List of dance forms included in Lai Haraoba festival

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The Lai Haraoba festival is accompanied with series of devotional as well as ritualistic dance forms and music art forms to be performed by a good number of people, starting from small children to old folks, under the supervision of the maibas, the maibis and the Nupa Maibis. This list includes the dance forms performed in the sacred festival of Lai Haraoba of Sanamahism.

C

• Chukpharon Jagoi: During the performance, the maibi takes the two ekouphus (pots) from the laipubas, holding the Lainingthou ekouphu in the right hand and the Lairembi ekouphu in the left hand. The maibis perform this dance form to please the lords of the four directions, the four great Maikei Ngaakpa Lais, Thangjing, Marjing, Wangbren and Koubru, in the religious festival of Lai Haraoba.

K

• Khamba Thoibi Jagoi:- This dance form is believed to be first performed by Khuman Khamba and Moirang Thoibi, in the premise of the God Thangjing.

L

• Laiching Jagoi:- It is an invocatory dance where the maibis stand with their hands in a pose symbolizing man and woman's union.
• Laihou Jagoi:- During the performance of this dance, the tune of the Pena (musical instrument), a traditional musical instrument, is also shrimmed up.
• Leima Jagoi:- This dance form is developed by the maibas (priests) and the maibis (priestesses) with the high level of artistic performance. Thus, it can hardly be classified as a folk dance form.
• Leisem Jagoi:- It is 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.

M

• Maibi Jagoi:- It is performed by the maibis (priestesses) during the religious festival of Lai Haraoba. The Maibi Jagoi dance form performed by the female priestesses of the Leihou tribe is one of the most remarkable one. Due to its unique way of performance and costume, the dance form is famous all over the Indian subcontinent and abroad. The maibis (priestesses) also enact "Laihou Jagoi" ("Dance of invitation"), along with the performance of "pena", a traditional music instrument.

P

• Panthoibi Jagoi:- It portrays the romance between Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi. Legend says Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi got united, in the Nongmaiching Hills (Langmai hills), and were later venerated as the civilization giving deities in the Meitei religion. Their union is regarded as the seminal form of the great Lai Haraoba festival of Sanamahism.

T

• Thougal Jagoi:- The performance lasts for half an hour, after which the "Hoi Lauba" ceremony is enacted. This dance form is also known as the Jagoi Ashangbi (Meitei: ꯖꯒꯣꯢ ꯑꯁꯥꯡꯕꯤ). It is a Meitei traditional dance form, performed by both men and women, along with maibis (priestesses) to invoke the presiding deities. It is performed in the religious festival of Lai Haraoba.

Related pages

• Dances of Manipur

Further reading

• http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=manipur.Arts_and_Culture.Article_Dances_Manipur