About
Gedi is a bamboo-stilt walking tradition practised during the Hareli festival, when children and young men walk, race and dance through village lanes on tall handmade stilts as the fields turn green with the first monsoon growth.
History
Gedi is believed to have started as a practical way to move across waterlogged fields at the start of the monsoon before evolving into a festival performance and informal sport in its own right, with village-level races and balance competitions held every Hareli.
Styles
Racing Gedi
Competitive straight-line races between stilt-walkers, judged purely on speed.
Dancing Gedi
A performance style where dancers on stilts move to drumbeats without breaking stride.
Instruments
Dafda · डफड़ा
A large frame drum central to Raut Nacha and Karma, played standing while dancers move in circular formation.
Regions
Raipur, Durg-Bhilai
Associated Festivals
Hareli (Shravan (Jul–Aug))