 The Lotud are well known for their very colourful costumes and their dances, one of which is the "Bakanjar", a war-like dance with a man holding a sword and a shield, originally performed to portray the sword fight and heroic exploits of the headhunting days.In the Indian subcontinent, the sword dance Choliya or Saraon of the Kumaon region of the hills of the Indian state of Uttarakhand started partly due to their long martial tradition and also to give protection to marriage processions.It was also held auspicious and, according to Hindu tradition, warded off evil spirits.