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A Flower on Lofty Heights: The Role of Women and Dance in Manipur
| Article
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19309 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1991 |
2,979 Words |
| Author
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Lalit Gambhir
Lalit Gambhir is a free-lance photojournalist affiliated with
The World & I Photo Agency. Based in New Delhi, he engaged in
field research in Manipur during September and October 1990. |
To the outside world, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur is a land made famous by the dancing and weaving done by its women. Manipuri women are thought of as gracious tendrils in the breeze, rhythmically swaying, or as retiring housewives, leisurely tucking at their looms. But they are much more.
The Manipuri (or Meithei, as the people call themselves) woman is like the legendary and contemporary heroine. She can be as firm a ruler, and as good or as disloyal a subject, as circumstances deem necessary. For example, when political struggles in the state during this century assumed a popular character, it was inevitable that women would ferment the dough with the yeast of their militancy. Since 1891, there have been various upheavals in the valley lowlands of the mountainous state. Two of the most significant, known in Manipur as Women's War I and II, took place in 1904 and 1939-40 and are now rightly considered as watershed moments in Manipur's fight for independence--from Burmese encroachments--and democracy.
But powerful as Manipuri women are, they are not as renowned as classical Manipuri dance, which was introduced to the country as a whole through the work of Rabindranath Tagore in 1917. Indeed, legends explain that the very creation or discovery of Manipur resulted from the delight the gods took in dancing. One legend claims that it was Shiva--the mythological Master Creator of the Universe--and his wife, Parvati, who first discovered the country. According to this story, the divine couple, longing for some diversion, descended on a sequestered spot and disported themselves in dancing. The snake god Anantha was attracted to the scene and the dance went on for many days and nights. During this time, the gem on the hood of the snake god lit up the supernatural event, revealing an entire country, which the gods called Manipur--literally, the "Land of the Gem."
The gods were not enchanted by this land without reason. Few areas of the world can match Manipur for the rich diversity of its population, culture, and scenic panorama. But it is the heritage of dance that is Manipur's most sublime gift. And its people, particularly its remarkable women, are custodians of this inheritance from the divine.
The business of life
Manipuri women differ greatly from their sisters in the rest of India, in both their outlook and work production. This fact is the result of the state's history, which records the successions of the daughters
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