Tharu community struggle to keep the fading Sakhiya dance tradition alive

Once performed collectively by Tharu women from Krishna Janmashtami through Dashain, the traditional dance is now becoming less common as village lifestyles change and younger generations turn to technology

KAILALI: The charm of the traditional Sakhiya dance, danced by women of the Tharu community, has been fading in recent years. In the past, preparations for the Sakhiya dance would begin right after the completion of rice planting. Village life was immensely joyful during Dashya (Dashain) and Tihar. However, with the increasing reach of technology in the village, the rhythm of the madal and the jingling sound of the manjira are also slowly disappearing.

Particularly with the approach of Dashya, it was customary for women of the Tharu community to finish their day’s work and gather at the Bhalmansa’s (traditional elected or consensus-based village chief and headman in the indigenous Tharu community of Sudurpaschim) house in the evening to present the Sakhiya’s ‘Paiya,’ that is, the Sakhiya dance. The Paiya of Sakhiya used to start right after the Atwari festival. According to Surya Chaudhary, Municipal President of the Tharu Welfare Society (Tharu Kalyankarini Sabha) and a leader of Dhangadhi Village, Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City-8, the practice of performing the Paiya of Sakhiya dance as preparation for Dashya after the conclusion of the Atwari festival remains in only a few villages today.

It is called the Sakhiya dance because it is danced collectively in the evening with the participation of women. However, Dil Bahadur Chaudhary of the Tharu Civil Society states that the Sakhiya, which was danced for a long period in the past, is now becoming limited to Dashain only.

According to him, the current generation being more accustomed to technology, declining interest in the Sakhiya dance, and busy schedules are the reasons why people have stopped performing the dance like before.

Women from the Tharu community performing the traditional Sakhiya dance

Tradition disappearing along with the rhythm of the madal