Paper short abstract:

Historically Manipur’s Sankirtana evolved as an integral part of Vaishnavite rituals but in the twentieth century, the inherent aspects tradition has been taught, performed and popularised as separate entities such as congregational chanting, dance, percussive and music traditions.

Paper long abstract:

Sankirtana has gained prominence as an important cultural expression of the Northeast Indian Meitei community of Manipur. In 2013, Sankirtana was inscribed as an 'intangible heritage' by UNESCO. From 18th century, Sankirtana has been a vital component of Vaishnavite rituals and presently it is the most observable cultural contact of Meitei and Bengali traditions in performative music and ceremonial terminology. The ritual-performance encompasses percussive, congregational chanting, music and dance traditions. This paper discusses three components of the Sankirtana tradition, the first being the changes in the understanding of bhakti and darshan and how the relationship between the devotee and the deity is conveyed through congregational music. Secondly, the role of dance in a predominantly musical tradition is analysed by discussing the cholom style in Sankirtana. Thirdly, this paper aims to project how Sankirtana has enabled Manipur's Vaishnavite religious traditions to be recognised as a major performative tradition of post-colonial India. This paper takes a close look at historical sources and modern practices studied through a ethnography.