After death— The Spiritual Journey, presented recently at the META festival, explored a tribal belief system that deviates totally from mainstream traditions. Director-choreographer Vikram Mohan tells Utpal K Banerjee how he travelled several times to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to understand the Bhil tribes’ faith in spiritual powers
In hoary Indian traditions, the last rite of passage is structured around the premise that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe. The soul (atman) is deemed to be the essence and immortal: released at the final ritual. The human body and the universe consist of five elements, as surmised in ancient texts: air, water, fire, earth and space. The last rite returns the body to these five elements and its origins, as charmingly stated in the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, in the following hymn:…Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered. O the all-consuming fire, when you’ve matured him, send him on his way unto the Fathers. When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods. The sun, receive your eyes; the wind, your prana (life-principle, breath). Go, if it be meant your lot, to earth or heaven. Go, if it be meant your lot, unto the waters. Go, make your home in plants with all your members…
After death — The Spiritual Journey, presented recently by Voxpop dancers India, in the META Festival, was a play which explored a tribal belief system that deviated totally from the mainstream traditions. For the Bhil tribals in Madhya Pradesh — and the contiguous regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat – the beliefs were seen as related to ancestors: for fulfillment of their wishes after death. They formed the core of a rich repository of intangible heritage, realised in an essentially visual culture by tribals distributed throughout the world.
Directed by Vikram Mohan — groomed in contemporary dance in Holland — the unusual non-verbal, musical show fell back largely upon visual dimensions. The performance began with giant muppets (human puppets): striding over the front stage and squeezing themselves out through the back-stage trap-door: leaving the space open to the journey of the “departed soul”: ordained to travel in unknown domains. The outlying dead body was encircled by bands of mourners: lamenting the dear departed. The comely widow was consoled — and courted — by the interested onlookers. In order to ensure the soul’s peaceful sojourn and to garner blessings of the succeeding generations, there were enactment of several rituals.There were, for instance, body-entwining, floor-hugging and water-sprinkling galore, besides some splendid pas-de-deuxs and glimpses of sinuous tango. The muppets and their cymbal-playing leaders came down to the auditorium at the end: moulding the intangible practices into their tangible presence, spanning generations.
Excerpts from interaction with the director:
What was the source of your presentationIJ
There have been several times that I have travelled to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat because I wanted to deal with a concept based on the Bhil tribes’ faith in spiritual powers and ancestral rituals.
How did you develop your themeIJ
I developed a folk story inspired by the Bhil tribal rituals related to death. In my story, one tribal man meets with an accident, after which his mother, wife and friends pay their homage to Dungerdeo and perform rituals to save his life. But, after his death, his wife gets engaged to another man. Due to this infidelity, the soul of the first husband is disturbed, leading to disturbances in the villagers’ life, too. For the soul’s peaceful journey, rituals of gatla (ancestral rites) are performed and peace returns to the village.
You used puppets of multiple horses…
They were symbolic objects prevalent in ritual practices among the Bhil tribe. Similarly there were votive stupas which I’ve used in the front-stage corner.
How did you conceive of your musicIJ
Interestingly, some music was actually recorded when the Bhil tribal practice was going on in situ. Others were composed music inspired by the ancestral rituals.
Your sets were very imaginative…
All along the stage-space, I’ve used allegorical boxes painted with tribal motifs where the ancestors are imagined to be housed and worshipped. I found their prayers to ancestors very deeply affecting me.
How about you choreographyIJ
Basically, I’m a choreographer and my team-members are trained dancers. All the dances have been patterned in keeping with the nature and tempo of the rituals that have been depicted in the play.