Ramman Festival

Why in News?

President Droupadi Murmu attended a special session of the Uttarakhand Assembly recently, where she presented with a Ramman mask and a book on the centuries-old festival celebrated in the state’s Garhwal region.

• Location - Ramman is a festival celebrated annually in April during Baisakhi at the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli.
• It is a unique blend of ritual, theatre, music, and dance, deeply rooted in the local traditions of the Garhwal Himalayas.
• Community - It is dedicated to the custodial god, Bhumiyal Devta, a local divinity whose temple houses most of the festivities.
• Core elements - The festival involves theatrical performances of the Ramayana and local legends, in which people sing songs and wear masks while dancing.
• There are 18 different types of masks made of Bhojpatra, Himalayan birch, that performers wear during the event, represent different deities and mythological figures.
• Rituals and Performances - Ramman begins with an invocation to the Hindu god Ganesha, followed by the dance of the Sun God, an enactment of the myth of the birth of Brahma and Ganesha.
• The other dances include the dance of the Bur Deva along with Krishna and Radhika.
• After these initial performances, the focus now shifts to the enactment of the local Ramkatha (tale of Lord Ram). Episodes from Ram’s life are sung to a total of 324 beats and steps.
• Associated Traditional instruments - dhol, damau, and bheri accompany the performances.
• UNESCO Recognition - In 2009, Ramman was inscribed in the list of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
• According to UNESCO, the festival is a multiform cultural event that reflects the environmental, spiritual, and cultural concepts of the community.

Reference

The Indian Express | Ramman Festival