Meitei Sankirtan (), also known as Meitei Sankirtana () or Manipuri Sankirtan () or Manipuri Sankirtana (), is a Meitei intangible cultural heritage, and a performing art form, involving ritual singing,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

ming and dancing performed in the temples and domestic spaces in

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

in India. Through the performances which exhibit unparalleled religious devotion and energy, the performers narrate the many stories of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

often moving the spectators to tears. It is practiced primarily by the

Meitei Hindus Meitei Hindus or Manipuri Hindus are adherents of Hinduism and are native to Manipur kingdom and the Southeast Asia, South East Asian regions. Meitei Hindus speak Meitei language (Meitei language, Manipuri language), which belongs to the Sino-Tibet ...

(primarily

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

s) in Manipur and by the Vaishnava Manipuri population settled in the neighbouring States of

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. In December 2013,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

inscribed "Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur" in the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

. Meitei Nat Sankirtana, along with the fusion of three other performing art forms, Huiyen Lallong,

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba (, ), also known as Umang Lai Haraoba, is a classical,———— ritualistic, theatrical dance and music festival, annually celebrated by the Meitei people, to please the Umang Lai deities of the traditional Meitei religion (San ...

and Raaslila, gave rise to the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

-recognised

Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...

form, popularly known as the ''"

Manipuri dance Manipuri dance, sometimes also referred to as the Manipuri Raas Leela (), is a jagoi and is one of the major Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur. It is one of the Meitei intangible cult ...

"''.

An outline of the performance

The Nomination file for Inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity prepared by

describes this performing art thus:

References

External links

*A video on Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur, prepared by

, India, and published by UNESCO (duration 9 minutes 57 seconds)
Sankirtana
{{Authority control Culture of Manipur Dance in India Meitei culture Intangible Cultural Heritage of India

An outline of the performance

See also

References

External links