DESPERATELY SEEKING SAMMI: RE-INVENTING WOMEN'S DANCE IN PUNJAB

Abstract

Based on original fieldwork among professional performing artists, interviews with culture promoters, and observation of unfolding events, this article details the history of a dance form little known outside Punjab. The dance samm? is, in fact, little known within India?s Punjab state as well, despite recent efforts to revive it through staged presentations. In the late 20th twentieth century, culture promoters in Punjab began to recognize dances that had previously been marginalized – by the over-commodified bhangra – in an effort to regain a sense of the region?s diverse yet fading artistic heritage. Sammi, a dance of the Western Punjab, was among those that were promoted. Yet unlike the case for some other dances, information on sammi, mostly possessed in India by displaced tribal people – and especially the cloistered women of those communities – was not readily available. After surveying the historical sammi dance, the article presents the recent history of modern stagings of the dance, wherein it now functions to provide equal performance opportunities in folkloric dance for Punjab?s growing number of educated young women. However, in order for this to be, a sammi dance has had to be essentially reinvented from scanty memories and imagination. Since the initial blow dealt by the Partition, local cultural dynamics of gender and ethnicity have created a scenario as to where and what has become presented under the name of ?sammi? may bear little resemblance to the heritage form it purports to revive.

Notes

For more details, see my discussion in Schreffler (2010, 587–600).

An earlier stage of this research was presented at the annual conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology Southern California Chapter, UC San Diego, March 5, 2006.

These details can be found in my discussion in Schreffler (2010, 851ff.).

The people call themselves Goaar. For an ethnographic introduction to the Bazigar people, see Schreffler (2011).

This can be located as verse #791 in the edition by Nijjhar (2000, 284). Translation is mine.

Rajpal Singh auditioned the recording for me briefly, but I was unable to study it.

See below for an instance where Garib Dass witnessed a post-Partition performance by a Pakistani troupe.

Most notable in this regard is the case of a prominent word in the original song, vaṇ. It is particular to the Western Punjabi language as a vocative particle (e.g. ‘hey’, ‘O’) used specifically to address a female. Probably due to its being absent from and unknown in the Central and Eastern dialects, many Indian presenters have attempted to rationalize it as vār, a word that in this context does not really mean anything. Even Garib Dass, though he was born in West Punjab and he used the correct word (having learned it by rote through oral tradition) did not know the true meaning of the word.

For more on the Bazigar lifestyle and the changes wrought by Partition, see Schreffler (2011).

Bahadur Singh remembered such a performance as well, but his dates were further off: 1980 or 1981 (personal communication, April 2005).

Bhana Ram and Mangal Singh Sunami are notable as accompanists to the influential dance troupe of Manohar Deepak, which brought modern bhangra to the national stage for the first time.

These individuals, many belonging to the clan Vartia, came from to the ‘Khaṛī’ subsection of the Bazigar community, whereas the previous performers came from what is known as the ‘Panjāb’ subsection. The subsections have different historical geographic origins and they are more or less endogamous, although, due to cultural similarities, they often submit to being grouped under the umbrella ‘Bazigar community.’

It is quite possible that the women in his own particular community were not very familiar with sammi.

Ganda Ram is reputed, according to family reckoning, to have lived some 130 years (1868–1998). The man's alleged activities create a colorful picture of the unique skills of Bazigars. In the musical area, Ganda Ram played sarangi to accompany women dancers of the Kanjar community. However, he specialized in strongman feats.

This performance was only done to the accompaniment of dholki, Garib Dass claimed, because the group's dhol-player could not get a visa. However, the notion of women traditionally dancing to the accompaniment of dhol – an instrument always played by men in Punjab – is questionable. Evidently, exceptions could be made when the drummer and the dancers were of the same professional community.

Incredibly, the government agency that was responsible for this, the Department of Cultural Affairs, was itself unable to specify the date or year of this event. However, I have confirmed the year from statements of observers, including Mde. Kulwant Bhatia, who has done some of her own investigations into sammi (personal communication, December 2004).

The name of the informant has been deliberately omitted here.

It is curious, in this respect, that Pakistani cultural officers with whom I spoke in 2006 did not even acknowledge a women's form of sammi. This may have been a case of the researchers’ genders prompting different field experiences.

Dhillon's dissertation is the basis for his later book, folk dances of Panjab (1998).

Manmohan Singh's résumé includes cinematography for many Hindi films directed by Yash Chopra and the Punjabi film classic Long da Lishkara (1986), as well as directing the follow-up to Jee Aayan Nu, Asa nu Maan Watna Da (2004). The award was given by the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi and the ceremony was held at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh, 15 December 2004.

‘Sammi, (Dance Party)’, uploaded by user Raj7333. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2XNS2j-2xU (accessed January 29, 2012).

The men made convincing females, and their identity was only made known unofficially through the excited reactions from friends in the audience.