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A Family, Not an Only Child
Bhangra gets most of the attention. But it is one member of a family of Punjabi dances, and treating it as the only one is part of how it became "a thing".
The relatives
Punjab has a rich set of folk dances, and different sources group and name them differently. Some of the best known are:
- Jhumar (also spelled jhummar): an older, slower, swaying men's dance, often described as having been widely popular before bhangra. Published accounts say bhangra supplanted it in many places, and that jhumar has been revived in recent years.
- Luddi: a celebratory dance linked with victory and happiness, often performed with one hand on the head and the other extended, with a characteristic swaying movement.
- Giddha: a women's dance of song, clapping and storytelling, with playful teasing verses called boliyan. It is not bhangra's "female version". It has its own history, its own rhythm and its own power.
- Sammi: a women's dance associated with particular parts of Punjab, and one that revival efforts have tried to protect from being overshadowed by bhangra.
- Kikli: a dance for girls and young women, usually performed in pairs, holding hands and spinning.
I list them to make a point, not to give you a glossary. If you only know one of these, you know a fraction of Punjabi dance culture.
Why the family matters
When bhangra became the best-known Punjabi dance in the world, the others were pushed into the background. This matters for two reasons.
First, it distorts history. Some of the movements and verses that people think of as bhangra came from elsewhere in the family. Published accounts say, for example, that the boliyan, the short verses sung alongside the dance, were taken into bhangra from a style of giddha. A tradition that borrows from its relatives is not weaker for it, but it is not purely "itself" either.
Second, it narrows who gets to take part. For a long time bhangra was thought of as a men's dance, while giddha belonged to women. (See the chapter on women and the dance floor.) If you only teach "bhangra", you may be teaching only one half of Punjabi dance culture without realising it.
A teaching habit
When you introduce a class, mention the family. You do not need a long lecture. A sentence such as "bhangra is one of several Punjabi folk dances, along with giddha, jhumar and others" opens a door. Someone in the room may have a grandmother who danced giddha. Someone else may go and look up jhumar. You have made the culture bigger instead of smaller.
Names are boundaries
One more thing. Because the family shares so much, from steps to songs to occasions, the edges between dances are blurry, and writers draw them differently. Do not be afraid of that. Where sources disagree, say that they disagree. "It depends who you ask" is not a weakness in a teacher. It is a sign that you have looked.