Dance Forms of Assam

Introduction

• Assam’s performing traditions bring together dance, music, drama, storytelling and puppetry.
• These arts are closely connected with religious worship, agricultural seasons, community celebrations and everyday life.
• They developed through interaction among different communities, including Bodo, Mising, Tiwa, Deori, Rabha, Hmar, Assamese-speaking and tea-garden communities.
• Performing arts preserve collective memory—the stories, beliefs and experiences passed from one generation to another.
• Important centres of performance include Sattras or Vaishnavite religious institutions, Namghars or community prayer halls, temples, courtyards and village gathering places.

Historical Background

• Assam’s association with music and dance can be traced through the history of ancient Kamarupa.
• Inscriptions, copper-plate grants and religious literature provide evidence of the importance of performance in religious and royal life.
• Texts such as the Kalika Purana discuss religious practices within which music and dance had a place.
• The Devadasi tradition involved women performing ritual services, including dance, in temples.
• From the 15th–16th centuries, Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva gave new importance to devotional music, dance and drama through the Neo-Vaishnavite movement.
• Performances helped communicate religious ideas in forms ordinary people could understand.
• Temple, community and Sattra traditions continued to interact, creating a varied performing heritage.

Ojapali

Meaning and Main Features

• Ojapali combines storytelling, singing, dance, gestures and dramatic expression.
• It is particularly associated with Darrang and other parts of western and central Assam.
• A troupe consists of an Oja, the principal performer, and several Palis, who assist him.
• The Oja leads the narration through song, explanation, facial expressions and hand movements.
• The Palis repeat refrains, support the singing and maintain rhythm.
• Small cymbals called Khutitaal accompany the performance.
• Ojapali makes mythological and religious stories accessible through oral narration and collective performance.

Major Traditions

• Names encountered within the wider tradition include Vyasa Ojapali, Ramayani Ojapali, Durgavari Ojapali and Sattriya Ojapali.
• Sukannani Ojapali is especially associated with Manasa narratives.
• Expressions such as Manasa Sangita and Padma Puranar Gan refer to related narrative-song traditions.
• Some Manasa worship performances are associated with Deodhani ritual dance. Trance is not a feature of every Ojapali performance.
• Ojapali belongs to the cultural environment that helped shape Assam’s later devotional theatre, including Ankiya Naat.

Sattriya Dance

Origin and Religious Purpose

• Sattriya is Assam’s classical dance tradition.
• Its development is closely associated with Srimanta Sankardeva, Madhavdeva and the religious institutions established through the Neo-Vaishnavite movement.
• It expresses the teachings of Ekasarana Nama Dharma, which centres on devotion to one supreme deity, particularly Krishna.
• Sattriya developed within the Sattras, where dance, music and drama formed part of religious practice.
• It was traditionally performed and preserved by male bhakats, or religious devotees.
• Today, women and men perform it in religious settings and on public stages.
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognised Sattriya as a classical dance on 15 November 2000.

Artistic Features

• Sattriya combines rhythmic movement, expressive gestures, storytelling and devotion.
• Its vocabulary can be understood through three terms:

• Texts such as the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and Srihastamuktavali are relevant to discussions of its technique.
• Its practical knowledge is also preserved through teachers, performers and Sattra traditions.
• Two commonly described movement qualities are Paurashik Bhangi, associated with vigorous movement, and Stri Bhangi, associated with graceful movement.
• These qualities are often related to Tandava and Lasya, respectively.

Music, Costume and Ornaments

• Principal accompanying instruments include the khol, taal and flute.
• Mridanga and pakhawaj occur in particular performance traditions; they should not be treated as compulsory instruments for every Sattriya presentation.
• Costumes vary according to the character, dance form and institutional tradition.
• Male costumes may include a dhoti, chadar and paguri, or turban.
• Female costumes commonly include garments such as the ghuri, chadar and kanchi.
• Assamese silk and traditional jewellery contribute to the visual character of performances.

Important Sattriya Forms

• Mati Akhara is primarily a training system, while the other entries refer to performance forms or roles.

Folk Drama and Musical Theatre

Dhuliya Bhaona

• Dhuliya Bhaona is a folk performance combining drumming, dance, acting and entertainment.
• It is performed by Dhuliya groups, whose identity is closely connected with drumming.
• Performances take place during marriages, festivals and community gatherings.
• A troupe may contain around twenty performers, although its size is not fixed.
• Presentations can include mythological episodes, humour and energetic physical movement.
• Drumming and dance may be followed by, or combined with, dramatic enactment.

Khuliya Bhaona

• Khuliya Bhaona, also encountered as Khuliya Bhaoriya, combines music and dramatic storytelling.
• It shares features with Assam’s wider Bhaona and devotional theatre traditions.
• The principal performer or Oja directs the presentation and may carry a whisk.
• Other participants include musicians, drummers, cymbal players and actors.
• Terms used for performers include Bayan, Khuliya and Taliya, although their precise roles may vary.
• Stories commonly come from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Kushan Gan

• Kushan Gan is a musical folk-theatre tradition associated particularly with Goalpara and neighbouring areas.
• Its name is traditionally linked with Kusha, a son of Rama.
• Performances commonly draw on Ramayana narratives.
• The Mul, or principal singer-narrator, leads the troupe.
• A group may contain approximately fifteen or sixteen performers, but numbers vary.
• The Bena, a string instrument, is an important accompaniment.
• The Dowari or Dwari contributes dialogue, humour and interaction with the audience.
• Singing, narration, acting and dance together make the story engaging and understandable.

Bhari Gan

• Bhari Gan is associated especially with the Pati Rabha community of Goalpara and adjoining areas.
• Its repertoire includes Ramayana stories, particularly episodes involving Rama and Ravana, as well as some other epic narratives.
• The principal performer, often called the Mul, leads the singing and narration.
• Supporting performers provide choral responses, instrumental music and dramatic action.
• A distinctive feature is the use of wooden masks for particular characters.
• It preserves community craftsmanship alongside oral storytelling and theatre.

Devadasi Dance Tradition

Nature and Historical Setting

• The Devadasi tradition involved women attached to temples who performed religious services, including dance.
• In Assam, it formed part of a wider environment of Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava worship.

• Shaiva traditions centre on Shiva; Shakta traditions on the Goddess; Vaishnava traditions on Vishnu and his forms.
• Historical discussions refer to inscriptions associated with rulers such as Vanamala Varman and Ratnapala.

Centres and Performance Features

• Some accounts associate temple dance with centres such as Kamakhya, Negheriting, Hayagriva Madhava, Kedareshwara and Sivasagar’s Shiva temples.
• Performances formed part of temple worship and could take place at prescribed times, including morning and evening services.
• Khol and taal, expressive gestures, distinctive ornaments and carefully arranged hairstyles contributed to the presentation.
• Texts such as the Kalika Purana and Yogini Tantra provide context for Assam’s temple and Tantric traditions.

Ahom Connections and Decline

• During the Ahom period, female performers were also known as Natis in particular settings.
• Phuleswari, a queen of Siva Singha, is remembered as having been a temple dancer before entering royal life.
• The tradition declined through changes in patronage, religious institutions and social attitudes.

Bihu Dance

Main Features

• Bihu dance is among the most recognisable expressions of Assamese cultural identity.
• It is especially associated with Rongali or Bohag Bihu, the spring festival.
• Its movements and songs express youth, affection, fertility, seasonal renewal and collective enjoyment.
• Themes include nature, farming, village life, clothing, ornaments and romantic relationships.

Costume and Instruments

• Male performers commonly wear a dhoti and gamusa.
• Female performers commonly wear a mekhela-chador, often made from traditional Assamese textiles.
• Muga silk is prominent, but costumes are not restricted to one kind of silk.
• Instruments include the dhol, pepa, toka, gogona and baanhi.

Royal Patronage

• Traditional accounts associate encouragement of Bihu performances with Ahom king Rudra Singha, who ruled from 1696 to 1714.
• Performances were arranged at a royal Rang Ghar.

Related Traditions

• Husori contributions may support community activities and collective welfare.
• Traditionally male participation was prominent in many Husori groups; present-day practice varies.
• Events associated with Phat Bihu may include different Bihu performances and competitions, with programmes changing by locality and year.

Bhortal Nritya

• Bhortal Nritya is associated with Narahari Burha Bhakat of Barpeta.
• Its defining instrument is the bhortal, a pair of large metal cymbals.
• Performers combine forceful cymbal playing, coordinated steps and changing group formations.
• The rhythmic expression Jhiya Nom is commonly associated with its performance.
• Groups often contain around six to ten dancers, although the number may vary.
• Traditional dress commonly includes a dhoti and cloth with a red border.
• The dance combines devotion, discipline and energetic movement within Assam’s Vaishnavite cultural environment.
• Its vigorous movements can appear martial, but its identity is primarily devotional and performative.

Deodhani Traditions

Meaning and Religious Association

• Deodhani refers to ritual performance traditions associated with religious devotion and, in some settings, trance.
• Performers are believed by participants to experience divine influence; this should be understood as a religious belief.
• Several forms are associated with Manasa, the serpent goddess, also connected with Maroi worship.

Regional Differences

• In the Darrang–Mangaldoi region, Deodhani performance is associated with Sukannani Ojapali and Manasa narratives.
• Instruments and performance arrangements differ across communities.
• The Kamakhya Deodhani or Deodha festival has its own ritual organisation and includes male ritual performers.
• Kamakhya’s official account describes it as a three-day observance beginning at Sravana Sankranti, connected with Manasa Puja.

Jhumur or Jhumoir

• Jhumur is closely associated with Assam’s tea-garden communities, including Adivasi communities with historical connections to eastern and central India.
• These communities indeed migrated from Central/Eastern India (regions like Chota Nagpur, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh) in the 19th century under British colonial rule to work in Assam’s tea plantations.
• Jhumur is a traditional folk dance rooted in the Sadan ethnolinguistic group of the Chota Nagpur plateau region.
• It expresses community life, affection, work, hardship, humour and celebration.
• Dancers often form curving lines or circles, linking arms or holding one another at the waist.
• Women frequently form the main dance line, while participation by men includes singing, instrumental accompaniment and dancing, depending on the tradition.
• Coordinated movement strengthens a sense of togetherness and shared identity.
• Songs preserve community languages and experiences across generations.
• The dance and its associated music are integral to community festivals such as Karam Puja and Tushu Puja, which mark the agricultural harvest.

Remember: Jhumur/Jhumoir of tea-garden communities and Jhumura of the Sattriya tradition are distinct forms.

Bodo Dance Traditions

Bagurumba

• Bagurumba is a prominent dance of the Bodo community.
• It is popularly called the Butterfly Dance because of its gentle movements and outstretched arms.
• It is associated with Bwisagu, the spring festival.
• Performers draw inspiration from nature and the movement of living things.
• Graceful steps and coordinated group movement express renewal, beauty and harmony with the natural world.

Bathou Worship and Kherai Dance

• Bathou is a religious tradition of the Bodo community.
• Worship centres on Bwrai Bathou, also called Sibrai in relevant traditions.
• Some interpretations connect this deity with Shiva, but Bathou should be explained through its own religious identity and practices.
• Kherai combines prayer, music and ritual dance for community welfare and prosperity.
• A Doudini, a female ritual specialist, plays an important role.
• Research describes eighteen principal dances, alongside additional forms; this is more precise than describing every Kherai celebration as having exactly eighteen ritual stages.

Mising Dance and Ali-Ai-Ligang

• Ali-Ai-Ligang is an agricultural festival of the Mising community.
• It marks the beginning of the sowing season and is celebrated on the first Wednesday of Phagun, generally in February.
• Gumrag or Gumrang is the dance strongly associated with the festival.
• Dance, songs and community celebrations express hopes for successful cultivation, prosperity and well-being.
• Agricultural work and everyday experience influence its movements and themes.
• Ali-Ai-Ligang is the festival; Gumrag is the associated dance.

Tiwa Dance Traditions

• The Tiwa community maintains dance traditions connected with religious observances, farming and collective celebration.
• The Jangkhang dance or ritual association involving worship for prosperity.
• It also mentions young performers carrying bamboo poles decorated with flowers, with celebrations continuing through the night.
• These local names should therefore be retained as details requiring confirmation, rather than presented as a settled festival–dance pairing.

Deori Bihu or Bisu/Bishu

• The Deori community celebrates its own spring festival, commonly called Bisu or Bishu.
• Celebrations combine religious observances, music, dance and community visits.
• Some accounts describe festivities lasting seven days, although local practice varies.
• Performances may begin at a community shrine or place of worship before moving into the village.

Hmar Dance Traditions

• Hmar dances accompany festivals, community gatherings and other significant occasions.
• Darlam or Dar Lam belongs to this wider performing heritage.
• Group formations, musical accompaniment and coordinated movement support community participation.
• Here, Partumlam, Fajitlam and Fahrel Tluklam, associates respectively with cultivation, hunting and bamboo-related movement.

Puppetry in Assam

Putala Naach

• Assam’s puppet theatre is commonly known as Putala Naach.
• Puppets may be made from wood, cloth and other lightweight materials.
• In string puppetry, performers control their movement through strings attached to different parts of the figure.
• The tradition is particularly associated with Lower Assam, including Goalpara.
• Stories commonly draw from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranic narratives.
• Songs, dialogue, khol and taal support the dramatic presentation.
• Puppetry brings together craftsmanship, storytelling, music and acting, allowing religious and moral stories to reach community audiences.

Musical Instruments Used in Assam’s Performing Arts

• Khol and dhol are different instruments, although both have two drumheads.
• Gogona is a jaw harp, rather than a reed wind instrument.
• Musical instruments connect Assam’s material craftsmanship with its living performance traditions.