© 2018 Dr. M. Sheppard

Introduction

Devil dances consist of 5 different poses called matra:


1. The dancer bends his knees a little stretching his arms with the thumbs and forefingers touching to form a circle. The other fingers are spread out.


2. The body is bent at the knees, with the heels touching and the feet pointing in opposite directions.


3. Turning around


4. A hundred steps which are composed of 4 separate poses:

 I) A forward step which is stamped hard on the ground

          2) left foot is moved a little backwards  and to the left side.

          3) Right foot is again stamped on same spot

          4) The left foot is stamped and is placed beside the right foot with heels touching as in the  second pose

5) This one  is called the Little bell. In this pose the dancer stands on tip- toe and moves his legs in a shaking motion.


In addition to the poses and steps there are the special mantra – recitations - that are sung at different stages of the Devil Dance. These take years to learn and are passed down through the generations from the experienced Devil Dancers to their Apprentices who learn them through participating in the Devil Dances and  through observation.

Steps

Training to be a Devil dancer is long and often starts in childhood passed down father to son through the generations although boys and men whose relatives are not Devil Dancers can be apprenticed. First the trainees learn the poses.