Jharkhand’s chhau dancers and artisans take a battle stance against COVID-19 |ForumIAS

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News:In Jharkhand, Chhau Dancers are making traditional masks to fight against COVID-19 instead of celebrating chhau Dance.

Facts:

Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes.
Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella (Jharkhand), Purulia (West Bengal) and Mayurbhanj (Odisha), the first two using masks.
The origin of the dance is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices.It is also intimately connected to regional festivals notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva.
The dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk melodies played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai.
In 2010,it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.