Chaiti ghodanacha is one of the popularfolk dance forms ofOdisha, India. The dance is performed by aboriginal fishermen tribes like theKeot (Kaibarta).[1][2]Chaiti represent thechaitra month of the Hindu calendar year, that is, from March to April to the full moon inBaisakh, that is, from April to May;ghoda means horse in Odia and Hindi language.
A story in the epic legendRamayana says that when lord Rama crossed theSarajuriver with the help of aboriginal Keot fishermen and in return, lordRama had presented a horse to the fishermen.[3]
The folk dance is connected with the worship of goddessBaseli. In the 15th century, Odia poetAchutananda Das had elaborated the details of the worship in book,Kaibarta Gita. Also known as Baselipuja, the goddess from theShakta tradition in Hinduism is worshipped by the fishermen community. Das mentions in the book that thepuja originated in the 10th century.[4][5][6]
The dance also played some role in India's freedom struggle movement. Scholars say that freedom fighters used the occasion to mobilise the fishermen community to fight against the British. There are some accounts saying that the fisherman community ofKujanga area used to use the dance to gain their freedom from the British administration.[4][5]
In present times, the folk dance is not limited to the fishermen community solely; many other communities have begun to participate in it.[7]
In 2020,Utsav Charan Das from the town ofChoudwar in Odisha was awarded with thePadma Shri for his efforts spanning six decades in keeping the art ofchaiti ghoda nacha alive. His efforts helped in the revival and renewed research interest in the folk art form and its adoption as a means to raise awareness about various social issues.[8]
The folk celebration takes place over a month, fromChaitra Purnima toBaisakha Purnima. The celebration begins on the day of Chaitra Purnima with the fishermen anointing the bamboo with candle paste, vermillion, and butter lamp, and splitting it into twelve pieces with which the frame of the dummy horse is built. The dummy horse frame is dyed with red clay and a wooden horse head is fixed to the frame, along with a garland of hibiscus flowers.[9][10]
The frame is worshipped for eight days, and thereafter taken out for theghoda nacha. Dancers dance with the rhythm ofmahuri anddhola (drum) instruments. There are only two dancers: one male (known as Rauta) and the other is also a male in female attire (known as Rautani). They dance to the tune of folk songs. After the celebration concludes, the wooden horse head is removed from the horse frame and kept in the local temple to be brought out the next year.[3][11]
The celebration draws a large crowd from the villages all around.[11][2]
