Manipuri (dance)

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Rasa lila in the Manipuri dance style

The Manipuri dance is one of the classical Indian dance forms . It originated in Manipur , a state in northeast India on the border with Myanmar , in the early 15th century .

The dance

A Manipuri dancer in traditional Krishna clothing.

Since Manipur is surrounded by mountains and geographically remote, the dance form was able to develop its own specific aesthetics, characteristics, conventions and ethics. The traditional Manipuri dance style contains graceful, soulful and graceful movements. The aim is to make movements that are rounded and avoid movements that are jerky or that form sharp edges or straight lines. This is precisely what makes the Manipuri dance appear so wavy and smooth. The movements of the body and feet, as well as the facial expressions in Manipuri dance, are subtle and strive for devotion and grace.

The foot movements are made visible as part of a whole body movement. Manipuri dancers do not wear ankle bells to accentuate the blows they perform with their feet - unlike other classical Indian dances. Your feet never hit the ground hard either. The toes of the feet are placed on the ground first - even with energetic steps. The ankles and knees absorb the vibrations. In the case of rhythmic accents, the dancers' feet are not lifted or put on at exactly the same moment, but rather shortly before or after, in order to express these rhythmic accents as effectively as possible.

Musical accompaniment

The dancers are musically accompanied by pung (drum), pena (single-string fiddle), kartal ( cymbal ), bansi (bamboo flute), a harmonium and singers. In the dance style Pung cholom , double-cone drums ( pung ) and in the style Khartal cholom cymbals ( kartal ) are integrated into the performances. The drummers are always male. After mastering the instrument, they will learn how to dance with it.

Song lyrics

The song texts in Manipuri dance are often borrowed from classical poetry - by Jayadeva , Vidyapati , Chandidas , Govindadas or Gyandas and can be in Sanskrit , Maithili , Braj-Bhakha or other languages.

Manipuri dance and Hinduism

Manipuri dance

The Manipuri dance is purely religious . Its goal is a spiritual experience. An important topic is the worship of Krishna and his consort and lover Radha ( Hindu forms of the divine) - especially during Ras lila .

Dance is not only the medium of worship and joy as well as a gateway to the divine, but also an indispensable part of all socio-cultural ceremonies . From a religious and artistic point of view, the classical form of the Manipuri dance is considered to be one of the simplest, most humble, softest and gentlest as well as most expressive dances in the world.

Dances in the Manipur culture

To this day, the Manipur culture maintains very old, ritual-based dances and folk dances as well as the classical Manipuri dance style that emerged later. Among the classic categories is Ras Lila - a highly developed dance drama by Vaishnava Padavali , which goes back to Bengali poets and gurus from Manipur. It is considered to be the highest expression of the artistic genius, devotion and goodness of the Manipur culture.

history

Manipuri dancer
Manipuri dancer

Early period

The development of music and dance for the people of Manipur took place through religious festivals and everyday activities. According to legend, the indigenous people of the Manipur Valley were dance luminaries. This is mentioned by Gandharva in the Indian national epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata .

The inscription on a copper plaque attributes King Khuoyi Tompok (approx. 2nd century AD) to the introduction of drums and cymbals in the Manipuri dance. However, it is unlikely that the style of the time corresponds to the current form, as Krishna Bhakti was not introduced into the dance until the 15th century AD .

Maharajah Ching-Thang Khomba (1748–1799 AD) established the dance style and created three of the five variants of the Ras lilas : Maha Ras , Basanta Ras and Kunja Ras , which were used during his reign in the Sri Sri Govindaji Temple in Imphal were listed. He is also the creator of the Achouba-Bhangi-Pareng dance and an elaborate costume ( Kumil ) as well as the author of an important text ( Govindasangeet Lila Vilasa ), which describes in detail the basics of the dance.

Maharajah Gambhir Singh (1788–1834 AD) created two parengs of the Tandava type: Goshtha Bhangi Pareng and Goshtha Vrindaban Pareng . Maharaja Chandra Kirti Singh , who ruled from 1849 to 1886 AD, was a gifted drummer and composed at least 64 pung choloms (drum dances ) as well as two parengs of the Lasya type: Vrindaban Bhangi Pareng and Khrumba Bhangi Pareng . The creation of Nitya Ras is also ascribed to him.

20th century

The Manipuri dance was made popular outside the Manipur region by the Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore . In 1919 he saw the dance composition Goshtha Lila in Sylhet (today: Bangladesh ). This impressed him so much that he invited Guru Budhimantra Singh to Shantiniketan to teach at his Visva-Bharati University . In 1926 Guru Naba Kumar also joined the faculty to teach Ras lila . Other celebrated gurus such as Senarik Singh Rajkumar, Nileshwar Mukherji and Atomba Singh were also invited to teach here and helped Tagore with some of the choreographies of his dance dramas.

Guru Naba Kumar went to Ahmedabad in 1928 to teach the Manipuri dance. Soon after, Guru Bipin Singh made the dance known in Mumbai . Among his students the best known were the Jhaveri sisters Nayana, Suverna, Darshana and Ranjana.

literature

  • Rajkumar Singhajit Singh: Manipuri . ( Dances of India series ) Wisdom Tree, New Delhi 2009, ISBN 81-86685-15-4
  • Saryu Doshi: Dances of Manipur: the classical tradition . Marg Publications, 1989, ISBN 8185026092 .

Individual evidence

  1. Manipuri Dance on manipuri.20m.com (English) ( Memento from March 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. Singha, R. and Massey R. (1967): Indian Dances, Their History and Growth , Faber and Faber, London, pp. 175-177
  3. Singha, R. and Massey R. (1967): Indian Dances, Their History and Growth , Faber and Faber, London, p. 208
  4. Singha, R. and Massey R. (1967): Indian Dances, Their History and Growth , Faber and Faber, London, p. 178

Web links

Commons : Manipuri dance  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files