Sua Geet refers to songs sung and performed by women in Chhattisgarh celebrating the time of harvest. Women sing songs using the metaphor of the parrot (Sua) to symbolise their inner worlds. This was a tradition largely performed by Gond adivasis earlier, but is now popular across communities in Chhattisgarh, and seen to represent a regional performative form.
Post Diwali, women from Chhattisgarh begin singing these songs and continue doing so for two months. They sing in a circle, at the center of which is usually placed a basket carrying harvested grain and a wooden figure of a parrot. The songs are sung to the beat of clapping of hands, unaccompanied by any instruments. Groups of women visit homes of landowning families and collect harvest grains. The collected grains are cooked for a community feast. The money often is used for the ritual of Gaura, which celebrates the wedding of Shiva Parvati.
This module presents the Sua Nach as it is performed in the plains of Chhattisgarh, in the districts of Sarguja and Raipur.
This content has been created as part of a project commissioned by the Directorate of Culture and archaeology, Government of Chhattisgarh to document the cultural and natural heritage of the state of Chhattisgarh.
