Festival of Nine Nights- Navratri

Last night was the start of Navratri, or the Festival of Nine Nights. This festival is very popular in the region I am traveling through. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi, a female Deity, are worshipped. On the first night of the festival young children and young adults performed traditional dance routines for the villagers. The young dancers wear traditional outfits, and in the case of the women very flashy, colorful, dresses with many sequins and mirrored "buttons." In most of the dances, the young men and women held sticks (almost like drumsticks) which they rhythmically cracked against one another to keep the beat while a small band played and a Hindu prayer song was blasted over the speakers. In all of the dances, the dancers moved in a circle around a Hindu shrine for Shakti and do many twirling, jumping, and stomping moves alone and even sometimes they turn to one another and knock sticks with a partner.

Even here the society is divided along sex lines. Only boys, or only girls dance on stage at one time. The crowd is equally divided- the men sit in chairs in one area, while the women sit on blankets and tarps in a separate area. The sexes rarely co-mingle in public. The dancing was fun and festive and goes on late into the night. As soon as one "temple" finishes its dances, everyone packs up, grabs their chairs and walks a few blocks away to the next "temple" where things are just getting under way. Some of the dances go on until 3-4 am and some of the dancers are as young as 3-4 years old. Dancing like this will continue for the remainder of the festival.

Today is also a Muslim Holiday. Eid is today which marks the end of Ramadan, a month long holy time when truly devout Muslims fast all day.