Native name | മോഹിനിയാട്ടം |
---|---|
Genre | Indian classical dance |
Origin | Kerala |
Mohiniyattam (Malayalam: മോഹിനിയാട്ടം) is an Indian classical dance form originating from the state of Kerala.[1][2] The dance gets its name from Mohini – the female enchantress avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who helps the devas prevail over the asuras using her feminine charm.[1][3]
Mohiniyattam's roots, like all classical Indian dances, are in the Natya Shastra – the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text on performance arts.[4][5] However, it follows the Lasya style described in Natya Shastra, that is a dance which is delicate, eros-filled and feminine.[2][6] It is traditionally a solo dance performed by women after extensive training, though men also perform the dance in the contemporary period.[7][8][9][10] The repertoire of Mohiniyattam includes music in the Carnatic style, singing and acting a play through the dance, where the recitation may be either by a separate vocalist or the dancer themselves. The song is typically in Malayalam-Sanskrit hybrid called Manipravalam.[2]
The earliest mention of the word is found in the 16th-century legal text Vyavaharamala, but the likely roots of the dance are older.[11] The dance was systematized in the 18th century, was ridiculed as a Devadasi prostitution system during the colonial British Raj, banned by a series of laws from 1931 through 1938, a ban that was protested and partially repealed in 1940.[12] The socio-political conflict ultimately led to renewed interest, revival and reconstruction of Mohiniyattam by the people of Kerala, particularly the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.[2]
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