Dancing To Please The Snake Goddess

A folk dance from the northeastern part of India performed to please the snake goddess. Its violent dance moves have been mentioned in the Puranas. No wonder there is a famous folktale associated with the Deodhani dance.

A Deodhani dance performance. Image source: Flickr.

The situation was grim when Behula, the newly married wife of Lakhindar, became a widow. The prophecy to ruin the lineage of Chand Sadagar by the snake goddess Manasa ultimately came true. However, Behula was innocent and did not deserve to be punished this way. She deserved a life of happiness. Therefore, she decided to fight the god of death and revive her husband and bring him back from death.

To please the god, Behula had to perform a dance and she did it gracefully. This form of dance was the 'Deodhani dance' which later became a pathway to please the snake goddess Manasa in many cultures of Bengal and Assam.

This mythological folktale from the Shiva Purana justified the inclusion of the worship of the goddess Manasa into the manifold Brahmanical Hinduism. 'Deo' means God and 'Dhani' means a woman shaman who is possessed by a god. The literal meaning of deodhani dance can be thus called shaman folk dance.

According to many sources, the dance has its origin with the Kachari tribe of northeast India. Some also attribute it to the Bodos, another indigenous tribe of Assam. But, in any form, the Deodhani dance is associated with the snake goddess 'Manasa' or 'Marei' or 'Maroi.'

The dancers carry a sword and shield and perform vigorously to the songs sung by an 'ojha' (a singer) accompanied by the beats of the 'dhol' (drums). The dancer or a group of dancers performs this complex dance form with their long hair untied, showing the lionhearted attitude of a goddess. Usually, sacrificing animals or plants to the snake goddess is performed along with the dance.

This folk dance of Assam is performed annually at the Kamakhaya temple, a Shakti Peeth in Assam, during the Deodhani festival. Every year,  tourists from all over the world visit the temple premises to witness this virile dance performance. Before the festival, dancers have to prepare themselves for about a month. They are not allowed to meet their family members or have any contact with them and have to reside in the temple premises. They carry a photograph of the god/goddess they  want to represent. This helps them  get into the trance form during the festival.

At the time of the festival, these dancers dress like the gods they want to represent. They perform in the dancing hall which is just next to the sacrificial hall. Usually, the worship of any goddess is centered around the yoni, but the worship of the snake goddess or Manasa is solely restricted to the dancing hall. Instead of a sculpture or image of the goddess, an earthen pot is used as Manasa's embodiment. This auspicious pot is considered to be the womb of the goddess holding life in its seed form.

A dancer during the Deodhani Festival at the Kamakhya Temple. Image Source: The Asian Age.

It is difficult to identify or personify the dancers to a single deity. This is because, in any form, a goddess is revered to be a form of 'mother.' The dancers in their trance state jerk and dance to the sound of the drums and cymbals which fill  the air during the festival and the occasional recitation of the Deodhani song sung by the ojhas.

Manasa is also a form of mother and is viewed in the same accordance with the other forms of mother goddesses. The object associated with her —the snake — makes her different from the rest. Deodhani dance, though common among the people of Assam, still remains to be an unusual dance form for the rest of the world for its moves, significance and association with the shaman cult.