{"id":281,"date":"2017-10-02T17:52:14","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T14:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/?p=281"},"modified":"2026-05-13T16:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:35:22","slug":"mohiniattam-mohinis-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/mohiniattam-mohinis-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"Mohiniattam<\/em>, Mohini\u2019s Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mohiniattam<\/em>, a form of devotional bhakti<\/em> art, often deals with events in the life of Lord Krishna Sakari Viika<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mohiniattam<\/em> is Kerala\u2019s version of the soft, lasya<\/em> style dance<\/a>, performed most often by female dancers. Several regions of India have their own variants of this kind of Natyashastra-related \u201ctemple dances\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were originally performed by the devadasis<\/em><\/a>, or the female temple servants, who were given to the temple to be \u201cmarried\u201d to the deity of the temple. The devadasi<\/em> institution is closely linked with the devotional bhakti<\/em> sect of Hinduism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohiniattam<\/em> is characterised by the gentleness of its style, by the gliding movements of the body, and by the white, gold-bordered sari-like costume of the dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lasya-<\/em>style solo dances have a long history in Kerala. After the decline of the devadasi<\/em> institute, or tevidichi<\/em> institution in Kerala, the old dance forms were tainted by the bad reputation of their performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lasya<\/em>-style \u201ctemple dances\u201d were renamed mohiniattam,<\/em> \u201cMohini\u2019s dance\u201d, possibly owing to the adaptation of the Vishnu bhakti<\/em> cult in Kerala in the 15th<\/sup> century. Mohiniattam<\/em> refers to the name Vishnu assumed when he transformed himself into a female dancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohiniattam<\/em> was first mentioned in literary sources in 1709. In the next century Maharaja Swati Tirunal composed dance numbers in the mohiniattam<\/em> style and established mohiniattam\u2019s<\/em> status as Kerala\u2019s classical lasya<\/em> dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the same period mohiniattam<\/em> repertoire and style were shaped according to the bharatanatyam<\/em> tradition, the famous lasya<\/em> style of Tamil Nadu. In fact, one of the so-called \u201cTanjavur brothers\u201d or \u201cTanjavur Quartet\u201d, important reformers of bharatanatya<\/em>, is believed to have visited Kerala and given mohiniattam<\/em> its finishing touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1930s Kerala\u2019s national poet Vallathol chose mohiniattam<\/em> to be included in the syllabus of Kerala Kalamandalam, the state performing arts academy he founded. This cemented mohiniattam\u2019s<\/em> reputation as the famous lasya<\/em> dance style of Kerala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Technique and the Repertoire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mohiniattam<\/em> belongs to the soft, \u201cfeminine\u201d lasya<\/em> styles Sakari Viika<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In many respects the technique and repertoire of mohiniattam<\/em> follows those of bharatanatyam<\/a><\/em>. Mohiniattam<\/em> follows the instructions of the 2nd<\/sup> century AD Drama Manual, the Natyashastra<\/em>, while its mudras<\/em> or hand gestures are based on a later, local manual, the Hasta Lakshanadeepika<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Just like other lasya<\/em> solo forms, mohiniattam<\/em> also combines abstract nrtta<\/em> sequences with mimetic abhinaya<\/em> sections Sakari Viika<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The repertoire consists of short dance numbers, both mimetic abhinaya<\/em> sections and pure nrtta<\/em> dances. Some of the numbers combine both of these techniques. A performance starts with a prayer and then follows an abstract invocation dance, alarippu<\/em>. After that follow various numbers such as the demanding jatisvaram<\/em>, usually the highlight of the performance. Various padams<\/em> or mimetic abhinaya<\/em> numbers are based on songs, while the performance usually ends with tillana<\/em>, a virtuoso abstract dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there is a lot in common in baharatanatyam<\/em> and mohiniattam<\/em>, there are also clear differences. While bharatanatyam<\/em> aims at symmetry and a kind of geometric angularity of poses, mohiniattam<\/em> stresses the softness and sensuality of movements. The poses tend to curve from side to side and the style has a kind of gentle, gliding quality. The torso is used circularly and half-bent positions are frequent. Thus Mohiniattam<\/em> bears a clear resemblance to the dance of kathakali\u2019s<\/em> female characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in most of the bhakti<\/em>-related lasya<\/em> dances, the focus of the sung abhinaya<\/em> parts is on the hero\/heroine polarity. The dancer represents the longing lover of a hero\/god while this earthly love serves as a metaphor for the yearning of the human soul to be united with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music played with a drum, veena<\/em> and cymbals is in the gentle sopanam<\/em> style, a bhakti<\/em> tradition typical of Kerala. The bhakti<\/em> poetry is sung in local Malayalam. The dancer\u2019s gold-bordered costume is that of a bride. In all its aspects, such as music, its hero\/heroine themes, and its touching tenderness, mohiniattam<\/em> represents the spirit of bhakti<\/em> in its purest form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mohiniattam is Kerala\u2019s version of the soft, lasya style dance, performed most often by female […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4757,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/4757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disco.teak.fi\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}