Khel-khel mein

As part of Lamakaan’s week-long sixth anniversary celebrations, theatre artistes from Adilabad’s Kolaam and Gondi tribes performed on Thursday evening.

Hailing from the village of Gowri Kolamguda near the Maharashtra border, the artistes put on four short skits and songs that are usually performed during their Dandari festival, during the Diwali season. Thursday’s skits portrayed the lives and traditions of the Gonds and Kolaams.

The first skit showed the importance of their main god, Bheem, and how they believed his presence to be all around them, while the second was a laughter-laden take on the wedding rituals of their tribes — which included the groom’s family “kidnapping” the bride and eventually compromising on a wedding between the two (a tradition that they say isn’t very prevalent any more). The skits were interspersed with traditional songs in Gondi and an explanation about each in English by Sumanaspati Reddy.

Explaining the similarities between the two tribes, Sumanaspati said, “There is a huge imprint of Gondi culture on the Kolams, which has happened historically. This Dandari festival for the Kolams is an exact replica of how the Gonds celebrate it. The Gonds came much later, but they were a little more progressive with their agricultural methods.”