ਝੂਮਰ

Jhumar (ਝੂਮਰ) is a traditional Punjabi folk dance of the harvest season, known for its slow, graceful, swaying movements. Linked to the Malwa and Sandalbar regions and traditionally performed by men, it turns the daily work of the farm into dance: ploughing, sowing and reaping are all acted out in the circle.

What does jhumar mean in Punjabi?

Jhumar names both the dance and its mood: unhurried, rhythmic and contented. Where bhangra bursts with energy, jhumar flows. Testbook's survey of Punjabi folk dances describes it as a graceful dance of the Malwa region and Sandalbar, whose soft, flowing movements express contentment at harvest time. The dancers move in a circle with gentle arm swings, foot tapping and coordinated swaying, to the dhol and folk instruments such as the been, algoza and chimta.

The heart of jhumar is imitation. Pairs of dancers come into the centre of the circle and recreate the gaits of the animals and birds around them. In one classic sequence, two men become the bullocks of the field, a third dancer is the plough and a fourth the farmer, and the farming year is shown step by step: ploughing the field, sowing the seed and cutting the crop, before the dancers rejoin the circle.

How is jhumar different from bhangra?

Both are harvest dances, but their temperaments differ. Bhangra celebrates the finished harvest with leaps, kicks and shouts; jhumar lingers over the work itself, recreating sowing and reaping and the movements of farm animals at a slower and more graceful pace. The circle, the swaying gait and the storytelling mime are jhumar's signatures, which is why accounts of the dance stress its thematic content over bhangra's pure energy.

When is jhumar performed?

Jhumar belongs to the harvest season first of all, and it is also performed at weddings and fairs. Traditionally the dancers were men, dressed simply in kurtas, turbans and chaadras, but performances today also include mixed groups and women led teams. On modern stages and at cultural festivals, jhumar stands beside bhangra and giddha as one of the dances that carry Punjab's farming year to audiences far from the fields.