Hojagiri or Sikkim is a popular folk dance, usually performed in the state of Tripura in India, by Sikkimis of the Reang family. It is usually performed by small children and women, usually four to six members in a polo team, chanting, dancing, balancing a stick on their head and using other props like a bottle on the forehead and then stick on the other hand. The music that accompanies the dance is made using bananas, hollowed out gourds covered with clay. These are held between the thumb and fingers and then beaten with sticks or stones.
The sangeet, which was traditionally played by the father of the family as it was the only weapon that could fight against the royal Suryavanshis, has now been replaced by the hojagiri dance. But the same spirit and energy are exuding making it almost identical to the tangent. The main difference being that this type of hojagiri was played without any of the traditional drums or musical instruments used in sangeet.
It is believed that the first hojagiri dance was performed by the royals around 400 years ago to celebrate the victory of their son in battle. It was performed in the court of the jarl or sancharina, who was the chief wedding celebrant of the region. It was initially performed in an empty court, but gradually, the numbers of players grew and it was performed in the main hall of the palace. It is believed that it was performed for the first time in this format when the dancer started a new song, ‘Rangoli’, to perform before the wedding ceremony. It must have marked the beginning of the tradition of performing the hojagiri dance in the main hall of the palace.