MOHINIYATTAM-
The dance of the enchantress
Mohiniattam or Mohiniyattam is an Indian classical dance form that evolved in the state of Kerala, India, and is counted among the two popular dance arts of the state, the other being Kathakali.
Mohiniattam projects the essence of feminine grace—a quality known in the context of dance as lasya—through delicate footsteps, undulating body movements, and subtle yet poignant facial expressions. Mohiniattam performances are also notable for their shringara (erotic) depictions of divine love. Traditionally, the dance was performed solo, but in the 21st century, it may also be performed in groups.
Etymology
Mohiniyattam also referred to as Mohini-attam, is derived from "Mohini" – a famous female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in Indian mythology.
The dance is performed by women in honour of the Hindu god Vishnu in his incarnation as the enchantress Mohini. According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu took the form of Mohini to distract the demon Bhasmasura while the gods took the elixir of immortality from the churning of the celestial oceans and thus saved the universe from destruction. The myth of Mohini forms the core of any mohiniattam performance. It was also known as ‘nangai natakam’, ‘dasiyattam’and ‘thevitichiyattam’.
History & Evolution
The theoretical foundation of this dance form like other major classical dance forms of India has its roots in sage Bharata Muni’s text called ‘Natya Shastra’, a Sanskrit Hindu text that deals with performing arts.
Mohiniattam evolved from the state of Kerala which also has an association with the old tradition of Lasya style of dancing. The temple sculptures of the state are the earliest manifestations of Mohiniattam or other dance forms similar to it. Mohiniattam poses are also palpable from the various feminine sculptures that adorn the 11th-century Vishnu temple at Trikodithanam, and the Kidangur Subramanya temple. The Lasya theme was incorporated by Malayalam bards and playwrights, a fact evident from the text-based records starting from the 12th century. The 16th century book titled ‘Vyavaharamala’ written by scholar, poet, author and astrologer Mazhamangalam Narayanan Namboodiri is the first known book that mentions the term Mohiniyattam in connection with a payment due to a Mohiniyattam dancer. While discussing about various performing art forms of Kerala, renowned poet Kunchan Nambiar in his 17th century book ‘Gosha Yatra’ mentioned about Mohiniyattam. By that time this dance form had emerged as one of the classical art forms of the state. The 18th century Sanskrit treatise ‘Balarama Bharatam’ on natyam written by the king of Travancore Karthika Thirunal Bala Rama Varma (considered to be a significant secondary work on ‘Natya Shastra’) refers about ‘Mohino Natana’ among various other dance styles.
Mohiniattam developed further as a performing art during the 18th and 19th centuries, thanks to the patronage of several princely states. The initiation and patronage of the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore, Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, a poet and brilliant music composer himself, in the early 19th century saw the development of a joint team of artists of two genres namely Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam. His contributions in the art form saw the eventual development and systematization of present-day Mohiniattam.
The decline during Colonial Rule
With the spread of colonial British rule in 19th century India, all classical dance forms of India were ridiculed and discouraged, leading to their severe decline. This was in part the result of the Victorian morality of sexual repressiveness along with Anglican missionaries who criticized Hinduism.
The seductive gestures and facial expressions during temple dances were caricatured in The Wrongs of Indian Womanhood, published at the start of the 20th century, as evidence of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests" tradition, and Christian missionaries demanded that this must be stopped, launching the "anti-dance movement" or "anti-nautch movement" in 1892.This movement affected all classical dances in India and contributed to their decline, including the stigmatization of Mohiniyattam in the princely states of Travancore and Cochin in the British Empire.
Modern era
The ridicule and bans enacted during the British colonial era contributed to nationalist sentiments, and impacted all Hindu performance arts including Mohiniyattam. It was also revived and reconstructed, particularly in the 1930s by the nationalist Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, who helped repeal the ban on temple dancing in Kerala and established the Kerala Kalamandalam dance school and encouraged Mohiniattam studies, training and practice.
Repertoire
Traditionally the repertoire of Mohiniyattam follows two performance categories namely,
‘Nritta’ and ‘Nritya’ mentioned in ‘Natya Shastra’. It follows the Lasya type of dance that showcases a more graceful, gentle and feminine form of dancing and displays excellence in ‘Ekaharya Abhinaya’ form in other words a solo and expressive dance art complimented with music and songs. ‘Nritta’ is a technical performance where the dancer presents pure dance movements giving stress on speed, form, pattern, range and rhythmic aspects without any form of enactment or interpretive aspects. In ‘Nritya’ the dancer-actor communicates a story, spiritual themes through expressive gestures and slower body movements harmonised with musical notes thus engrossing the audience with the emotions and themes of the act. ‘Natyam’ is usually performed by a group communicating a play through dance-acting.
The basic posture of Mohiniyattam is parted feet, knees bent outwards, an erect upper torso, gentle 8-shape side to side swaying of body along with hips (Ati Bhanga). The footwork is soft, sliding and synchronous with the musical beat and acting.The body movement is sometimes described in terms of calming images of nature as the swinging of the palm leaves, and the gentle undulating of ocean waves.
The basic dance units in Mohiniattam are known as atavus or atavukal, and these are grouped into four: Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam and Sammisram. The hand and facial gestures of the dance follow the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of mudras.
Sequence
The repertoire sequence of Mohiniyattam is similar to that of Bharatanatyam, so of contains seven items that are performed to a structure described in classical dance texts: Cholkettu (invocation, but starts with offering reverence to a goddess Bhagavati and ends with a prayer to Shiva), Jatisvaram or more precisely Swarajeti, Varnam (a play wherein she embeds a mimicry for distraction while communicating the underlying story or message), Padam (song), Tillana (dancer's interpretation of melody the musician create), Shlokam and Saptam.
Costumes
The dancer wears a white or off-white plain sari embellished with bright golden or gold laced coloured brocade embroidered in its borders complimented with a matching choli or blouse. A pleated cloth having concentric golden or saffron coloured bands adorns the front part of the sari from the waist. This embellishment not only lets the artist perform her spectacular footwork flexibly but also highlights it, allowing the audience to watch it from a distance. She also wears a golden belt around her waist. Jewellery adorns her head, hair, ears, neck, wrists and fingers. Musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles. These produce rhythmic sound while she showcases excellent footwork. Her feet and fingers are brightened with red coloured natural dyes so as to highlight gestures of her hands. Face make-up of the dancer is usually light with a Hindu tikka on her forehead while her lips are vividly coloured red and her eyes are lined prominently so as to make her eye movements more visible. Her hair tied typically on left side of her head is in tight round chignon hairstyle and beautified with flowers, usually jasmine, ringed around the bun.
Instruments & Music
Vocal music of this performance art incorporates different rhythms and lyrics of many of the compositions performed in this dance form are in Manipravala which is a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam language while the music style is Carnatic. Instruments played during Mohiniattam performances usually comprise of Kuzhitalam or cymbals; Veena; Idakka, an hourglass-shaped drum; Mridangam, a barrel-shaped drum with two heads; and flute.
Famous Exponents
Imminent 20th century exponents of Mohiniattam apart from Vallathol Narayana Menon were Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma ( also known as ‘the mother of mohiniyattom’), Thankamony, Krishna Panicker and Mukundraja. Present day exponents include Sunanda Nair; Smitha Rajan, granddaughter of Kalyanikutty Amma; Radha Dutta; Vijayalakshmi; Gopika Varma and Jayaprabha Menon among others.
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