Garba (dance)

Garba is an Indian folk dance. It is a form of circle and social dance originating from Gujarat, and played across the Indian diaspora on festivals and other events.

Garba is traditionally danced by women as part of the annual Hindu festival of Navaratri (or "Nine Nights"), held in celebration of Amba Mata, or the primordial mother, an incarnation of Durga. Garbas form part of Navaratri celebrations at fairs and feasts. Typically, at the end of each Navaratri night of dance, the community also plays dandiya raas, a sibling circle-dance form, in which players hold a stick in each hand and tap out a rhythm with a partner. Everyone is invited to join garba and raas, and people of all ages dance together. It is played around an earthen pot with holes on the sides, revealing a flame inside (a symbol of the jiva or soul inside the womb). Alternatively, a picture or statue of the Hindu goddess Amba may be placed in the center of the circle. When there are large numbers of participants, they make concentric circles to form rings around the object of veneration.