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Chhau dance is a genre of Indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. There are three subgenres of the dance, based on its places of origin and development, Seraikella Chhau, Mayurbhanj Chhau and Purulia Chhau.This is also called paika nrutya.The word paika is derived from the Sanskrit word Padatika meaning the infantry, and hence the name of the dance is battle (paika) dance (nrutya). In the olden days the powerful Ganga and Gajapati rulers of Orissa extended their territory from the river Ganges in the north to the Godavari in the south with the help of a vast army of valiant Paikas. They were not in the regular payroll of the army, but received huge land grants from the kings and the chieftains. They formed the rank of a peasant-militia. Though agriculture was their main occupation they used to keep themselves prepared by regular practice and training in war techniques. Several village-groups were under the command of a Dala Behera or group-commander. It was inscribed in the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in 2010. Most of the Paika villages of Orissa, spread all over the state have maintained the older tradition of Paika Akhada - the village gymnasium where young people assemble in the evening after the day's work. Along with traditional physical exercises, they dance with sword and shield in hand to the accompaniment of the country-drum. The primary aim of this dance was the development of physical excitement and consequently courage, in the dancing warriors. In ancient times this was unconsciously a rehearsal of battle. During Dussera all the Akhadas celebrate their annual festival. In several prosperous villages display of traditional gymnastics, acrobatics and the dance by various village-groups are arranged on competitive basis. Each group participates with great enthusiasm. For all such displays, special grounds are prepared with soft earth sprinkled with oil and water. Needless to say that the tradition of this dance carried to the contiguous tribal belt of Mayurbhanj, Sareikela and Purulia, and has developed into the magnificent dance of Orissa called 'Chhau'. ==Etymology== It is believed by some modern scholars that the word ''Chhau'' is derived from Sanskrit ''Chāya'' (shadow, image or mask), but according to Sitakant Mahapatra, it is derived from ''Chhauni'' (military camp).〔Claus, p. 109〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Chhau )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chhau dance」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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