Paika akhada
Martial tradition of Odisha's paikas, a peasant militia trained in village akhadas. Today performed with wooden swords, sticks and shields to the sound of drums.
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About Paika akhada
Paika akhada is a martial tradition of the Indian state of Odisha. According to Odisha Review, an Odisha government journal, an akhada is a place, mainly in rural Odisha, where military training is passed on and where the paikas, the peasant militia, mainly trained. According to the same source, the paikas were mostly of the Khandayat caste, whose name the journal reads as wielding the sword. They showed strength and courage mainly under Gajapati rule. We have not found a founder or a year of origin. In March 1817, according to a yearbook of the Odisha government, the paikas joined nearly four hundred Khonds marching from Ghumusar to Khurda, and under Bakshi Jagabandhu the Paika Bidroha uprising against British rule broke out. The paikas were defeated, and according to the yearbook some insurgents fought in the jungles until 1826. According to the government press service PIB, the President of India opened the uprising's bicentenary celebrations in 2017, and in 2018 the prime minister issued a commemorative stamp and coin. Today, according to the daily OrissaPOST, paika akhadas serve traditional exercises and a dance in which participants carry sticks and weapons and move to the rhythm of drums. It is performed, among others, at Dussehra and the Kalinga Mahotsav festival. After a camp in December 2012, an akhada for women and girls arose in Khurda.
History
The Odisha government magazine Odisha Review described the akhada in 2014 as a place mainly in rural Odisha where military training is passed on, and according to it its participants were mainly the paikas, the peasant militia. The paikas were mostly of the Khandayat caste, whose name the magazine reads as khanda, sword, and ayata, control. They proved their strength and courage mainly under Gajapati rule. The article's author states that the paika akhada is very old and tied to Stone Age culture, but gives no evidence for it. The magazine also names paika military titles, for example Maharathi, Rout, Bahubalendra and Gajendra Pahad Singh. According to the newspaper OrissaPOST, the paikas formed the military backbone of the Kingdom of Khurda under the Bhoi dynasty.
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In March 1817, according to the Odisha government's Orissa Reference Annual, nearly four hundred Khonds marched from Ghumusar in Ganjam to Khurda, where the paikas joined them. According to the annual, Bakshi Jagabandhu led the standing army of the paikas, and the uprising is called Paika Bidroha. The paikas were defeated, King Mukunda Dev II was captured, and according to the annual part of the insurgents fought in the jungles until 1826. According to the government press service PIB, in 2017, at the opening of the bicentenary celebrations, the President of India called the uprising the first organised armed uprising in India against British rule.
How it differs
The magazine Odisha Review sets the ghumura dance apart from paika akhada. It says ghumura originates in the paikas' training combats, but music and heroic rhythm prevail in it over song and dance. Green's Martial Arts of the World has no headword on paika akhada and from Odisha mentions only the Seraikella chhau dance, which he says arose from martial exercises before it became a masked dance and drama.
Technique
According to OrissaPOST, paika guru Kabiraj Pradhan of Khurda describes training with swords, with the urmi, which he describes as a wavy, sword-like iron weapon, with long fighting sticks, laudi, with knives and with dhal shields, traditionally of rhinoceros hide. According to OrissaPOST and other articles, demonstrations link acrobatic movements with swords and sticks to traditional music.
Training
According to OrissaPOST, Subash Chandra Jena of Badajhada near Puri describes performances held every year at the Dussehra festival. The area is prepared from soft soil sprinkled with oil and water, and the members stand in two rows with wooden swords and shields, because real swords are not allowed. They slowly approach one another and, with the music speeding up, move into practice combat. The magazine Odisha Review states that the dance derived from the paikas' practice combat is performed to the accompaniment of the instruments ghumura, nishan, dhol, taal and madal. According to it, wooden stilts, ranapa, attached to the feet enabled the paikas to walk at double or triple speed.
Today
According to the daily OrissaPOST, today's paika akhadas serve traditional exercises and a dance in which participants carry sticks and weapons and move to drum rhythm. In the village of Gangapur, Ganjam district, a community of paikas keeps the tradition in the akhada Maa Sitala Thakurani Bira Paika Akhada. According to the same daily, Subash Chandra Jena founded the association Sri Sri Akhandaleswara Deba Paika Akhada Sangha in 2008 and performed with his team in New Delhi at the bicentenary of the uprising. According to OrissaPOST, Sunita Behera founded the akhada Kalinga Kanya Paika Akhada in Khurda after a camp in December 2012 and teaches women and girls sword and stick fighting there. The team performs at state paika akhada competitions. In 2018 the state, according to OrissaPOST, proposed founding a paika akhada academy in Gajapati district, and the art is shown at the annual Kalinga Mahotsav festival. In 2019 the association Nikhila Odisha Paika Mahasangha asked the Odisha government for state sport status and for introduction into schools.
Did you know
According to government press service PIB, the Prime Minister issued a stamp and coin commemorating the Paika Bidroha uprising in December 2018 and announced a chair for it at Utkal University. According to the magazine Odisha Review, the fort of Barunei in Khurda witnessed the uprising led by Bakshi Jagabandhu.
Frequently asked questions
What is an akhada?
According to the Odisha government magazine Odisha Review, an akhada is a place, mainly in rural Odisha, where military training is passed on. The paikas, the peasant militia, mainly trained in it.
How is the paika akhada connected with the uprising of 1817?
The Paika Bidroha uprising against British rule was led, according to the Odisha government annual, by Bakshi Jagabandhu, and its core was the standing army of the paikas. Part of the insurgents fought in the jungles until 1826.
Are real swords used in the performance?
According to Subash Chandra Jena, whom the newspaper OrissaPOST cites, no. In the performance at the Dussehra festival, wooden swords and shields are used, because real swords are not allowed.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.