Dhamaal Dance

Recently, a new documentary has focused on the music and dance performances of the Siddis community in Gujarat, called Dhamaals.

About Dhamaal

• It is a mix of Sufi and African (mostly East African) musical and dance traditions.
• It refers particularly to the spiritual practices of the Siddis of Gujarat.
• The Siddis begin almost every Dhamaal song by blowing into a conch shell.
• This is often followed by the slow playing of East African percussion instruments like the musindo and the slow thumping of feet that marks the onset of the singing and dancing Dhamaals.
• Usually, Dhamaal songs and dances are performed to ....