About
Panthi is a devotional dance form of the Satnami community, built around the teachings of Guru Ghasidas. Dancers move in a tightening circle, the tempo of drum and cymbal accelerating steadily until the final minutes are performed at near-sprint pace, dancers occasionally forming human pyramids without breaking the beat.
History
Panthi developed as a devotional expression within the Satnami reform tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries, carrying its social teachings of equality directly into performance — a form open, deliberately, to performers regardless of background. It has since moved from purely devotional gatherings onto competitive folk-festival stages across the state.
Styles
Traditional Panthi
The slower, ritual-opening sequence performed at devotional gatherings, focused on chant and formation.
Competitive Stage Panthi
A faster, more athletic arrangement developed for festival and competition stages, emphasising acrobatics.
Instruments
Jhanjh
Large brass cymbals used in Panthi to build the driving, trance-like tempo associated with Satnami devotional song.
Dafda · डफड़ा
A large frame drum central to Raut Nacha and Karma, played standing while dancers move in circular formation.
Regions
Janjgir-Champa, Bilaspur