Karaga Dance | Traditional Dance | Chikkamagaluru Karaga | Karnataka Folk dance

Karaga Dance | Traditional Dance | Chikkamagaluru Karaga | Karnataka Folk dance
Karaga folk dance is a traditional dance devoted to Draupadi. It is performed on a full moon night. It is also known as Droupthamma. Karaga is celebrated by the Tigala group in the Karnataka region.
The dance and its traditions are related to the epic Mahabharata. “Vastrakshepa” (stripping) of Draupadi, the banishment of Pandavas, and the demise of Draupadi’s sons by Ashwatthama are the common scenes that are performed in this dance. After all such miseries, she was embraced as a powerful woman. The Tigala community believes themselves to be the offsprings of Draupadi, who are most commonly horticulturists.
Karaga means a mud pot. A tall flowered pyramid is made to stand above it. It is balanced on the head of a person called the carrier. The pot’s contents stay unknown for a long time. The arrival of the carrier is awaited by a large group of people being bare-chested and wearing a turban on the head. Their lower body covered in dhotis, they carry unsheathed swords. The carrier is taken away from his house by people enrolled with the Dharmaraya Temple.
The wife of the carrier acts as the widow. Her “Mangal Sutra” and bangles are given to her husband to wear. The wife will not see her husband or the pot until the end of the festival. The Tigala community, who believe Draupadi as their most important god, has faith that Draupadi’s power increase during the Festival and the Carrier dressed as a woman signifies Draupadi. The carrier keeps dancing along with the Veerakumaras as he balances the Karaga or pot on his head. The VeeraKumaras keep hitting their unsheathed swords on their chest, chanting “dik-di dik-di.”
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