Gatka
The Sikh art of the stick and sword, practised by the Nihangs and displayed at every Hola Mohalla.
Gatka is the martial art of the Sikhs, a system of combat with sticks, swords, shields, spears and the chakar, practised as both training and display. The word originally meant the wooden stick used in practice, and the broader art is called shastar vidya, the science of weapons.
The Sikhs trace it to Guru Hargobind, who began training his followers in arms, and to the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh. It was the training of the misldars and the Akali Nihangs, who still keep it alive.
At Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib and in every Nagar Kirtan procession, gatka teams give displays of fighting, whirling swords and sticks with astonishing speed. It has become a competitive sport with national championships, and is taught in gurdwaras around the world.
More dance and martial play
The harvest dance of the men of Majha, now the best known dance of South Asia.
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The women's dance of clapping and boliyan, full of wit and mimicry.
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The slow, swaying dance of the bar country, danced in a circle around the drummer.
LuddiThe men's victory dance, swaying and clapping in a circle to the dhol, danced across the western Punjab.
SammiThe women's dance of the Sandal Bar, with raised arms and a song for a lost lover.
The men's giddha of the Malwa: boliyan sung in a ring, with the kato, sapp and bugchu clattering in time.
▶ WatchDhamaalThe whirling trance dance of the Sufi shrines, danced to the dhol on Thursday nights.
The night before a wedding, when the bride's or groom's family carry a pot of lamps through the village singing to wake it up.