Chholiya is a dance form practiced in the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, India. It is basically a sword dance accompanying a marriage procession but now it is performed on many auspicious occasions. It is especially popular in the districts of Pithoragarh, Champawat, Bageshwar, and Almora of Kumaon division and has even spread to the Garhwal division. This sword dance has a history of more than a thousand years and is rooted in the martial traditions of the Kumauni people. Dating back to over a thousand years, the Chholiya Dance has its origins in the warring Kshatriyas of Kumaun- the Khasas, when marriages were performed at the point of the swords.
The native Kshatriyas were united by the ...