Portugal 2017 - Joint Issue With India, Traditional Dances

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 07 January 2017
Designer: Atelier Design & Túlio Coelho
Perforation: 11 1/4 x 11 1/4
Printer: INCM
Process: Offset
Paper: 110 gr
Size: 40 x 30,6 mm
Values: €0.47 (125,000), €0.80 (105,000); SS €1.27 (40,000)

Portugal and India have enjoyed more than 500 years of a meeting of cultures that is extremely enriching for both sides.  Between the two populations there are families ties, both ancient and modern, and there are economic and political opportunities from which to benefit, that can undoubtedly gain leverage from such an old and respected relationship. For all these reasons, the postal operators of Portugal and of India decided to celebrate this centuries-old friendship between the two peoples by means of a joint issue of postage stamps, coinciding with the official visit of the Prime Minister of Portugal to India.

The theme chosen for the stamps in both countries came of the realisation that both Portugal and India possess, in their deepest folkloric roots, two dances with undeniable similarities.  Both were warrior dances, using sticks as props to symbolise ancestral swords: Dandiya, the stick dance of Gujarat, and the dance of the Pauliteiros de Miranda.  The Dandiya (a term from the northeast of India meaning "stick") was created thousands of years ago as an expression of devotion in honour of the mother-goddess Durga.  In this dance, colourful decorated sticks, or dandiyas, represent the swords of the goddess.  This dance, which is still performed today, enacts the mythical battle between the goddess and the demon-king Mahishasura.

The female dancers move rhythmically in circles around the mandvi, wearing traditional dresses with highly coloured accecories - choli, ghagra, and bandhani dupattas.  Their hair is usually adorned with mirrors, pieces of glass or jewels that reflect the light .  In turn, the male dancers, who also dress in the traditional clothing of their regions - turbans and kedias - onto which are sewn mirrors to increase the luminous effect, move in a separate ring to that of the women and in the opposite direction.

The traditional dance, therefore, consists of two independent circles.  The movements of both sets of dancers are energetic, whirling around each other with the sticks (dandiya) in their hands, to the carious rhythms of different types of drum - dhol, dholak, bongo, etc.  The Dandiya dances are mostly performed in the evening during the Navrati festival, in honour of the goddess-mother, in the State of Gujarat.

The dance of the Pauliteiros is the most important folkloric manifestation of Terra de Miranda, although its reach extends far beyond the municipality of Miranda do Douro.

Its origin may lie in the ancient Greek pyrrhic dance, which is thought to have been spread by the Romans throughout the Miranda region.  This was a dance used in teaching and military training in which the performers, lined up in two rows, simulated attack and defence manoeuvres, using sticks as weapons as they moved to the sound of a flute.  According to Antonio Maria Mourinho, this dance is common to other regions on the Iberian Peninsula and incorporates traditions and military presentations that have developed indigenously.

Accompanied by three musical (bagpipe, snare drum and bass drum), the eight dancers in the group have the role of guides or foot soldiers, either left or right, depending on their position.  They wear woollen socks, white skirts with scarves hanging from the waist, white linen shirts, sackcloth waistcoats and hats decorated with ribbons and/or flowers, and the choreographies they perform are known as Ihacos.

The Pauliteiros de Miranda are mostly located throughout the various parishes of the municipality of Miranda do Douro, but there are groups based outside the area, as well as oooutside the country, which also take the name Pauliteiros de Miranda.  There are groups formed specifically by certain age groups and currently there are also some groups formed exclusively by women.

Note: The text on the Pauliteiros de Miranda is written by Alberto A. Araujo Fernandes, Master in the Cultural Heritage of Miranda