Maibi Dance is performed during the celebration of festival Lai-Haraoba which is an annual ritual festival of the Meitei Manipuris living in the valley of Manipur. The Maibis are the priestesses considered as spiritual mediums as per the local people. They dance and worship the forest gods, called the Umang Lai. This feeling can be traced through their dances & the whole concept of cosmogony of the Meitei people and their way of life get described. At the beginning of dance, description about the process of creation is given. Through which they show the construction of houses & temples and various occupations of the people adopted to sustain them with time. In short, it is a kind of re-living of the way of life lived the past.
The Maibi people perform such items on ceremonies for God or on festivals at the bank of a river. Summoning God's spirit in an earthen pot tied with nine threads and seven threads for God and Goddesses, the dance begins. At the time ofthe dance, the Maibis hold the leaves of the sacred plant called Langthrei between their fingers. There are also household gods, for example the Sanamahi or Panthoibi. All these gods are worshipped in the Laiharaoba festival. The Maibis dance and show the formation of earth and life. They use 364 hand gestures to show this. During the festival the people of Manipur sing, dance, act, play instruments and play sports. The rituals are pre-determined and all the village people participate.
The instrument used in Laiharaoba is called the Pena. It is a very special instrument of Manipur. It is played by the Penakhongba, and the tune is believed to put the Lai to sleep or used to wake him up. Other tunes are also played for the dances. The story of Khamba and Thoibi are played here. The other stories have characters such as the Nongpokningthou and Panthoibi. These are basically love stories. The characters are often identified with the Hindu Gods Shiva and Parvati. Though mostly based on nature worship, according to the Manipuri scholars, this festival has elements of Tantric Cults.
Manipuri dance covers a number of different dances from Manipur, a state in the northeast corner of India. The main dance types are the Laiharoaba, the Samkirtana, and the Rasalila. The classical style of dances is described as being the most graceful of all the classical Indian dances. Rabindranath Tagore used the style for his female characters in his famous dance dramas.
Source: http://folk-dances.tripod.com
Please share your comments and feedback with us, in regard to this dance. One viewer Sapam Shyamananda writes: "This video has too many errors. Wrong Music, Wrong Steps, Wrong Song, Wrong Costume. Please contact Manipur Arts & Culture Center for the original video. This is going to portray a wrong picture of such a pure dance of Lai Haraoba dance."
Our response: Sapam Shyamananda - Please feel free to set up a performance for us to film here in Delhi, and we'd be glad to share your more authentic version with the world through our Youtube channel and other media properties! - WFIL
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