East Singhbhum Seraikela Chhau Masked Dance

Seraikela Chhau is one of three regional forms of the martial dance-drama Chhau, practised in Seraikela (now Seraikela Kharsawan district adjacent to East Singhbhum), where male performers wear elaborately crafted painted papier-mache masks representing deities and mythological characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Unlike the Purulia and Mayurbhanj Chhau styles, Seraikela Chhau uses masks as the primary expressive vehicle rather than facial make-up, and the dance vocabulary includes acrobatic leaps, spinning, and sword fighting sequences. UNESCO inscribed Chhau dance (all three regional styles) on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010; Seraikela's royal family historically patronised the dance and contributed choreographies to the repertoire.