Mohiniaattam
Encyclopedia
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, developed by the Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
nattuvanar
Isai Vellalar
Isai Velalar is a caste from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are also known as Melakkarar. Isai Vellalars predominantly use the title of Pillai, with some using the title of Mudaliar.-Origin of name:...
(dance master) Vadivelu,one of the Thanjavur Quartet
Thanjavur Quartet
Thanjavur Quartet or Tanjore Quartet were four brothers who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. While they excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam, they have also authored a number of Tana varnams and...
. It is one of the eight Indian classical dance forms. It is considered a very graceful dance meant to be performed as a solo recital by women. The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and "aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word "Mohiniyattam" literally means "dance of the enchantress". There are two stories of the Lord Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the asuras (demons) away from the amrita
Amrita
Amrit is a Sanskrit word that literally means "immortality", and is often referred to in texts as nectar. The word's earliest occurrence is in the Rigveda where it is one of several synonyms of soma, the drink which confers immortality upon the gods. It is related etymologically to the Greek...
(nectar of immortality) obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of Milk
Ocean of milk
In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the center of the seven oceans that surround loka or directional space and separate it from aloka or non-directional space. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. The gods and demons worked together for a millennium to churn the sea...
.
In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
from the demon Bhasmasura. The name Mohiniyattam may have been coined after Lord Vishnu, and the main theme of the dance is love and devotion to God, with usually Vishnu or Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
being the hero. Devadasis used to perform this in temples. But it also has elements of Koothu and Kottiyattom
Koodiyattam
Koodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...
in it. Mohiniyattam is a drama in dance and verse.
This dance which has influences and elements from two South Indian dance forms, the Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam
Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...
and Kathakali
Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...
, was formulated in the court of king Swati Tirunal by Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet
Thanjavur Quartet
Thanjavur Quartet or Tanjore Quartet were four brothers who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. While they excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam, they have also authored a number of Tana varnams and...
. The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s which abound Kerala, the land of Mohiniyattam. There are approximately 40 different basic movements, known as 'atavukal', in Mohiniyattam.
The three Pillars, Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma
Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma
Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharaja of the state of Travancore , in India. He reigned under the regency of his mother Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi from 1813 till 1815 and henceforth under the regency of his aunt Maharani Gowri Parvati Bayi from 1815 till 1829...
, Sri Vallathol Narayana Menon
Vallathol Narayana Menon
Vallathol Narayana Menon , popularly known as Mahakavi, was one of the celebrity poets in Malayalam language, spoken in the South Indian state of Kerala. Vallathol was born in Chennara, near Tirur, in Malappuram District of Kerala state, southern India. Up to his 27 years he lived in Chennara and...
(a poet and founder of the institution, Kerala Kalamandalam) and Smt. Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma
Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma
Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma was an epoch-making Mohiniyattam danseuse from Kerala in southern India. She is considered as the "Mother of Mohiniyattam"...
(who is considered as “the mother of Mohiniyattam”), contributed to the revival of Mohiniyattam during the later part of 20th Century. Guru Kallyanikutty Amma cleared the mythical mystery behind the name of this dance form and gave it the most convincing explanation based on truth, social and historical evolution, interpreting Mohiniyattam as the dance of a beautiful lady than that of a mythical enchantress from heaven.
The costume includes white sari
Sari
A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...
embroidered with bright golden brocade (known as kasavu at the edges. The dance follows the classical text of Hastha Lakshanadeepika, which has elaborate description of Mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
s (gestural expressions by the hand palm and fingers).
The vocal music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. The lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
are in Manipravalam
Manipravalam
Manipravalam was a literary style used in medieval liturgical texts in South India, which used an admixture of Tamil and Sanskrit. Manipravalam is termed a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil...
, a mixture of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and Malayalam. The Mohiniyattam dance is performed to this accompaniment by the subtle gestures and footwork of the danseuse. The performer uses the eyes in a very coy yet sensual manner, the purpose being to enchant the mind without enticing the senses.
Prominent Artists and SNA Awardees
- T. Chinnammu Amma 1972
- K. Kalyanikutty Amma 1978
- Kalamandalam V. Sathyabhama 1994
- Kshemavathy Pavithran 1998 http://www.artindia.net/mohini1.html
- Bharati Shivaji 1999-2000 http://www.bharatishivaji.com/Bhararti.htm
- Kalamandalam Sugandhi 2004
- Kalamandalam Vimala Menon 2006
- Deepti Omchery Bhalla 2007 http://www.heritageindia.org/deepthi.htm
- Kalamandalam Leelamma 2008 http://www.mohiniyattam-leelamma.com/content/vita.htm
- Vinitha Nedungadi 2009 http://vinithanedungadi.com/profile.html
- Gopika Varma http://www.artindia.net/gopika.htm
- Sunanda Nair http://www.sunandanair.com/readmore.htm