Sattriya from Temple Ritual to Art

PAPER 6 DANCE IN INDIA TODAY, DANCE-DRAMAS, CREATIVITY WITHIN THE CLASSICAL FORMS, INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE IN DIASPORA (USA, UK, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC.) MODULE 13 THE JOURNEY OF SATTRIYA FROM TEMPLE RITUAL TO ART Most of Sattriya’s dance numbers whether taken from the register of dramas or stand-alone numbers, were almost all part of the annual ritual practices in the sattra / सत्रा, because they were performed either as part of daily services or were part of the occasional services that marked the memorial calendar of the sattras. Yet the cultural life of the sattras is marked by two very strong features. The first is that there is a large variety of cultural practices and patterns of cultural specializations that can be seen across the board in the 500 plus sattras that continue today. The second is that there is a definite link between cultural practice, production and patronage. This is essential in understanding the journey of Sattriya from Ritual to Art. The monolithic conception of the Neo Vaishnav Bhakti faith of Srimant Sankaradeva / शंकरदेव called the Ekasaran Naam Dharam / एकासरण नाम धरम faith, and variations its cultural practices ceased with the death of the founder Sankaradeva in 1568. Immediately the sattras founded by one of his significant disciples broke way on caste grounds and formed the Brahma Samhati. Here idol worship prevailed, and as these were sattras that were later to have a close 1 association with the Ahom court, artistry oriented to court preferences grew and flourished. For instance, some examples of Court oriented dances included the Apsara dance unique to the Auniati Sattra. As the Ahom / अहोम Kings when they adopted Hinduism, in the reinvention of their back story saw themselves as directly descendent from Lord India this was an astute choice to please the powers that be. Another such dance was the Natua dance / नटुआ unique to the Dakhinpat Sattra. Some variant of the Natua dance was also called the Hajoliya dance / हजोलऱया. Hajo was once a great center of dance for the Assamese Devadasi. In these Brahma samhati sattras, many new works, written by sattradhikars / सत्त्त्राधधकार over the centuries, went beyond the template created by Srimant Sankaradeva and that is how the many Raas dances, grew in these crucibles. In the Sankaradeva scheme, Raas Krida dances had a limited scope. Patronage drove the creation of dances, restricted to the Brahma samhati sattras / ब्रम सम्हहति सत्रा like “Patchasalam” or Badshah Salam, and Pasuji, which drew its name from the main accompanying instrument, the Pakhawaj, which was popular in the Ahom court, an import from the Mughal Durbar. These alignments in consonance with court preferences ensured grants of lands and wealth. Even today Auniati / औतनयिी and Dakhipat / दखिऩाि, are the most materially rich among all sattras. 2 After the death of Madhabadeva in 1595, the non-Brahmin sattras split into three groups. The first was the Purusha Samhati sattras / ऩु셁ष संहति सत्त्िरा , or those established by the family of Mahapurush Sankaradeva. These sattras were grahast or family sattras and lived the life that the founder had recommended. They grew to have a mastery over the scribal culture of the sattras and were renowned for their strong Bhaona presentations. The group of sattras, established by Madhavadeva and his disciples, was known as the Nika Samhati sattras / तनक संहति सत्त्िरा . They mostly followed the life style lived by their preceptor and are mostly of the celibate order. Madhavadeva wrote many plays. He also created an impressive corpus of dance practices in the sattras. Thus the Nika Samhati sattras, of which the Kamlabari group of sattras is a wonderful example, practice the plays of Sankardeva, Madhavadeva and the later sattradhikars, and the dance practices introduced by Madhavadeva as well. It offers one of the finest conglomerates of cultural practices in the sattra tradition. The last samhati / संहति that was created at the point of the split was the Kala Samhati, who gave refuge in its sattras to the lowest in the social order. Thus these sattras were not rich but numerically strong. Their uniqueness was in drumming practices and the famous Mridangiya Baaj / लिदंगीय बाज is part of their cultural patrimony. It is important to point out at this stage that all sattras had people of all castes and classes. The caste hierarchy would be reflected mostly in leadership traditions, and the predominance of the numbers, as in the case of the Kala Samhati. It may be pertinent to mention here 3 that some of the leading figures in Ahom history towards the last days of the Ahom rule hailed from the Kala Samhati sattras. The trend of specialization and the political links with the Ahom / अहोम and Koch / कोच courts, the two important power centers in the region, was a dominant force right from the time of Sankaradeva time. Patronage from the Koch court helped the faith to survive in the early days when it was being hounded by the Ahoms. Patronage from the Ahom court from the middle of the 17th Century, allowed the sattras to flourish. The Rajaghariya Chalis / राजघरीय चाऱी were specifically created for the courts. The many grants that the sattras received allowed them the leisure to continue their artistic pursuits. In the court chronicles- the Buranjais, especially the Tungkhungia Buranji there are many references to the performances of Bhaonas / भोना by the sattras in the courts. There are also some references to the commissioning of plays by Sattra Mahantas / सत्त्िरा महंि in Sanskrit, which was part of the ancient Sanskrit knowing nobility profile that the Ahom’s aspired for and through their patronage policy, attempted to portray. With the coming of the British there were no disruptions to the practice. In fact the British supported the sattras as they found the organization of the sattras running at the ground level useful to incorporate into its scheme of governance. This way they had to deal with the Sattra leadership yet manage to impact a large number of Assamese. It also looked at the large land holdings of the Sattras covetously, as it could contribute to the “Gardenisation” of Assam, a 4 seminal plank of their economic policy towards Assam, which was seen essentially as a provider of tea and of timber. With respect to the cultural practices of the sattras, the British period saw three major trends coming into being. The first was that the aural scape of the sattras changed. The humble kali / काऱी and the evocative serenda / सेरᴂडा were often replaced by the Violin and Harmonium. Secondly, costumes thereafter included the use of ‘western’ cloths like velvet, which had also been adopted by the Jatra parties of Bengal. There were many more changes as well. The most important change was the fact that once Bengali was imposed on Assam as the official language, while some Sattras adopted it as a part of the scribal culture, most responded by creating a large trove of Maitri Bhashar Natakas / मैत्री भा�कर नाटक, written in Assamese. Pertinent it is to note that the most important crucibles for the birth of the Assamese language which evolved as an essential lingua franca to help communication between people of different ethnicities, who found their spiritual refuge in the sattras, were the sattras themselves. While the sattras were important centres of promoting the vernacular language, they also had some passing association with Sanskrit that found its way in a very small number of compositions of Sankaradeva. Importantly, they were the exclusive centers for the use of Brajavali, the artificial language created by Sankaradeva in his Ankiya Nats. Brajavali / ब्रजावऱी as its name suggests was a mixture of Braj Bhasha, Maithili, Hindi, Assamese and other elements. 5 Even today the Maitri Bhashar Natakas / मैत्री भाषार नाटक are extremely popular, and though the subjects remain the same, with the themes taken mostly from mythology, the Maitri Bhashar Natakas are more reflective of the Assamese way of life. For instance, in a Matri Bhashar Nataka, the heroine would be depicted in a mekhala chadar / मेिऱा चादर, rather than a ghuri / घुरी. Finally, as the ill effects of British rule came to be felt, many bhaonas, written in Assamese moved away from the epic themes and focused on social issues like the ill effects of opium consumption that had emaciated Assamese society. Today, the annual Raas Utsav can be seen as a theater of change and flexibility, and reflects the progressive face of the sattras. In the Dakhinpat Sattra / दखिंऩाि सत्त्िरा, it is still performed even today as a puja in the naam ghar / नाम घर . In other sattras including at Garamur Sattra / गारामुर सत्त्िरा , it has moved on to the public platform, where it is performed by males and females, many of whom may not belong to the sattra, and some of whom may additionally be non-initiated members of tribal communities. In 1934, Pitambardeva Goswami, Sattradhikar of the Garamur Sattra adapted the Raas Lila of the puja into a play, and this is how this sattra has presented it ever since. Since the 1950s, women have been performing in it as well, and the ‘co-ed’ performance at Garamur Sattra is well known. It was during the displacements caused by the Mayamariya Rebellion and the Burmese invasions that another interesting tradition of the 6 sattra arts became popular. It was called by various names: Hejeriya Bhaona / हेजेररय भोना (from Hazaar or thousand, referring to a thousand khels that stood for 4000 Paiks or men) or Barechaheriya Bahona / बारेचाहेररया भोना for the collective bhaona for a large numbers of the laity, literally the laity of twelve (bare) hamlet or sahar, or Bara Kheliya Bhaona / िेऱीया भोना (referring to the group of khels, the collective of Paiks).

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