Mohiniattam – The dance of the sorceress
INTRODUCTION:
Mohiniattam is a very expressive dance form from Kerala, the most beautiful place in India. It is made up of two words, “Mohini” and “attam”. Mohini refers to an extremely beautiful lady or sorceress and attam means dance. So this traditional dance form of Mohiniattam basically means the dance of a sorceress. It is mainly performed solo, but has been enhanced to be performed by women in a group. The underlying style of performance is “Lasya” and “Bhava” is Sringara or romantic love. This dance is charmingly feminine with undulating body movements. Delicate love themes are performed with suggestive gestures, rhythmic footwork and lyrical music. The performance involves the swaying of the wide hips and the smooth movements of the upright posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swaying of palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers that abound in Kerala.
One of the youngest Indian classical dances, Mohiniattam was born during the 16th century AD. C. mainly under the influence of the king of Travancore, Swati Thirunal, famous for his obsession with artistic forms. He was a great patron of the fine arts and encouraged artists from all over India to perform at his court.
THE LEYENDS:
There are mainly two legends associated with the dance form. According to a Hindu legend, in order to escape a powerful curse, the gods decided to churn the divine Palazhi ocean (the ocean of milk) to obtain the ambrosia of eternal life called “Amrith”. They had to enter into a coalition with the demons to accomplish the task. They used the Meru Mountain as a pivot and the Vasuki Serpent as a rope to churn up the ocean. Along with many other items that were thrown out by the constant churning, the golden pot containing the ambrosia also emerged. As soon as the pot became visible, the demons snatched it from her and refused to share it with the gods. This raised divine eyebrows. Imagine if the demons had become eternal after their consumption. They would take over the three worlds: the earth, the sky, and the underworld! The gods ran to the preserver among the Hindu trinity-Vishnu, who agreed to help the gods considering the seriousness of the situation. So, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a beautiful heavenly enchantress named “Mohini”. It was not easy to retrieve the pot, so Mohini broke into a charming and sensual dance and managed to seduce the fickle-minded demons and snatch the “Pot of Amrith” from them and deliver it to the Gods.
Vishnu took the form of Mohini once more. This time to destroy the demon Bhasmasura (the demon of ashes). This demon, through harsh penances, forced the gods to give him a boon: that he would be indestructible unless he himself pointed a finger at the top of his head. Therefore, he deluded himself that he had attained immortality. But foolish as he was, he had underestimated the cunning of the gods! Mohini appeared and started it up slowly. The hypnotized demon began to dance with her following her every action. Mohini sent the demon into a frenzy and, in the guise of a dance move, he pointed a finger at the top of his head, which the demon copied and turned to ash. This mesmerizing dance of the divine Mohini came to be known as “Mohiniattam”. According to the hero of the legends, the theme of the Mohiniattam dance is love and Krishna (the playboy God) is often the hero. The performance excites viewers as the dancer expresses her love for him through circular movements, delicate steps, and subtle expressions. The dance form has 40 basic movements and uses hand gestures or mudras to communicate its context. It has been influenced by two South Indian dance forms: Bharathanatyam and Kathakali.
COSTUME AND MAKEUP:
This beautiful style of dance involves the use of eye movements that are sensual but do not provoke the viewer but rather enchant in such a way that they are not obvious. The idea is to charm without being offensive. Therefore, a ballerina’s makeup and wardrobe are very simple yet elegant. Emphasis is placed on eye makeup as most expressions involve emotion through the eyes. Fluttering eyelashes, curved eyebrows, and captivating eyes enchant viewers and take them to a virtual paradise!
The color of the costume is usually white or off-white with a gold border called “Kasavu”. These sarees are characteristic of Kerala. The hair is pulled back in a bun on the side just above the ear and is decorated with jasmine flowers. It is well known that these flowers have an alluring fragrance. The jewelry is usually an elaborate pair of earrings and a neck choker, paired with a long coin necklace.
The music that accompanies it is usually classical Carnatic, typical of South India. Mohiniattam vocal music involves variations on the rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics are in Manipravalam, a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam. It is sung by trained singers or by the teacher who teaches the performers to dance. The musical instruments used during the performance are cymbals, violin, Kerala-Mridangam folk musical instruments, Maddhalam (percussion instruments) and Edakka (hourglass-shaped percussion instrument).
The seduction or enchantment is slow and deliberate. Through slow and medium tempos, the dancer is able to find the right space for improvisations and bhavas or suggestive emotions. Mohiniattam’s distinctive style is the complete absence of strong patterns and rhythmic tension. The footwork in Mohiniattam is soft, smooth and slippery. The movements are never jerky, they are dignified, easy and natural, but the vertical line of the body is never broken. It is characterized by the rhythmic rocking of the dancer from side to side and the smooth, uninterrupted flow of body movement that is its most striking feature. The dance is based on the enhanced interpretation of female moods and emotions with the theme efficiently that of “sringara” or love. Therefore, among the styles detailed by Bharatha Muni in the ancient Indian treatise on dance, the Natya Shastra, Mohiniattam resembles the Kaisiki type which means graceful. The basic dance steps are called “adavus” which are of four types: Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam and Sammisram.
After the death of Swathi Thirunal, Mohiniattam went into decline and in the 20th century, the great Malayalam poet Vallathol revived it after establishing Kerala Kalamandalam to promote it and Kathakali. The establishment also gets credit for researching more about the dance and codifying it. In recent decades, the Mohiniattam repertoire has been developed and expanded by dedicated artists who have ensured that this beautiful dance style retains a distinctive identity among the classics of India. It is a beautiful dance form that will survive for a long time and continue to represent the beauty and charm of Malayali women.
MOHINIATTAM-THE DANCE OF THE SORCERESS
By Sanjai Velayudhan
© Sanjai Velayudhan