NE India
Chapchar Kut
Mizoram's spring festival of the bamboo dance and white costumes.
Pralaylahiry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Chapchar Kut is the most important and joyful festival of the Mizo people, celebrated in early March after the bamboo has been cut for the year's jhum (shifting) cultivation. Held on a grand scale in Aizawl and across the state, it is a celebration of spring, community and Mizo identity, with troupes in traditional white-and-red costume performing folk dances to gongs and drums.
Its signature is the Cheraw, the bamboo dance, in which dancers step nimbly between long bamboo poles clapped rhythmically together — one of the most beautiful and photogenic folk dances in India, and the highlight of the festival.
Photo: Pralaylahiry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Know before you go
- Held mainly in Aizawl; the state stadium hosts the big cultural show.
- An Inner Line Permit is required for Mizoram.
- Plan around Mizoram's Sunday closures if travelling over a weekend.