from the word Dhal that refers to a shield of defense. Dhali dances portray the shieldmen in the troops. This dance form is widely popular in the aboriginal community of Bengal. The courage, excitement, pain, emotion, offense, defense, fear, and other war feeling are expressed by facial expression as well as dance gesture. Paika is another similar type of war dance in West Bengal. This style of dancing includes acrobatics, mock fighting, and martial orders.
Dhali dance was first introduced around16th to 17th century in Pratapaditya of Jessore. It is assumed that the style evolved from the pre-Mohammedan period after analyzing Sanskrit with Dhal word. Dhali soldiers were recruited from all classes, including Brahmins.
Five segments of Dhali dance
There are five distinct segments in dhali dance, –
- Preliminary ceremony and yell
- Freehand agility exercise
- with shield and wooden sword
- rhythmic mock fight
- shiv tandava nritya
The dancers use equipment like wooden military gears and tie bells in the leg while performing an act. The beats and rhythm are played by dhak and kasha (Which is basically drum and gong). Overall, Dhali is the sacred form of dance widely prevalent in rural West Bengal and Bangladesh, especially renowned for war-like choreography.
The descendants of this dance are still practicing it in rural areas of Jessore and Khulna. The inheritor of Dhali is performed on several occasions held in West Bengal, especially in the southern part of Sunderban. It is a dance that possesses high aesthetic value by its intricate maneuvers and ordered formations. They are using traditional attire of Bengali dhuti, ties a red turban while performing this dance. Unlike most war dance styles, this also majorly lead by a male dancer. The dance possesses a deep ascetic and inspires values of war, as we mentioned above.