Hi guys,
Just thought i'd make a topic and share the information i have on this. Although bhangra's become so big, it's actually surprising how hard it is to find decent information on its origins that's reliable and accurate on the net, let alone anywhere else!
Usual explanations are limited to the very vague 'Punjabi farmers celebrating Vaisakhi' however there's actually quite a few different theories on what the origins of bhangra may have been and how long it's been around for. Some even believe it's been around since around 300 BC when Alexander the Great invaded Punjab! Whilst another theory is that it orginates from the Hindu God Shiva and when he used to take 'Bhang' thousands of years ago.
Another thing that surprises a lot of people, is how it was considered unmasculine for men to do any form of dance in the part of Punjab that's now in India and bhangra only started to be done there after refugees from West Punjab migrated there after partition in 1947! Anyways, here are decent, reliable sources of info i've found:
1) "Folk dances of Punjab" by Iqbal Singh Dhillon --> a book - very, very detailed and thorough- probably the only proper academic study of all the folk dances of Punjab that's been done.
2) "Punjab Folk Dances - Analysis and Classification" by Surrey India Arts Club --> really informative, has a map of Punjab showing the regions where all the different folk dances originate on page 4!.. http://www.surreyindiaartsclub.com/Punjabi%20Folk%20Dances%20-%20Analysis%20&%20Classification.pdf
3) "East of Indus: my memories of old Punjab" by Gurnam Singh Sidhu Brard --> book on author's memories of pre-partition Punjab - you can read some of it online on Google Books, and there's a section on Bhangra/dance.... Link:- http://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC&pg=PA312&dq=bhangra&hl=en&ei=J2VQTfO_M8W7hAft65jdDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCTge#v=onepage&q=bhangra&f=false
4) "Bhangra as an art is flourishing in India and on the verge of extinction in Pakistan" by APNA (Academy of Punjab in North America) --> talks about the origins and history of bhangra to date - http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/aujla-14/
Sources show the place of origin of bhangra can be traced back to the Gujranwala/Sialkot/Narowal area in Punjab, part of present-day Pakistan. (explains names of bhangra moves such as "Sial-koti"
)
Hope people find these informative!!
Cheers
Just thought i'd make a topic and share the information i have on this. Although bhangra's become so big, it's actually surprising how hard it is to find decent information on its origins that's reliable and accurate on the net, let alone anywhere else!
Usual explanations are limited to the very vague 'Punjabi farmers celebrating Vaisakhi' however there's actually quite a few different theories on what the origins of bhangra may have been and how long it's been around for. Some even believe it's been around since around 300 BC when Alexander the Great invaded Punjab! Whilst another theory is that it orginates from the Hindu God Shiva and when he used to take 'Bhang' thousands of years ago.
Another thing that surprises a lot of people, is how it was considered unmasculine for men to do any form of dance in the part of Punjab that's now in India and bhangra only started to be done there after refugees from West Punjab migrated there after partition in 1947! Anyways, here are decent, reliable sources of info i've found:
1) "Folk dances of Punjab" by Iqbal Singh Dhillon --> a book - very, very detailed and thorough- probably the only proper academic study of all the folk dances of Punjab that's been done.
2) "Punjab Folk Dances - Analysis and Classification" by Surrey India Arts Club --> really informative, has a map of Punjab showing the regions where all the different folk dances originate on page 4!.. http://www.surreyindiaartsclub.com/Punjabi%20Folk%20Dances%20-%20Analysis%20&%20Classification.pdf
3) "East of Indus: my memories of old Punjab" by Gurnam Singh Sidhu Brard --> book on author's memories of pre-partition Punjab - you can read some of it online on Google Books, and there's a section on Bhangra/dance.... Link:- http://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC&pg=PA312&dq=bhangra&hl=en&ei=J2VQTfO_M8W7hAft65jdDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCTge#v=onepage&q=bhangra&f=false
4) "Bhangra as an art is flourishing in India and on the verge of extinction in Pakistan" by APNA (Academy of Punjab in North America) --> talks about the origins and history of bhangra to date - http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/aujla-14/
Sources show the place of origin of bhangra can be traced back to the Gujranwala/Sialkot/Narowal area in Punjab, part of present-day Pakistan. (explains names of bhangra moves such as "Sial-koti"
)Hope people find these informative!!
Cheers
