Gaur Maria dance is from Bastar in Chattisgarh and a popular folk dance of Madhya Pradesh. It is popular in the Sing Marias or Tallaguda Marias of South Bastar. Gaur Maria is the dance form of the people of Bison-Horn-Maria community of Chattisgarh.
This dance form is performed mostly on auspicious occasions like birthdays and weddings. It is performed by both male and female dancers and carried out like a procession.
The instruments used for the dance are Mandar, Dhol and Taal. The male artists play the music for the dance. They wear a head-gear and wave it around like a bison to set the tempo of the dance. The women dance around the men carrying long spear-like sticks and keep thumping on the ground.
The head-gears of men have horns attached to them and decorated with peacock feathers and cowries (beads). Women wear brass ornaments like necklaces, armbands and bead necklaces. It is performed to praise the spirit of hunting among the tribe. Here hunting procedure is depicted while dancing.
