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Khual Lam is a Mizo traditional dance from the Indian state of
Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...
that is performed for guests. Nowadays, it is performed in every major Mizo cultural festival but still maintains the tradition of performing for guests such as the state
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
, or
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
officials.


Performance


Costume

Female dancers wear ''Puandum'', which is a handwoven big black shawl striped in red, yellow, and green. The ''Puandum'' is draped over the shoulders of the females. The size of the stripes may vary. Male dancers wear ''Ngotekherh'', a traditional big white shawl with black patterns with and black and white stripes. The black patterns may vary from square patterns to stripes. It is also draped over the shoulders of the males.


Choreography

For the first part of a typical Khual Lam dance, dancers extend an arm while taking a step forward and retract the arm back to sway their shawls and do the same for the other arm and leg. The second part of the dance is where a male and female face each other; they first sway side to side, then bend, and push their elbow/arm backward for the shawl/cloth to move. On rare occasions such as cultural festivals, extra steps are included that are more traditional, such as lifting the cloth high then squatting down while retracting your arm, and repeating the step. It would look appealing when viewed from above as the former Mizo chiefs would view from a mountain.


Accompaniment

No songs are sung during the dance, rather, it is accompanied by traditional instruments mainly the dar (
gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
) and khuang (drum) with usually a 7/8 beat.


Etymology

Khual Lam means the dance of the guests, deriving from the Mizo words ''khual'' (meaning "guest") and ''lam'' (meaning "dance").


Mythological origin

Tlatea of Pangrawn's third son was named Kalkawilama, who lived in Kawilam. One day, Kawilam town was celebrated with
Chapchar Kut The Chapchar Kut is a festival of Mizoram, India. Origins and history Chapchar Kut is estimated to have started in 1450–1700 A.D. in a village called Suaipui. The festival apparently originated when the hunters came back to the village empty ...
. Tlatea's friends returned from drinking alcohol, they wrapped their ''zu bel'' (wine pots) in a huge cloth and brought it into Kawilam. Native Kawilam people saw them and exclaimed:
"Oh look! Guests (can also be translated as strangers) are dancing toward us!"
which bore the name Khual Lam.


Historical occasions

The Mizo people before the British colonization believed the soul either went to ''
Pialral Pialrâl () is the ultimate heaven according to the folk myth of the Mizo tribes of Northeast India. The Mizo word literally means "beyond the world". Unlike most concepts of heaven, it is not the final resting place of the spirits of the goo ...
'', which is heaven, or ''Mitthi Khua'' which is hell. The Sakhua states that one may only enter ''pialral'' by obtaining the title of ''Thangchhuah,'' where either dance or hunting must be mastered to obtain this title. The Khuangchawi ceremony is where the Thangchhuah title is given, and it was necessary to invite people from the nearby villages on this occasion. On their way to the ceremony, Khual Lam was performed for the honored invitees.


References

{{Dance in India Culture of Mizoram Mizo people Indian folk dances