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Manipuri
Dance
An
introduction to Classical Manipuri Dance Forms
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For manipuris, dance has
been inextricably woven into their pattern of life. In the 15th century Ad, Khamba, a prince of
the previously routed
Khumal Royel family ( probably a
Bishnupriya ) fell in love with Thoibi - a princess of the Morang
clan ( probably a Meithei ). The unoin have been
to the polotical
advantage of both Khumals and Moirangs ; but the moirang chief resisted on
purely personal grounds. The result was tragic not
only for the young
lovers but also for the feuding tribes of Manipur.
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History of
Manipur and Manipuri Dance
In the Ashwamedha Parba of the Mahabharata, it is referred Manipur a
splendidly beautiful, the people are well cultured and religious minded
exclusively attached to Lord Vasudeva Krishna who is always in their thought.
The people are simple and happy. They speak sweet words. The striking aspect
of Manipur, however, is its breath taking scenic beauty. Imphal, the capital
city, is surrounding by hills a Nongmaijing or Mahendra Parabata in the east
and Longol in the north.
In the Mahabharata, Manipur is mentioned as the meeting place of Arjuna, the
third pandava and Chitrangada, the crown Princess of Manipur. Besides, there
are numerous genealogy prevailing in Manipur relating the lands as reclaimed
from water by Lord Siva’s Trisul, while another lined makes it the place
illuminated by the jewel on the crown of Shesh Nag for Lord Shiva and Goddess
Parvati to play Rasleela after sunset. Spurred by the example of Lord Krishna
and Srimati Radhika immersed in Rasleela, their privacy guaranteed by Lord
Siva as the gatekeeper, Goddess Parvati had requested Lord Siva dance with
her. The myth and lore of Manipur refers to the supreme deity or Dau Seidaba
rubbing hands to create from the Gods and Goddesses the human being to people
the new land Manipur. The gandharvas provided
music, the nagdeva, with his mani or gem, flooded the place with
light. And it is this valley that came to be known as Manipur. Back
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Classical
Manipuri Dance Forms
- Manipur presents a mosaic of traditions and
cultural patterns. Particularly, it is world famous for the Manipuri style
of classical dance, very much distinct from other Indian dance forms. The
Manipuri school of dancing whether folk, classical or modern, is
devotional in nature . The dances of the people have a high artistic and
aesthetic value.The folk dances of people captivate the beholders
with their exotic costumes and simple but graceful rhythm.Their folklore
is quite rich in quality. The dances are both ritualistic and
recreational, religious and temporal. The ritual dances are performed at a
particular rite or ceremony or sacrifice and these dances naturally have a
spiritual and religious basis. The dances have a high artistic and
aesthetic value. Back
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Ras lila depicts
love of Krishna and Radha and
the Gopies' devotion to the Lord
- Ras Lila
The Ras lila, the epitome of Manipuri
classical dance is inter-woven through the celestial and eternal love
of Radha and Krishna as has been described in the Hindu scriptures and
reveals the sublime and transcendental love of Krishna and Radha and
the Gopies' devotion to the Lord. It is generally performed in an
enclosure in front of the temple throughout the night and watched with
a deep sense of devotion. Ras performances are seasonal and varied and
performed at the temple of Shree Shree Govindajee in Imphal on the
nights of Basanta Purnima, Sarada Purnima and Kartik Purnima and at
local temples later. As to the composition, the performance is a
combination of solo, duet and group dances. This highly stylised form
of dance has sublimity, subtlety and grace. The richness of the
costumes gives lustre to the beauty of the art.The Ras dances
are lyrical and have extremely graceful and sinuous movements coupled
with light and soft steps, in which the heel practically never touches
the ground.
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Gostha Lila
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- Another dance that has stemmed from
the Vishnu Cult is the Goshta Lila, also known as the Sanshenba.
The performers are generally young boys in the age group of four
to five years. Stories detailing Krishna’s childhood pranks are
performed in Goshta Lila. The rendering of these stories
combines divine inspiration with a lively spirit of fun. Back
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Nupa Pala
Nupa Pala which is otherwise known as Kartal Cholom or Cymbal Dance is a
characteristic of the Manipuri style of dance and music. The initial
movements of this dance are soft and serene , gradually gathering momentum.
It is a group performance of male partners, using using cymbals and wearing
snow white ball-shaped large turbans, who sing and dance to the
accompaniment of Mridanga, an ancient classical drum "Pung" as it
is called in Manipuri. The Nupa Pala acts as a prologue to the Ras Lila
dances, besides an independent performance too, in connection with religious
rites.
Sankeertan came
as a logical development of keertan, the system of congregational
singing brought to Manipur by missionaries from Bengal. It involved singing,
dancing and chanting to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals. It did not
take long for the Manipuri community to develop the Sankeertan into
an art of dignity and great intensity. The dance can be performed solo or in
a group. In Kartal Cholom, the dancers strike large metal cymbals
adorned with trailing red tassels. The dance in this form is simpler than
the Poong Cholom. Along with the dance, the cymbals are wielded and
played gracefully.
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Holy is a form of nat sankeertan
with devotional songs
performed both by the male and female performers
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- Pung
Cholom
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- Pung or Manipuri Mridanga is the
soul of Manipuri Sankritana music and Classical Manipuri Dance.
It assumes an important ritual character,
an indispensable part of all social and devotional ceremonies in
Manipur, - the instrument itself becoming an object of veneration.
Pung Cholom is performed as an invocatory number preceding the
Sankirtana and Ras Lila.It is hignly refined classical dance
number characterised by the modulation of sound from soft whisper
to a thunderous climax. There is the interplay of intricate
rhythms and cross rhythms with varying markings of time from the
slow to the quick with graceful and vigorous body movements
leading to ecastic heights.
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- Lai
Haraoba
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- Lai Haraoba means
‘frolic of the gods’. The principal performers are the maibis and
maibas, who are specially selected men and women, chosen by the gods to
honour them. They are considered an embodiment of purity. It is
essentially a ritualistic dance and considered the precursor of Manipuri
as seen today. The Lai Haraoba is still an important living
tradition. To unfold the story of creation, the dancers make use of
certain stylized hand gestures and body movements, but the face remains
blank Back
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Maibi Dance
- During the festival of Lai-Haraoba which is
an annual ritual festival of the Meiteis, the inhabitants of the valley of
Manipur, the Maibis, the priestesses considered to be spritural mediums,
trace through their dances the whole concept of cosmogony of the Meitei
people and describe their way of life. Begining with the process of
creation, they show the construction of houses and various occupations of
the people to sustain themselves. It is a kind of re-living of the way of
life of the past.
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Khamba Thoibi
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In the 15th century Ad, Khamba, a prince of
the previously routed Khumal Royel family ( probably a
Bishnupriya ) fell in love with Thoibi - a princess of the Morang
clan ( probably a Meithei ). The unoin have been to the polotical
advantage of both Khumals and Moirangs ; but the moirang chief resisted on
purely personal grounds. The result was tragic not only for the young
lovers but also for the feuding tribes of Manipur. Khamba Thoibi dance is
a duet of male and female partners, a dance of dedication to the sylvan
deity, Thangjing of Moirang , is the depiction of the dance performed by
Khamba and Thoibi, the hero and heroine of the Moirang episode of the
hoary past. This, with the "Maibi" dance (Priestess dance) , the
"Leima Jagoi" etc. form the "Laiharaoba" dance. The
"Laiharaoba" dance , in many ways, is the fountainhead of the
modern Manipuri dance form.This dance is a part and parcel of Moirang
Lai-Haraoba. It is belived that the legendary hero - Khamba and heroin -
Thoibi danced together before the Lord Thangjing, a celebrated deity of
Moirang, a village in the South-West of Manipur which is known for its
rich cultural traditions, for peace and prosperity of the land.
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- Manipuri
Dance: Artists & Performers
The
most well known performers and teachers are the (late) Guru Bipin Singh,
his wife Kalabati Devi and Guru Singhajeet and his wife Charusheela.Guru
Nileshwar Mukharjeee from Bangladesh and Guru Senarik Rajkumar from India
are well known to manipuri society as with them the new department of
Manipuri Dance was created in the Shantiniketon in the early thirties. The
present noted Manipuri dancers of India and Bangladesh, as well as
international fame are Hanjaba Guru Bipin Singha, Guru Chandrakanta Singha
- Nartanachrya, Guru Nilmadhab Mukharjee, Guru Haricharan singha,
Bibhaboti Devi, Kalabati Devi etc. Most of them have their dancing tours
on the manipuri to England, America, Rassia, Australia, Japan, Germany,
Italy, France, Hongkong, Thailand, Bhutan, Srilanka etc. and earned great
name and fame for their style. Among Non-Manipuri dancers, the names of
Preeti patel, Sruuti Banerjee, Tamanna Rahman.In
Bombay the famous performers and teachers are the Jhaveri sisters -
Nayana,Suverna, Darshana and Ranjana Jahveri. They continue this tradition
at their institution 'Manipuri Nartanalaya'.
LINKS:
Manipuri Dance Links:
http://www.mythinglinks.org/asia~india~dance.html
Complete Manipuri Dance Site in the web:
http://manipuri.20m.com/
Manipuri Culture:
http://manipuri.freehomepage.com
http://manipuri.org/
Other Links of interest:
http://www.webindia123.com/dances/Manipuri/manipuri.htm
http://www.narthaki.com/manipuri/manipuri.htm
India
Times: Manipuri - Mystery And Grace
http://www.connectindia.com/manipuri.htm
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Copyright © 2000,2001,2002 Ashim Kumar
Singha All rights reserved.
Last Revised: May 23,2002
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