Wancho Dance of Arunachal Pradesh

The Wancho dance is a brilliant folk-dance belonging to Arunachal Pradesh. Performed during major festivities, the Wancho dance is a vital part of the celebrations. It is done for recreational purposes and has quite a novel touch to it.

The Wancho Tribe

It is an autochthonous race of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Longding district is where one can find people of this tribe. The Wancho tribe has relations with the Nocte tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. They also share cultural similarities with the Konyak tribe of Nagaland. 

Wancho tribe’s most important festival is known as Oriah. The celebrations take place in the spring months of March and April and last for a week or two. The festival begins with prayers, and then music and dance are organised for entertaining the villagers. The Wancho dance is performed at this festival. The dance brings together all members of the tribe which creates a feeling of solidarity. 

Costume of Wancho dance

The use of traditional attire is a must for performing the Wancho dance. The men are exposed on the top and wrap a loincloth in the bottom. The cloth is usually a light colour with darker borders and beads for detailing. A band made out of cane goes around the waist. Ivory or cane armbands, bead necklaces, coin necklaces and clusters of red thread in the ears are the accessories donned by the men. The sword they carry has a golden handle enhanced with goat hair. On the head, they wear gear formed from bamboo with hornbill feathers in it. 

All male dancers hang a basket of cane around their waists. This basket has decorations of wild boar tail hair, animal skulls, shells and colourful beads. There is a bell attached to the bottom of the basket. As they dance these bells jingle, producing the music to which the dance steps are synced

The women wear the traditional blouse and wrap a skirt around their waist. Necklaces made of coins and beads embellish the look. The arms are decorated with metallic jewellery. On the feet, they wear anklets and toe rings. The women have a headdress or headband with colourful adornments on them.  

Dance Performance

Both men and women engage in the dance. They usually take turns to perform, accompanied by songs sung by them. The men carry swords on their right hand, which they wield during the dance. The performance begins with the men singing and dancing. They also make a peculiar thrusting movement with the sword, which is unique. Once the men end their song and dance, the women come in and start a song. They match steps to the song and the song is a reply to what the men conveyed through their song. This process is repeated for various times. 

The men make a round configuration and move around doing the dance moves. The women on the other hand form two straight lines, facing each other. 

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