The tribal’s residing in capital city Silvassa as well as the Dadra & Nagar Haveli are known for their creativity and colourful culture. Dance and music are a big part of their lives, and are a must see at tribal festivals and fairs that you can best experience in Silvassa. Their music instruments are made of locally available material like clay, gourd, bamboo, dried fruits and vegetables, wood and leather, and are prepared by the tribal’s themselves. You can see a collection of these instruments at the Tribal Museum in Silvassa.

Tarpa is the most popular and colourful folk dance among the Varli, Kokna and Koli tribes, and is best seen in Silvassa. It involves the men and the women, and is performed at night, during the harvest season (September to Diwali). The man with the Tarpa, a wind instrument made from gourd, bamboo and palm leaves, stands in the middle of a circle made by the others holding each other around the waist. This is one of the main attractions in Silvassa.

Bhawada Dance

The Bhawada is a mask dance, usually performed by the Kokna tribesmen. The performance is held across a number of villages and only at night in the summer. Each village has a different set of masks, and sometimes masks are even loaned to villages if they can’t afford to have their own. Silvassa is a good place to experience the Bhawada Dance. You can even see the masks at the tribal museum, also at Silvassa.  

The masks are carved out of single pieces of wood and then decorated with bamboo strips and coloured papers. Bright red, yellow and green in colour, they depict Gods and Goddesses like Panch Pandava, Ravana, Ganesh and tribal deities Kaloba, Mhasoba, Rangatai. Every dancer enacts steps typical of the character whose mask he wears, as he dances to the tune of musical instruments like the Sur, Kahali and Sambal.

The Tur and Thali dances are prominent among the Dhodis and Dublas, performed during marriages and other festive occasions in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, especially in Silvassa. The Tur is a cylindrical two faced clay drum, with leather surfaces on both sides, which is tanned and painted black in the center and played by a Turwalla. The Thali is a metal dish that the Thaliwalla beats to accompany the Tur.

Ask your hotel in Silvassa or any other part ofDadra and Nagar Haveli and they will arrange for a performance for you.

The Dhol Dance is performed by the men of the Varli and Kokna tribes, to the rhythm of a Dhol (drum made from a hollow tree trunk with leather on both sides). The dance is performed to songs that are sung solo or in chorus, with the dancers facing the accompanists.

The Dhol dance itself has various formations including acrobatics and human pyramids, and is performed at night during the harvest season. The tourism department concerning Silvassa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli make sure that hotels will even arrange for a performance for its guests.

The Gheria is a group dance performed by the Dubla tribesmen of capital city Silvassa or Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It is led by a Kavio, dressed in a silk coat, dhoti, elaborate headgear and holding peacock feathers in his right hand. As he sings, the rest of the singers, Gherias, follow in chorus. They are dressed as female devotees of their Goddesses. They hold a small stick in each hand and strike the sticks of their partners with it, while a Bagaliwala holds a long bamboo stick with a bagali (swan made of white cloth) hanging from the top.