Tantric dance / Theatre

The embodiment of deities may follow certain mythological themes found in the Puranas, the ancient store of Hindu wisdom, or the classical epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, in which the major debates are between exponents of light and darkness. The moral conclusion emerging at the end is that the good prevails over the evil. There are comprehensive old manuals establishing the way of conduct pertaining to sanskrit  theatre, the Attaprakarams concerned with acting and Kramadipikas concerned with stage setting, costumes and reward of artists. Back in time such kind of artistic endeavour evolved in connection with Hindu religious establishment. The practice is more related to a special form of religious practice performed under the guidance of Hindu priests, pandits, the Brahmins, who intend to present religion in an artistic outward show, usually held in temples, as sacred art. Basically the performance is a devotional manifestation, the bhakti component is central to the act. That is why the theatre buildings are attached to major temples in India in tune with the spiritual architectural tradition of the state. Sanskrit theatre has a solid basis, its theoretical spiritual roots are to be found in the Tantrism, thus essentially is linked to issues of spiritual liberation.  The cultural practice has its foundation in the application of the three tantric gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas) and their mixtures of two, i.e. sattva-sattva, rajas-rajas, tamas-tamas, sattva-rajas, sattva-tamas, rajas-sattva, rajas-tamas, tamas-sattva, tamas-rajas. The nine expressions of gunas correspond to the nine sentiments and characters used in artistic communication, the rasas, i.e. shringara (love), vira (heroism), raudra (fury), hasya (humour), bhayanaka (terror), karuna (compassion), adbhuta (wonder), shanta (peacefulness) and vatsalya (affection, attachment), not necessarily in the corresponding order.

Performers and the practice

Musicians, playing drums, percussion instruments bell-cymbals and conch shells enhance the histrionic action. The Nambiars musicians accompany the performers males known as Chakyars and females Nangiars; the theatre compound is known as Kuttampalam. This assembly gives the very name of the artistic expression. The plays usually contain minimal text in which the emphasis is on display to convey the spiritual message, thus the performance is primarily visual. Certain acts within the play are chosen instead of playing the full masterpiece. More often the final text for stage enactment is a mixture of the original text and interpolations to fit the desired outcome. The parts performed are self-contained; they create a minimal argument from which a certain moral lesson emerges. At first look it appears that the staging of a sankrit theatre act might be easy considering the scarcity of words spoken. But this is not so. The value of the message has to be seen in the interaction between the players, dance and music. Here the richness of the mounting production appears: the combination of the three artistic modes of expression is of a great importance. Worth mentioning is the slow tempo of the play. The purpose is to let the witness absorb the depths of meanings. Certain key moments are kept longer in order to give the audience enough time to grasp the full meaning of that specific artistic rasa exposed. The play’s massage emerges sometimes from cyclical narrations thus reinforcing the main story.But the staging itself is not what one expects from an ordinary play, which lasts for a short period of time, more often two hours; in sanskrit theatre there are multiple acts to be performed for several days, sometimes forty nights. The case of Ramayana is an exception; it may take a full year of performing. This is certainly the longest play enactment in the world history of theatre. Here the sacred aspect comes into action; the moral lessons have to be imbibed slowly but sure. This is another way of Brahmins to teaching people sanatana dharma, the eternal law of doing good, pertinent to Hinduism. It is very important to mention actor’s role in having personal inputs during the play enactment. It requires creativity of the role, an extended freedom of artistic expression that is in fact an improvisation in order to create the major argument.  The stepping out of actor’s main role challenges his level of understanding the purpose given by the initial scenario artistic script. The personal touch of the spiritual message gets the imprint of the performer during which various means are employed. The sacred dimension is emphasised by purification rituals that invite the divine presence into a sacred space; the performance itself attempt to create a divine connection. Sankrit dance drama  does not intend to provide entertainment, but is a form of Hindu ritual.  Along the language of mudras (gestures) and specific body movements, the art of facial expression is raised to high performance; the eyes, lips, cheeks, and eyebrows are used to convey complex emotions pertinent to that rasa. Here the actor is called vyakhata, the one who is able to interpret the text in case, the creative factor depending on his/ her skills and power of imagination. The musicians (Nambiars) participate creatively to enhance the message conveyed.Not only the actors/ players held a special position within the practice of sanskrit dance / theatre, but also the spectators are to be of a certain kind, they need to be familiar with various conventions, codes and rituals, i.e. to have some kind of prerequisite knowledge of such an art. In order to go deeper into the message sought to be transmitted, imagination is required from people witnessing the production. The audience should not expect a logical sequence of the major subject unfolding. Sanskrit dance / theatre does not belong to the tradition of realism but is about fantasy and imagination, thus challenging spectator’s level of understanding spiritual matters and own level of creativity of interpretation.  Thus any  production is dependant on the level of awareness of the audience, who practically are in a special relationship with the performers. The spectators are not passive witnesses, but active participants to the spiritual dimension conveyed by the staging and religious symbolism of the entire production.  

Conclusion

My exposition was primarily concerned with concise data of the history and foundation of sanskrit dance / theatre  as Indian performing art. Some of the practices were in brief outlined. Tantric Sanskrit theatre developed in  India. Its theme is pertinent to the spiritual tradition of India outlining major subjects found in ancient Sanskrit writings and plays. The social and artistic support is given by the caste of Brahmins, who intend to convey a religious and spiritual message to the sanskrit dance / theatre stage enactments. There is certain specificity to playing  Sanskrit dance / theatre. The practice allows greater freedom for the actors who, along the major text, are permitted to introduce personal interpretations. This feature allows a large degree of creative expression that along with other specific aspects make  Sanskrit dance / theatre a unique art form and cultural value originated in India.

Copyright © 2008 by Ma Bhakti Shakti (Maria Martins)