Butta Bommalu, also known as the dance of masks, is a typical folk dance form of
West and
East Godavari districts of
Andhra Pradesh. Butta Bommalu means basket puppets. It is a kind of dumb dance, which is performed by a team of not less than ten members consisting of dancers, musicians, an instructor and a troupe leader. The basket toys used in the dance are made of bamboo, tamarind seed paste, paper, wood husk, dry grass and cow dung. The outer structure is painted suitably and a person enters into the inner part and dances to the rhythms of
dappu (a percussion instrument). The dolls of
Lord Shiva and
Parvati,
Vishnu and
Lakshmi,
Garuda and
Hanuman, Radha and Krishna are very common in the dance. The dance is performed in festive gatherings, car festivals, marriage ceremonies and
Navratri celebrations.
