India-Info title

home contact search menu
Follow on
Snippets of Information
Dance - Sattriya



* 11 Sep 2023
Ankiya Bhaona is a stylized Sattriya musical drama, showcasing Assamese heritage and culture. As an outcome of the Bhakti movement, it was spearheaded by the Vaishnava visionary saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva during the 15th/16th century, to spread the philosophy and moral values in mankind. Along with the ritualistic music and dance practiced in the Sattras of Assam, he also created Ankiya Bhaona, Nritya Natikas or musical plays to inculcate moral values through the portrayal of mythological stories.
Source: Satkara Foundation’s Sukhanubhuti by Manjari Sinha, narthaki.com, 3 Aug 2023


* 11 Sep 2023
Srimanta Sankaradeva is also known as Mahapurusha. He established an institution of Sattra, monastery in Assam.
Sir Edward Gait mentions in Census report of 1891: "Mussalmans have borrowed the ecclesiastical machinery of the Hindus. They have their Gossains or spiritual preceptors to one of whom every Mussalman is bound to attach himself. Mussalman Gossains have their own Sattras or establishments and resident disciples." All this led Srimanta Foundation for Culture and Society to conceive 'Setubandha Programme' in 2003 to build bridges of human capital and hosted the same jointly with the Assam Sattra Mahasabha. The celebrated singer Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a part of this 'Setubandha Programme.'

The amazing activity led to the performance of Bhaona, the traditional theatre devised by Sankaradeva in Bodo and Mising language. And in the post Setubandha follow up programme, the Sattriya teachers continue teaching the 'bhaoriyas,' the physical exercises and theatre. Now they have regular classes in four places in Majuli and three places in Gohapur. In the cross cultural training, the Mipaks (non-Misings) and Harshas (non-Bodos) are learning the folk art forms of respective communities. The Mati Akharas, ground exercises which Sankaradeva created for Sattriya dances, are taught as physical exercises to children. Thus the works of Srimanta Sankaradeva is of utmost relevance for social re-engineering and is the need of the hour for human unification.


* 11 Sep 2023
Sattriya is one of the major Indian classical dances from Assam. Although it is a living dance tradition which has been thriving for almost six hundred years through the Sattra institutions (Vaishnava monasteries) of Assam, it gained mainstream visibility only in the recent decade after Sattriya was recognized as a classical dance by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2000. This recognition encouraged and facilitated further experimentation, research and performance in the field of Sattriya dance.
Source: Nritya Pravah: An evening of Sattriya dance by Deeptangshu Das, narthaki.com, April 24, 2019