( mni, ; omp, , Chatkoi) refers to the arts of

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Meitei culture Meitei may refer to: *Meitei people, of Manipur, India **Meitei language **Meitei script **Meitei architecture *Denechandra Meitei (born 1994), Indian footballer *Loken Meitei (born 1997), Indian footballer *Ningombam Bupenda Meitei (born 1987), Ind ...

General rules and guidelines

Eye contact

In the performances of traditional Meitei dances, dancers are strictly forbidden not to have any forms of eye contact with the audiences. If it is not followed properly, then it is considered as a sacrilege.

Chukpharon Jagoi

"Chukpharon Jagoi" is a Sanamahist ritual dance form performed by the maibis (

priestesses A priestess is a female priest, a woman having the authority or power to administer religious rites. Priestess may also refer to: * ''Priestess'' (album), an album by Gil Evans * Priestess (band), a Canadian hard rock band * Priestess (rapper), ...

) to please the lords of the four directions, Thangjing, Marjing, Wangbren, and Koubru, in the religious festival of Lai Haraoba. During the performance, the maibi takes the two ekouphus (

pots Pot may refer to: Containers * Flowerpot, a container in which plants are cultivated * Pottery, ceramic ware made by potters * A type of cookware Places * Ken Jones Aerodrome, IATA airport code POT * Palestinian Occupied Territories, the We ...

) from the laipubas, holding the Lainingthou ekouphu in the right hand and the Lairembi ekouphu in the left hand. The dance performance portrays the dance of goddess Nongthang Leima, who saves the universe from destruction.

Khamba Thoibi Jagoi

Laiching Jagoi

() (literally, 'Dance of summoning the deity') is a dance form performed by the maibis (priestesses) with the langthrei (a special leaf of Blumea balsamifera) held between their fingers. This sequence involves a variety of expressive movements where the spirit of the

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

is invited to enter each maibi's body. It is an invocatory dance where the maibis stand with their hands in a pose symbolizing women's union. In this dance form, the maibis, after invoking the deities from water, perform leitai nongdai jagoi. This dance form is performed in front of the shrine of the deities.

Laihou Jagoi

() (literally,'dance of invitation' or ''"opening dance"'') is a dance form performed by the maibis (

) to lead a way to a pond or river, in the religious festival of

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba is a festival associated with the Meitei people celebrated to please the Umang Lai, the traditional deities of Sanamahism. Translated, Lai Haraoba means ''merry making of the Gods'' in Meiteilon. In this festival, the people worship ...

. During the performance of the dance, the tune of the pena, a traditional musical instrument, is also shrimmed up. With the maibis, the

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

bearing youths in two rows, the maidens with the brass

vessels Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

, the Lai bearers, the isaiphu bearers, the chong (umbrella) bearers accompany the pibas (men) holding the two pots.

Leima Jagoi

Leisem Jagoi

() (literally, 'Dance of creation of the earth') is a dance form enacted by imitating the movements of nine gods and seven goddesses creating the earth, followed by Laibou Jagoi, depicting the creation of human body and various activities of man, like weaving of clothes. The sequence of the dance is performed by the Ningol Macha ( girls). The six original forms of the dance are leishem, leitai, nongdai, leipekpa, leihouba and leipiba. It is one of the early dance forms of

Ancient Manipur The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Brit ...

contributing to the rich Manipur's classical wealth of culture.

Maibi Jagoi

Panthoibi Jagoi

() (literally, 'Panthoibi's dance' or 'Dance dedicated to the Divine Mother') is a duet dance form, portraying the romantic love affairs between Nongpok Ningthou and

Panthoibi ) , deity_of = Goddess of civilization, courage, fertility, handicraft, love, victory, warfare and wisdom , member_of = Lairembis and Umang Lais , image = PANTHOIPI.jpg , alt = , caption = Goddess Panthoipi char ...

. There are 14 hand gestures with bodily movements. It is performed in the religious festival of Lai Haraoba, depicting the weaving process. In the dance form, Marjing has been conflated with Nongpok Ningthou. Nowadays, the dance form is replaced by the

Khamba Thoibi Jagoi Khamba Thoibi Jagoi (), also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei ritualistic and theatrical classical dance form,————— which is usually enacted as a part and parcel of the Lai Haraob ...

Raas Jagoi

The Manipuri classical dance, also known to as the Manipuri Raas Leela dance ( mni, Jagoi Raas/Raas Jagoi), is one of the eight major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur.

Thougal Jagoi

() (literally, 'Dance of dedication') or "Jagoi Ashangbi" () is a Meitei traditional

form, performed by men and women, along with maibis (priestesses) to invoke the deities. It is performed in the religious festival of Lai Haraoba. The

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

lasts for half an

hour An hour (symbol: h; also abbreviated hr) is a unit of time conventionally reckoned as of a day and scientifically reckoned between 3,599 and 3,601 seconds, depending on the speed of Earth's rotation. There are 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 ho ...

, after which the "Hoi Lauba" ceremony is enacted.

In popular culture

Raj Nartaki ''Raj Nartaki'' is a 1941 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Modhu Bose under the Wadia Movietone Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wad ...

- 1941 Indian Hindi language film * Yelhou Jagoi - 1995 non-feature Indian

Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in pa ...