The premises of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya is well-resonated with beats and tunes of tribal and folk culture on the second day of performing arts of North-Eastern States’ ‘Poorvotsav’ on Saturday.
About 160 artists from eight North-Eastern States of the country enthralled the audience by presenting varied tribal dances of different regions at Charaevati open-air auditorium of Manav Sangrahalaya.
The dance presentation on Saturday began with Kabui and Dhol Cholom Dance of Manipur. The Kabuis, inhabiting the western hill ranges of Manipur, have a rich tradition of dance and music and are well-known for their exquisite costumes.
During the Gang-Ngai festival, the Kabuis perform a series of dances in different stylised forms, accompanied by the sound of heavy drums and high-pitched songs.
The boys wield sharp weapons (daos) in their hands and move around in circles along with girls dressed in traditional costumes.
The Shim lam Dance and the Kit lam Dance are some of dances of the Kabui Nagas.
Shim lam is also known as the Fly Dance. Kit lam, however, is a colourful dance performed by the Kabuis to celebrate their harvest.
This annual festival mainly involves merrymaking. The rhythmic dance imitates the movement of the crickets.
The Dhol is a large drum used during Manipuri dances, especially on religious occasions. The Dhol Cholom is a form of singing and dancing to the accompaniment of the dhol and is part of the Manipuri Sankirtan tradition. It involves the intricate interplay of drums and fire play and will be performed during the Yaoshang festival.
The next performance of the evening was Yakjong dance of East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh.
Siking Rirang — means Aran or Unnying — is celebrated in the month of February or March in villages and this Yakjong dance are performed in the village in the last part of unying/Aran which the Adis called them as Ranne Denging yoyie, which means the youngest or the last parts of celebration.
The other presentations were Bardoi Sikhla Dance of Assam, Sarlam Kai dance by of Mizoram, Hojagiri Dance of Tripura, Tamang Chelo dance of Sikkim and Rugala Dance of Meghalaya.