Mohiniattam- The Enchanting Dance of Kerala
Posted on September 16, 2008 in Art & Culture by Lalita
Mohiniattam or Mohiniyattam is the form of classical dance that originates in Kerala, God’s own country. This dance form is one of the classic beauties of the state of Kerala. Mohiniattam is usually performed solo by a woman.
The word Mohiniattam comes from the combination of Mohini and Attam. Mohini was name of the enchantress that Lord Krishna came dressed as to save Lord Shiva from Bhasmasura. Attam means graceful body movements. In all, Mohiniattam is the graceful dance of the beautiful enchantress, Mohini.
The dancers of Mohiniattam are dressed in complete white- the famous white saree of kerala which usually has golden brocade and white jasmine flowers in the hair. The dance form doesn’t involve elaborate make-up as in Kathakali, another dance form of Kerala.
Mohiniattam is a very graceful dance usually with slow and sensual movements. The performances are accompanied by vocals, sung in Manipravalam, a fusion of Malayalam and Sanskrit.
Mohini appears in two mythological stories and the dances of Mohiniattam are based on these. The first story is the popular story of the war for nectar between the Devas and the Asuras- Gods and Demons. Mohini comes out of the ocean to give nectar to all the Demons and Gods and enchants them all. She later gives all the nectar to the Gods.
The other story is that where Mohini comes to rescue Shiva from Bhasmasura. Lord Shiva blesses Bhasmasura with a power. The power is that whenever Bhasmasura places his hand on anybody’s head, the person will turn to ashes. As soon as Bhasmasura is given the boon, he insists on trying it. Bhasmasura runs after Lord Shiva to see if he would turn to ashes. This is when Shiva asks for help from Lord Vishnu who comes down in Mohini’s avatar. Mohini enchants Bhasmasura too and he accidentally places his hand on his own head and turns himself to ashes.
Mohinattam’s base is these two stories and the devotion to Lord Vishnu. The dancers use beautiful, enchanting movements to describe the emotions to their audiences
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