Manipuri - The Repertoire
The repertoire of Manipuri dances can be divided into three or four broad
categories. This would not include the whole group of dances which one
would call tribal or folk. The first group would comprise the pre-Vaishnav
dance forms or dance rituals. Closely related to this group would be the Thang
or the martial ritual dancers of Manipur, all these belong to pre-Vaishnav state
of Manipuri culture.
The second group would constitute the dance and the dance music sections of the various
jatras in Manipur. The Holi Pala, the Khumbak Ishei and other numbers today
presented on the stage are part and parcel of these seasonal festivities.
The third group would constitute the different types of Sankirtana traditions. Part and parcel of these Sankirtana was the group dancing, the various types
of walking or group forms executed either through clapping or through the
playing of small cymbals called Manjira or large cymbals called Kartala.
A fourth group may be considered for the ballad forms which have both a vocal
as also a miming aspect to them. Among these would be the presentation through
solo duet rendering, in the forms known as the Wariliba, the Haiba Thiba
etc.
A most important part of Manipuri repertoire is recognised by the
generic term Jagoi. At the artistic level, the Jagoi can be considered as the main
type of art dance. Jagoi represents those sections of music and dance from
amongst the Sankirtanas which could be presented outside the ritual parameters. The
traditional gurus of Manipur have divided the Jagoi into several sub-categories
such as the Pungalola Jagoi, the Motkanba Jagoi and just Lila. There is a
further sub-division which is made by adding the adjectives Nupa or Nupi - Nupa
standing for man and Nupi for woman. Amongst the further divisions are the
Cholam, the Kartala Cholam, the Mridang Cholam, the dance of the Ghosta
lila (also called the Shanshenba Jagoi) and the Spear dances.
Rasleelas
and Sankirtans are the highly developed dance-forms revealing the high aesthetic
religious feeling of the people of Manipur. Rasleelas go on for 8 to 10 hours in
the temple courtyard from dusk to dawn. The religious people of Manipur shed
tears of joy experiencing it as the real spirit of the Lord. All the technical
elements mentioned in the Sangeet Shastras are found in Rasleelas, such as
Nritta (Pure Dance), Nritya (Interpretative dance) and Natya (Theme expressed through
four kinds of Abhinaya). In Sankirtan, male dancers with kartal and Mridang wear white dhotis and turban
creating a serene and dignified atmosphere. In the festival dances,
women wear the hand-woven and embroidered Phanek with strips and white thin
scarf.
