Garba (dance)

Garba is a form of Circle dance and Social dance form originating in the state of Gujarat, India, and played across the Indian diaspora worldwide. Garba is traditionally danced as part of the annual Hindu festival of Navratri (or "Nine Nights"), held in celebration of Amba Mata, or the primordial mother. Typically, at the end of each Navratri night of dance, the community also plays 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. Traditionally garba 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, an incarnation of Durga, 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.