Dancing Girl or Sacred Woman?

Dance was indeed part of Indus Valley culture. However, the Mohenjo Daro statue seems to reflect a different societal or spiritual role rather than dance.

Aziz Kingrani

The statue or sculpture of a woman was discovered during the 1926 excavation of Mohenjo Daro, a major city of the Indus Valley Civilization. It was named the Dancing Girl by John Marshall. However, many historians and archaeologists have expressed disagreement with this interpretation. The renowned archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler remarked, “We may not be certain that she was a dancer” (Possehl, 2002: 114).

Some experts argue that John Marshall named her the Dancing Girl because “he thought that she had the air of a semi-impudent nautch girl, hand on hip, beating time to the music with her feet. The name has stuck. But the dancing girl may not have been dancing at all, and even if she was, she may not represent a professional dancer” (Singh, 2008: 162). Raising the question of her identity, Balaji writes, “Who is the person represented by the dancing girl—was she a priestess or courtesan?” (Sadasivan, 2011: 6).

Some scholars believe that the figure might represent a fertility goddess, as she holds a bowl in one hand (Vatsyayan, 1982: 18). Meanwhile, “some archaeologists think that the statue could well be of a queen or some other important woman in the life of Mohenjo Daro, judging by the authority the figure commands” (Gupte, 2011). Other historical accounts refer to her as a temple dancer of Mohenjo Daro (Prasad, 2000: xxiii).

There are numerous references, both direct and indirect, that challenge John Marshall’s interpretation. Based on these scholarly opinions, I also believe that this is not the statue of a dancing girl. Most likely, it is the representation of a sacred woman—possibly a high-ranking figure associated with religious, spiritual, or elite circles.

This debate opens another question: how did archaeologists determine that the figure was a teenager? The posture, with one hand on the hip and the other resting on the thigh, does not clearly indicate a dancing gesture. Furthermore, unless remnants of a temple or a dedicated dance space have been unearthed at Mohenjo Daro, labeling her a temple dancer remains speculative. While dance may have played a role in ritual or social settings, this statue does not explicitly represent dance.

In support of this view, I have discovered a figure of a dancing woman engraved on rock in the Kirthar Range, Sindh, Pakistan—approximately 150 km southwest of Mohenjo Daro. This site also features symbols resembling the Indus script etched into stones, suggesting that dance was indeed part of Indus Valley culture. However, the Mohenjo Daro statue seems to reflect a different societal or spiritual role rather than dance.

Refrences

Gregory L. Possehl, 2002, Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective

Singh, Upinder, 2008, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India

Sadasivan, Balaji, 2011, The Dancing Girl: A History of Early India

Vatsyayan, Kapila, 1982, Dance in Indian Painting

Gupte, Sunila, 2011, The Adventure of the Missing Dancing Girls

Prasad, Kali, 2000, Devadāsī: Dancing Damsel

Read: Journey through Time at Tharro Hill

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Aziz Kingrani, hailing from village Haji Manik Kingrani, Johi, Dadu District, Sindh, Pakistan, is poet, short story writer, playwright and a researcher. He has been contributing in the fields of history and literature. He has served as a professor as well. His 17 books are published in English and Sindhi language.