Published Paper Details:

Dhemsa dance forms an energetic and permanent element of the culture of the tribal groups of southern Odisha and, more specifically, of the Koraput area. While extant scholarship often characterizes Dhemsa as a communal performance of tribal nature, it does not sufficiently explore the central role of women in preserving its ritualistic, social, and cultural relevance. This study examines the role of tribal women in Dhemsa dance in terms of the role of the dance as a medium of ritual practice, community bonding, and identity construction. Employing qualitative methods--including ethnographic observation, semi-structured interviews, and a secondary literature analysis--the paper examines the role of women as performers, as transmitters of tradition, and as custodians of cultural memory. The paper argues that Dhemsa is not simply a performative art form, but it is a lived cultural practice through which tribal women exercise their agency, reinforce social cohesion, and ensure intergenerational continuity of indigenous knowledge. Through a foregrounding of the participation of women, the paper is a contribution to wider discourse on the topics of gender, culture, and tribal identity in contemporary India.