Tharu Barka Dance on the verge of extinction

By Santosh Dahit  

Dang, Oct. 30: The Barka dance, an important cultural tradition of the Tharu community in western Nepal, is on the verge of extinction due to financial difficulties. 

Once performed widely across Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, and Kanchanpur districts, the dance has now been confined to only Dang district where it is performed only occasionally in a single village.

Among the many traditional and indigenous dances performed by the Tharu community during various festivals such as Mahotya, Maghauta, Chhokra, Hurdungya, Jhumra, Lathhawa, Laththi, Sakhya, and Paiya, the Barkha dance holds a special cultural and religious significance.

Cultural activist and resident of Jalaura in Ghorahi-10, Chandra Prasad Chaudhary, said that the Barka dance is now on the verge of extinction.

“The Tharu community has many indigenous dances, performed according to their festivals,” said Chaudhary. “But among them, the Barka dance is now in crisis.”

According to him, the Barka dance embodies the tantric rituals, religious beliefs, and cultural identity of the Tharu people. He added that the dance is also connected to the story of the Mahabharata. “Traditional Tharu songs known as Barkimar are sung during the performance,” he said. “The literal meaning of Barkimar is Mahabharata.”

The Barka dance is usually performed from the Dashain festival until the Nepali month of Fagun (February).

 “In this dance, it is mandatory to play 22 beats on the madal,” said Chaudhary. “But nowadays, there is a lack of people to play the Madal that way. The dance requires at least 27 male and female participants.” He further added that before the dance begins, a special ritual worship is performed at Bhuhyarthan, a local sacred site.

“Since the dance involves high expenses, the financial aspect has become a major challenge,” Chaudhary said. “Rituals, costumes, and musical instruments all require considerable spending, so the dance is disappearing due to financial constraints.”

Although Chaudhary has been personally working to preserve the traditional dance, he said that the lack of financial support has made it difficult. He said that the government must pay attention to preserving such indigenous cultural heritages.

“It is the nation’s responsibility to protect local art, culture, language, and literature,” said Chaudhary.

 “These heritages are the jewels of the nation, and therefore, the government should introduce concrete policies and programmes for their preservation.”