Some great info here. Great to hear from folks from the other side of the pond too
Following on John Powells post about the Khukuri Dance, thought Id put in my two cents worth. It might be a bit long-winded, so please bear with me.
As an army brat (or line boy in Gorkha Rifles parlance) growing up in Indian military cantonments, Ive seen my share of the khukuri dance. The ones Ive seen typically look like this:
A group of gorkhas jog in formation onto the field/stage counting cadence and holding a khukuri in their right hand and a buckler in their left (this buckler is only a small, round piece of plywood or other such material with the regimental insignia painted on the face and a handle to hold onto in the back). Once in the area, they fan out into several lines with appropriate spaces between each performer.
A group of singers on the side, sometimes accompanied by traditional musicians or the battalion pipe & drum band then begin singing and playing, at which moment the khukuri dance begins. The movements are, of course, dance-like, with a lot of khukuri twirlings, vigorous turns, swooping movements and feet-stomping, combined with khukuri slashes, thrusts and blocking movements with the buckler. The emphasis is on keeping together and looking good, rather than on the martial applications of the moves.
The song is usually Mili jhuli aghi barho (Come together and move forward), a Nepali song which is sung to a tune very close to the Highland bagpipe tune, The Regimental March in fact, come to think of it, its probably the Regimental March with a Nepali twist
The dance might be done to other songs, but this is the one I remember and associate with the khukuri dance.
Once the dance is complete, the group closes formation to cadence and marches out of the area to the tune of Yo Nepali Seer Uchali (O Nepali with your held high ) another martial-sounding song that ends with the performers raising their khukuris and shouting several Jai (Hail or Victory) to the Regiment and various Gorkha deities.
The performers wear either the traditional Nepali dress or (more often) the PT dress of white pants, vests and canvas shoes. Ive seen some performers wrap strips of white cloth around the cho-area of the khukuri to give their hands more room for play, especially during those twirling movements.
Its a rousing performance and is always a big hit with the audience. The sun glinting on 50 or more khukuris as they are twirled overhead, sudden slashes accompanied by wicked-sounding HUH-HUH grunts from the performers it never fails to impress the crowds! Of course, it's never taken as anything more than a "performance", something to impress an audience.
As for the training for this khukuri dance, I once asked my father about it. His unit, 2/1 Gorkha Rifles and another Gorkha battalion in the division, 5/8 GR, were giving a combined khukuri dance performance. I asked him if it wouldnt be a problem for the two teams to perform the same movements and his reply: Naah, its the same stuff. Theyre all taught the same thing up in the regimental center Sadly, I did not ask for any further info (this happened about 10-11 years ago and he passed away almost 3 years ago). However, since 1GR and 8GR have separate regimental centers (14GTC in Shimla, northwestern India and 58GTC in Shillong, extreme northeastern India), the fact that theyre still taught the same thing must mean that there is a khukuri-dance program, at least in several regiments of the Indian Gorkhas. Now, I dont know how similar or different it is from that done by folks in the British Gurkhas, but for those of you that have seen the Elite Forces: Gurkha video, the little khukuri dance shown there is quite different from what Ive described above. That one is a regular Nepali "Jhauri" dance done with knukuris in hand perhaps a different version
I should have a picture somewhere, I cant post pics, so if I find it, I think Ill make copies and send to John Powell if thats OK with you, John.
- Sonam
[This message has been edited by gtkguy (edited 02-02-2001).]
As an army brat (or line boy in Gorkha Rifles parlance) growing up in Indian military cantonments, Ive seen my share of the khukuri dance. The ones Ive seen typically look like this:
A group of gorkhas jog in formation onto the field/stage counting cadence and holding a khukuri in their right hand and a buckler in their left (this buckler is only a small, round piece of plywood or other such material with the regimental insignia painted on the face and a handle to hold onto in the back). Once in the area, they fan out into several lines with appropriate spaces between each performer.
A group of singers on the side, sometimes accompanied by traditional musicians or the battalion pipe & drum band then begin singing and playing, at which moment the khukuri dance begins. The movements are, of course, dance-like, with a lot of khukuri twirlings, vigorous turns, swooping movements and feet-stomping, combined with khukuri slashes, thrusts and blocking movements with the buckler. The emphasis is on keeping together and looking good, rather than on the martial applications of the moves.
The song is usually Mili jhuli aghi barho (Come together and move forward), a Nepali song which is sung to a tune very close to the Highland bagpipe tune, The Regimental March in fact, come to think of it, its probably the Regimental March with a Nepali twist
Once the dance is complete, the group closes formation to cadence and marches out of the area to the tune of Yo Nepali Seer Uchali (O Nepali with your held high ) another martial-sounding song that ends with the performers raising their khukuris and shouting several Jai (Hail or Victory) to the Regiment and various Gorkha deities.
The performers wear either the traditional Nepali dress or (more often) the PT dress of white pants, vests and canvas shoes. Ive seen some performers wrap strips of white cloth around the cho-area of the khukuri to give their hands more room for play, especially during those twirling movements.
Its a rousing performance and is always a big hit with the audience. The sun glinting on 50 or more khukuris as they are twirled overhead, sudden slashes accompanied by wicked-sounding HUH-HUH grunts from the performers it never fails to impress the crowds! Of course, it's never taken as anything more than a "performance", something to impress an audience.
As for the training for this khukuri dance, I once asked my father about it. His unit, 2/1 Gorkha Rifles and another Gorkha battalion in the division, 5/8 GR, were giving a combined khukuri dance performance. I asked him if it wouldnt be a problem for the two teams to perform the same movements and his reply: Naah, its the same stuff. Theyre all taught the same thing up in the regimental center Sadly, I did not ask for any further info (this happened about 10-11 years ago and he passed away almost 3 years ago). However, since 1GR and 8GR have separate regimental centers (14GTC in Shimla, northwestern India and 58GTC in Shillong, extreme northeastern India), the fact that theyre still taught the same thing must mean that there is a khukuri-dance program, at least in several regiments of the Indian Gorkhas. Now, I dont know how similar or different it is from that done by folks in the British Gurkhas, but for those of you that have seen the Elite Forces: Gurkha video, the little khukuri dance shown there is quite different from what Ive described above. That one is a regular Nepali "Jhauri" dance done with knukuris in hand perhaps a different version
I should have a picture somewhere, I cant post pics, so if I find it, I think Ill make copies and send to John Powell if thats OK with you, John.
- Sonam
[This message has been edited by gtkguy (edited 02-02-2001).]
