Dhimsa

One chain. One heartbeat.

A chain of dancers, arms linked, moving in a circle to the beat of the tudumu drum and the call of the mori horn — Dhimsa is the traditional dance of the tribal communities of the Araku Valley and the surrounding hills of the Eastern Ghats, on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The word is usually explained as echoing the sound of dancing footsteps, and that is exactly what the dance is: rows of women (and often men) stepping, swaying and stamping in long linked lines at festivals, weddings and harvest celebrations. Its movements borrow from daily hill life — gathering leaves, sowing, guarding the village — which is why elders say you can read a whole way of living in one dance.

In the news: on 1 August 2026, around 13,000 tribal schoolgirls performed Dhimsa together at Bhogapuram to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi — certified by Guinness World Records as the largest Dhimsa dance ever staged. Read the full story →

A chain of women in bright saris dancing Dhimsa in unison, arms linked around each other's waists, barefoot on red earth, with village crowd and green hills behind — Dancers in a linked chain, the heart of Dhimsa — arms joined, moving as one. (AI-generated image)

What is Dhimsa?The dance, its meaning, and how it is performed History & tribesKoraput roots, Araku home, and the communities who dance it The 12 varietiesFrom the ritual Boda Dhimsa to the playful Gunderi Music & instrumentsMori, tudumu, dappu and the songs Dress & ornamentsWhat dancers wear, and why The Guinness record13,000 dancers at Bhogapuram, August 2026 See it in ArakuWhere visitors can watch Dhimsa performed Learn the danceFormation, steps and staging it at school Folk dances of APWhere Dhimsa sits among Andhra's dances Quick questionsShort answers for students and travellers GlossaryThe Telugu and tribal words used on this site About this siteWho writes it, and where the facts come from

Dhimsa in numbers

12traditional varieties, from ritual to courtship

13,000dancers at the 2026 Guinness World Record

433dance circles at the record performance

6 pmdaily performance at Araku's coffee museum

Dhimsa at a glance

What	Folk / tribal circle dance ("sound of footsteps")
Where	Araku Valley & the agency tracts of Alluri Sitarama Raju district, Andhra Pradesh; roots in Koraput, Odisha
Who	Tribal communities including the Porja, Bagata, Valmiki, Khond, Kotia, Gadaba, Kondadora and others
When	Festivals (especially March–April), weddings, harvest and hunting festivals, village celebrations
Varieties	Traditionally counted as twelve
Claim to fame	Guinness World Record: largest Dhimsa dance — ~13,000 dancers, Bhogapuram, 1 Aug 2026

Last updated: 2026-08-13