Dhimsa glossary

The words you will meet on this site and in coverage of Dhimsa, briefly defined.

The dance

Dhimsa	The tribal circle dance itself; the name is usually explained as the sound of dancing footsteps. Full page →
Boda, Gunderi (Usku), Goddi Beta, Bhag, Natikari, Pedda…	Named varieties of Dhimsa — ritual, courtship, story and celebration forms. The twelve varieties →
Chain / circle	The linked line of dancers — arms around waists or on shoulders — that is Dhimsa's defining formation.

The music

Tudumu (thudumu)	The large drum that carries the dance's base beat.
Dappu	Flat frame drum playing the fast top rhythm; also the name of a dance form of its own elsewhere in Andhra.
Mori	The horn whose melodic line rides above the drums.
Kiridi, gilka, jodukommulu	Smaller percussion and paired clappers recorded in accounts of the ensemble. Music page →

People and places

Araku Valley	Hill valley in the Eastern Ghats, ~110 km from Visakhapatnam — Dhimsa's home ground and a coffee-growing region. Visiting →
Porja, Bagata, Valmiki, Khond, Kotia, Gadaba, Kondadora…	Hill communities of the Araku–Paderu region who dance Dhimsa. History & tribes →
Agency area	The administrative term for the scheduled tribal hill tracts of the district — the region where Dhimsa is part of daily culture.
ITDA	Integrated Tribal Development Agency — the government body whose residential schools trained the 13,000 dancers of the record performance.
Paderu, Seethampeta, Parvathipuram, Rampachodavaram	The four ITDA zones whose students performed at Bhogapuram. The record →
Bhogapuram	Coastal town north of Visakhapatnam, site of the new Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport and the record performance.
Koraput	Hill district of southern Odisha where Dhimsa's origins are usually traced.

Last updated: 2026-08-04