International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanities

ISSN 2277 – 9809 (online) ISSN 2348 - 9359 (Print)

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Shri Param Hans Education & Research Foundation Trust

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IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)

GENESIS OF MANIPURI DANCE: APERSPECTIVE

Pukhrambam Lilabati Guest Lecturer in the Department of Dance, University. Email:[email protected] Contact: 08974543711

Abstract: The current study attempted to trace the development of the Manipuri Dance from a historical perspective. The origin of Manipuri Dance which is interwoven by various social and cultural values can be traced back to early period of history which again had linked to mythology of excellent metaphysical stories. Further, the paper also discusses on the role of artists. It is to be noted that when artists only in accordance with their benefactors and for earning income only in business motives, it is an unruly act of defaming the innate values of the art. Just to reap the rightmost fruits of any art, the artist has the responsibility of obeying the required qualities of being a true artist. An artist has to know the inner beauty that only refined persons can feel of the particular art and for dance it is the first and foremost task of any dancer. With the understanding of the underlying intrinsic value of the art, an artist then can begin to learn vibrant facets of the art by keeping in touch with the teachers who can impart them the in-depth education of the particular art. Next to it, the artist is to begin with his/her strong will power to take up stern practice by applying best of his/her knowledge earned. Keywords:Artist,Dance,King,Manipuri, Raas.

Manipur though being a small state in the North-East , can be taken today as one abode of Art and Culture. As small independent kingdom, and was being called by different names, in its historic discourses, Manipur represented a civilization of South-East Asia and not only its powerful Manipuri Levy which was strengthened by the use of indigenous weapon called ‘Arambai’, was widely recognized, for consolidation and expansion of the kingdom, the state is known for its unique martial arts called ‘Thang-Ta’. Besides this, Manipur is emerging today as a small sports capital of India and the energetic players of the state are continuously bringing glory to the nation. The world famous ‘Polo’ locally known as ‘SagolKangjei’ was originated from Manipur in 3500 BC (Guinness Book of World Records, 1997) and many other indigenous games of intrinsic values such as ‘Kang’,‘YubiLakpi’ (a type of rugby with coconut as for the oval), ‘Mukna’ (a type of wrestling), and ‘Sarit-Sara’ (similitude to martial arts) are but highly

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 176 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print) acclaimed games of the state. All these parts of cultural and social activities have been continuously interacting with various forms of dance which it has carved a special niche in the history. Manipur is regarded as a place of many colorful festivals of associating dances of varied facets.

The origin of Manipuri Dance which is interwoven by various social and cultural values can be traced back to early period of history which again had linked to mythology of excellent metaphysical stories. To cite an example, in the early part of cosmological interaction, AtiyaKuruSidaba (the supreme God) instructed God Ashiba to form the Universe and its practical works were continually disturbed by his brother KonjinTuthokpa to the condition that the formation of the Universe was almost impossible without controlling KonjinTuthokpa. At last AtiyaKuruSida, the supreme God made the goddess Mitlu Leima to take the role of Nongthang Leima (a beautiful angel) to play the character of romantic affairs being endowed with flirtatious movements and elocution. Thus, KonjinTuthokpa was controlled and formation of the Universe had been completed.

Another myth was that of PhankhongKoiba (revolving round the throne of the Supreme God) at which the almighty promised to his two sons LainingthouSanamahi, the elder and Pakhangba, the younger for offering the throne to rule the Universe to the one who could move three time round the earth and report to Him first. Sanamahiwent out for the same task and his younger brother being in his tender age was helplessly crying but at the whispering advice of his mother he instead walking round the earth, moved three times around his father’s cozy cot and reported to his father. The almighty could do nothing but give the throne toPakhangba. After tiresome but successful walking three times around the world, Sanamahi came to report to his father. He was ferociously angry to see his younger brother Pakhangba to occupying the throne without performing the real task and decided to break the earth. When any means were in futile to console him, the seven angels (Lai NurabiTaret) came out hand in hand, and danced around the Sanamahi, so impressively until he was completely kept under control. Many other similar myths are still flourished to exemplify the origin of Manipuri dance.

The valley of Manipur is constantly exposed to the currents and cross currents of Indian religious expressions and the fascinating search for the discovery of the rich cultural heritage of Manipur in the life style of the indo mongoloid groups of people through a few centuries still

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 177 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print) continues. The small valley and the adjoining hills have been home of many tribes and groups of people. Among these are those known by the generic terms Nagas, Maos, Tangkhuls, Kabuis,etc. Besides there is a whole group of people known by another generic term called Kukis. Other tribes and groups of people with different ethnic individuality are known to the region. In the valley are the Meiteis.

Historians are still to decide when the settlement took place in the Manipuri civilization began taking shape on the Koubru peak which lays north-west of the Manipur valley. It must have several years ago that the first human settlement took place on the Koubru peak and seeds were sown for the unique pattern of culture which came to be known as Manipuri culture. The first king who ruled the kingdom mentioned in recorded history of Manipur was NongdaLeirenPakhangba (33-154 A.D.) the founding of the Ningthouja principality and Pakhangba’s accession to the throne of Manipur in 33 A.D. was a great landmark in the history of Manipur. TheMeiteiswere divided into seven clans called salais or yeksalaiviz; Khuman, Luwang, Mangang, Ningthouja,Moirang,SarangLeisangthem, and KhabaNganba.

Pakhangba’smain contribution was the founding of a powerful and stable principality. The term ‘meitei’was originally used to identify the Ningthouja clan alone. It has now run as a common surname for all the clans under their sway. Pakhangbaphysically consolidated the principalities under one entity and brought them under one administration. The present day Manipur is the results of this consolidate. The beginning of the history of Manipur, culture and religion were inseparably interlinked. Dance and music formed important parts of Manipuri religious festivals and their development was through the religious festivals.

Art and culture in Manipur are not merely entertainment or decoration but they became a part of life and apart from happiness and merry making are significant facets of Lai- Haraoba(Pleasing of the Gods). It has every image right from the beginning to the end of human span i.e. birth, lifetime and the death. In short, Lai-Haraoba is the foundation of every internal philosophy of creation. Lai-Haraoba rite is performed to imitate the play of god. In usual times, god is in the state of quiescence and by enticing to bring him into a state of activity from water in the rite. The Meitei system may be characterized as henotheism distinct different from region to region, or from clan to clan as the chief deity of the universe without interfering at all with the claims of any other gods. The same oration hymns and the palms are used on every occasion of

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 178 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print) sacrifice without regard to which the particular god is being addressed. From which we may infer that the‘Umang Lais’ (or sylvan gods) which etymologically means ‘deity of the wood’ (umang – forest, lai- deity, a form of worship and prayer associated closely with the life of people). This expressions of art as a spiritual history of a people is to be seen in the dances and various others leelas and festivals which exhibit clearly the great spiritual forces which are the foundations of Manipuri culture.

Historically speaking entered the 15th century in the region of King Kyamba who started worshiping Lord . The immigration of and other people from the rest of India was also stared. They came with their languages, customs, manners, beliefs, religions and books. This in turn, had ushered in a new dimension to Manipuri culture. In the reign of King Khagemba(1467-1508) (E. Nilakanta Singh, 1997) Agroup of singers who called themselves bangadeshpala(aribapala) made their presence felt. King Charairongba (1697-1709) was initiated to the Ramandi cult and began to assume importance as the state religion. A powerful kingand an able administrator, King GaribNiwaz @ Pamheiba(1709-1748) came under the influence of the Ramanandi cultandthe worship of Lord and was introduced. Under order, the entire and a small portion of the were adopted into Manipuri. He also popularized the BhagavatGitain Manipur by taking the original manuscripts from . He founded an image of Hanuman and also of Ram and .

The crowing point, however, was reached in the reign of RajashriBhagyachandra (1764- 1798), the son of GaribNiwaz.He followed his father and became a disciple of Narottam Das of Bengal. The origins of many of the traditions of music and dance of sankirtana and of raas are attributed to the genius of this king. It was with him that Bengal ‘goudiyavaishnavism’ in all its manifestation became closely associated with Manipur. He was defeated in battles, was in exile. While in exile, living with the kings of Ahom or independently, his mind and heart turned towards and . Many legends are woven around his life and work but most important amongst these is a legend about his seeking the rasa and the costumes of the raasin a dream.There is more historical truths about his having made his daughter perform the role of Radha in the performances of the raas. Later his daughter renounced royalty and became a devotee of Lord Krishna.

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 179 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)

RajashriBhagyachandrawas a great seer, innovator, and a man endowed with a rare creativity in arts. He heralded a cultural leela and natsankirtana. As renaissance in Manipur by introducing two important cultural forms of Manipur, namely; Raassaid the blending of religion and culture has always been an exclusive trait of the Manipur and when RajashriBhagyachandra promoted the growth of Manipuri culture he did it with a religious programme which suited the Manipuri minds. He was a great king and a great ‘bhakta’. The unique contribution made by him to Manipur history was the effort he made to achieve an almost complete cultural integration in his times and the catalytic work he did to bring all clan cultures in to one beautiful blend which later on came to be known as Manipuri cultural tradition. It was not a mere adoption of a new religion, but a rebirth, a new creation as expressed in distinctive Manipuri way of life in consonance with the creative spirit of the artistic people and their old tradition. This tradition became more and more enriched till it found its great flowering during the reign of King Chandrakirti (1850-86). The traditions of the Krishna cult became even stronger and more popular during the rule of his successor Maharaj Chandrakirti in the 19th century. Singing of the 64 bhaktiraas of Bengal and performance of 64 sections of the sankirtanas in the royal palace was firmly established. There was a search for a new padavalis. Poets and artistes were sent to navadeepa and vrindavan. There was expansion of the music repertoire and refinement of drumming. Alongside was a renewal of the festivals which punctuated the annual life of the people of Manipur.

The reign of Churachand Singh (1891-1941) and King Bodhachandra Singh (1941-1955) saw great steps to modernization and with them, new trends in Manipuri culture for the first time, the whole of Indiawas exposed to the beauty and intricacies of Manipuri culture. It created a new awareness to every Indian for her rich and varied heritage. Some great gurus were closely associated with this new era. They were Guru Amubi, Guru Amudon, Guru Atomba, Guru ThiyamOjaJhulon, and GuruYambemMahabir. Beside these Gurus, several distinguished gurus of Manipuri sankirtana including LaichombaKoireng, KonbrailatpamAbhiram(Ibomcha) Sharma, SagolsemKalidaman, Maibam Ibungohal, ThangjamChaoba had contributed their might also. New experiments and innovations have been carried out without loishang(English deduce=office) control of the tradition. Various organizations and personalities have sprang up and played important roles in the advancement and propagation of Manipuri culture. They have introduced distinctive variation to the Manipuri tradition.

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 180 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)

With the advent of Hinduism in Manipur, new art forms based on traditional Manipuri art, have been sprang up. Natasankirtana and raasleela are most prominent among them. A sankirtana may be divided into two aspects viz., the musical aspect and the cholomaspect. Both aspects have their own respective importance, one is complimentary to the other.there are various types of choloms, and the different varieties of the kartalis. The cholomsare both lasyaand tandava. Those belonging to the feminine group are the choloms of the small symbols, namely, the manjiracholom and those of the tandava type are the kartalacholoms with large cymbals. The dance of the pung which is performed bymen may be said to the highest achievement. The dance may be executed by a solo performer or by a hundred men. The range of sound which can be produced through the pung has to be experienced to be believed. Perhaps, among percussion instruments, there is no other mridanga which can command the same range of communicative sound as the pung. There are other cholom dances too, such as the dholcholom and manjiracholom. Amongst the kartali dances are the clapping items performed only by women known as the nupikhubakishei and by man the nupakhubakeshei.

There are group dances in which a number of interesting group information’s can be seen and the dance is built on clapping of hands at cross rhythms to be basic rhythm played by the accompanying Pung. All the Cholom and the kartalidances are Pure Nritta. There is no Abhinaya, nor is there any song accompaniment and are originally performed in the context of the Rath-yatra. A natasankirtana performance lasts generally from one to five hours at a stretch. There are five major artists in a NataSankirtana performance, viz., Isheihanba (the lead singer), assisted by duhar (the leader of thekartalplayer) and a khnpangba(a helper) along with a major pung player assisted by another pung. Pung (mridanga) has also become an indispensable part of Manipuri Sankirtana and Raas. In any performance of Raas Leelaand Sankirtanapungplayer is a must (Pungyeiba) in Sankirtana and Rasdhari in Raas.

The beauty of Manipuri natasankirtana lies in the fact that it is a new creation patterned on Vaishnavite philosophy, integrated with the traditional beliefs of the land, with a lot of Manipuri folk tunes specially penasheishak(single string fiddle) integrated into it. The Manipuri Thang-Ta (Martial Arts) also contributed immensely to the evolution of the movements of singer and drummers of Manipuri Sankirtana.Great gurus of Manipuri vocal and instrumental music

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 181 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print) under the patronage of great kings of Manipur have left their legacy of scholarship, splendor and beauty as a part of a great cultural heritage.

It is to be noted that when artists only in accordance with their benefactors and for earning income only in business motives, it is an unruly act of defaming the innate values of the art. Just to reap the rightmost fruits of any art, the artist has the responsibility of obeying the required qualities of being a true artist. An artist has to know the inner beauty that only refined persons can feel of the particular art and for dance it is the first and foremost task of any dancer. With the understanding of the underlying intrinsic value of the art, an artist then can begin to learn vibrant facets of the art by keeping in touch with the teachers who can impart them the in- depth education of the particular art. Next to it, the artist is to begin with his/her strong will power to take up stern practice by applying best of his/her knowledge earned. Because without activity no artist can never understand the beauty of any art. All arts are but activities or works which are unfailingly to be manifested and so no artist can last long without true activity or actions. This is the reason why any person who does not possess this quality can never become an artist in the best sense. So, understanding of the value of the art is the essential quality of an artist.

Sense of innovative idea and inventing of new form or technique towards more magnifying of the art is the indispensable duty of an artist.An artist is thus to try to share his/her own contribution in respect of style, form, acting and presentation etc. Conveying the strong feeling of or on a particular role to play, an artist must have the quality to enchant the hearts of the audience with his/her performance. The very art form which he/he engages at must being out the image of social, cultural and other values of the targeting society. Any kind of performance having irrelevancy to the present atmosphere or trend of the society will definitely fail to win people’s appreciation the sole object of being an artist in the society. Habitual negligence in such essential areas will do nothing but defaming the very values of the art. So, struggling to show off the best of the values of any art and presenting them to the audience at their satisfaction is the duty of an artist. The quality of an art and its fragrant contents shall interpret the value of the art. Thus, an artist when he can interweave his quality performance and emotional ingredients of the audience and streamlining both on the same way, can definitely set himself as the best example of an artist. An artist never part away from the art as parts of human body does and so it is rightly

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 182 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 6 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print) said that an artist holds the reins of the art. Art is what an artist does and without artists the art can no longer exist. It is so the relationship between an artist and the art is what the thread has with its kite in the sky. Existence is what their togetherness is and non-existence is what their separation (i.e. between art and artist).

References:

 Devi, Ksh. Thouranisabi. KhubakEsheiSheishakSheireng. (in Manipuri). Manipur: Self Publication, 2011, July.  Devi, Ksh. Thouranisabi. Raas MakhalAmasungNungeeMashak(in Manipuri). Manipur: Self Publication, 2006.  Devi, Th. Brindasabi. Manipuri GouraLeela. (in Manipuri). Nambol, Manipur: Prospective Repertory Theatre. 2008, July.  Devi, Th. Brindasabi. Manipuri GostaLeela. (in Manipuri). Nambol, Manipur: Prospective Repertory Theatre.  Devi, Th. Brindasabi. Manipuri UdukholLeela. (in Manipuri). Thangmeiband, Manipur: Binda Publication. 2011.  Devi, Jamini. SijaLaioibiAmasungMaharas (in Manipuri). Sagolband, Tera Bazar, Manipur: Raipravina Brothers. 2005, Dec.  Doshi, Sarju. (ed.) Dances of Manipur the Classical Traditional.  Ibomcha, Haobam. The Pre World War II form of RasLeela.  Sharma, G. Surchand. Meitei JagoiAnisuba. (in Manipuri).  Sharma, Ph. Iboton. Meitei JagoiPhijetLeiteng. (in Manipuri).  Singh, E. Nilakanta. Manipuri Dance. Omsons Publications. 1997.  Singh, M. Amubi. Manipuri Jagoi Rasa. (in Manipuri).  Singh, Ph. Iboton Singh. Manipuri RasAmasungAtei Krishna Leelasing. (in Manipuri). Manipur: Self Publication. 2005, June.  Singh Nabinchandra R.K. KangleiHaraorol (in Manipuri). Manipur: Self Publication: 2009.  Singh, ThingbaijamBabu. Maharas. (in Manipuri).  Vatsayan, . . Publication Divisions, Ministry of information and broadcasting, Government of India. 1974.

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