Traditional dance & Music of Kashmir

The mask dance performed by the lamas at the Hemis monastery, Ladakh for example, during the Hemis festival is representative of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition of the victory of good over evil.

The music of Kashmir, Sufiana Kalam, combines elements of Indian and Iranian music, and the most popular instrument is the Santoor. Several rages and mukams are common to Kashmiri and Persian music. Wanawun is another form of music that is sung and played during wedding ceremonies in Kashmir.

The Bindloo and the Jagarna are both dances set to the theme of marriage and marital relationships.The Kud is a thanksgiving dance performed before the local deity. Other season-based dances are the Phummian, Bhangra and Dandaras.

Hafiza dances is common in Kashmir during wedding celebrations at the homes or when the wedding processions would be taken out on boats on the Jhelum river.

Ruf is also popular dance among women on festive occasions and boy dancers in the Bacha Nagma opera, Ruf is an off shoot of Chakkri which is a form of collective singing by men and women.
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