Sacred Dance of India

Author(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 24

Manipuri
Originally, the dance of Manipur, was the dance of Shiva and Parvati The God and Goddess, legends tell us, sought for a beautiful site to perform their 'ras' and found it in the green valley, that is Manipur This dance came to be known as the 'Lai Haroba' and to this day is performed by a certain sect of people, the Meithies There are many other dances amongst the Meithies, who are called the 'Maibas' and 'Maibees' (priests and priestesses), all dedicated to Shiva and Parvati, and one of the most exquisite is 'Khamba Thoibi,' the love story of Khamba and Thoibi, related in the epic story 'Moirang Purba' It tells of the poor boy, Khamba, who fell in love with the Moirang princess, called "Thoibi' She returned his love, but it was not destined that they were ever to be happy together They married after much suffering, and one night, Khamba in order to test Thoibi's love for him, pierced his lance through the thin bamboo screen that lay between his bride's room and his Thoibi took hold of it and flung it back, and it wounded Khamba fatally Thoibi rushed to him too late and, snatching the lance, killed herself The tragedy of the young lovers, Thoibi and Khamba, believed to be the incarnations of Shiva and Parvati, took place during the reign of Raja Loyamba, which was about AD 1074
The 'Lai Haroba' or 'the festival of the Gods' is enacted in the form of a dance-drama, during the months of April and May When the dance festivals in the temples are held, men and women dance together, while a chorus recite and sing the narrative to the accompaniment of horns (singa), mridanga, nagara and dholak, stringed instrument (pena), and esaaj and various cymbals of different sizes
Another ancient dance, which gives insight into the martial nature of the people is 'Astra-Vidya' or war dances with sword and spear, danced during the Durga Puja Festival This dance existed in Manipur from the earliest days, as is evident from an inscription dated A D 154, about a patron of the arts, Raja Khowo Thampak Records also tell us that in AD 707, a group of dancers and musicians from Burma, Assam and Manipur, went as a cultural delegation to China
It was around A D 1714 that a wave of religious fervour swept Manipur, through the influence of a great Vaishnava saint, Goswami Santidas Adhikarı It was Raja Pamheiba who took up the new faith and it had a lasting impact upon the dance
From this upheaval grew the 'Ras' dances that are seen today, the main forms being 'Maharas,' 'Kunjaras,' 'Vasantaras' and 'Nityaras', all depicting the life of Sri Krishna as so vividly described in the Srimad Bhagavata
The lyrical quality, the supple and graceful elements of this form, and the deep devotional lyrics, make the Manipuri dance an expression of the inner longing of the devotee for union with God It was no wonder that the rulers helped its progress and after Bhagya Chandra, came Gambhir Singh and later, Chandra Kirti Singh, each adding new items to the dance In this century Rabindranath Tagore introduced this technique in Santiniketan and in many of his creative dance-dramas, the Manipur tradition was used
Even today, as in all the classical traditions, the Manipuri dancers dance in the ecstasy of the Love of God