Pung-Dhon-Dholak Cholom & Nat Sankirtan of Manipur
- Part 1 -

By Waikhom Damodar Singh *

Dhon, a variant of Dhol is a base-drum musical instrument and Dholak, a word derived from Dhol, is one of the ancient instruments of the so called 'Badya-Jantras' - 'Mridanga group' - instruments indispensably used for the singing of Hari Sankirtans.

There are four kinds of 'Badya Jantras' as prescribed in the sloka 'Chatur-bidhantat kathitang sushir mebacha. Abanadhang ghanachenti tatang tantrigatang bhabet' (Sangeet Darpan - 533) -

1. Tata group - stringed instruments like veena, Tanpura etc.
2. Sushir group - Conch, Flute etc. - instruments which produce sound by blowing by mouth.
3. Anadha group - Mridanga (pung), Dholak, Dafad (Tafad) etc. - instruments which produce rhythmic sound by beating by sticks or hand.
4. Ghana group - Kartal (cymbals) etc.

Actually, it is the Badya Jantra instruments which give 'life' to the singing of songs and dancing in a sankirtan - group singing of 'Hari Nam' - the divine name and glories of the Almighty God, Vishnu (Shri Hari).

The word 'Mridanga' is derived from the two Sanskrit words 'Mrit' for mud and 'Anga' for body. This divine and most ancient Indian musical instrument, it is said, was invented during the Satya-Yuga when the invincible 'Asur' - Demon (hingchaba in Manipuri), "Tripurashur" was finally slain by Shiva Mahadeva on the fervent request of all the deities who could no more fight with him and Bramha made a 'rhythm-giving-instrument' the body of which was prepared out of the mud soaked with the blood of the slain Asur and on the 'beats and rhythms' produced from it on the play by deity Ganesh all the deities led by Shiva Mahadeva danced in great rejoice on the victory over the invincible Asur, and hence the name Mridanga. Then it was in the Dwapura Yuga that the body of the instrument was replaced by wooden body or trunk.

According to the 'Sankirtan Vichar or Code' widely accepted, particularly in Manipur, the body of the Mridanga is most sacredly regarded to be that of the divine and holy body of Shri Krishna, on the two polished leather faces of which lie - Parvati (Durga) on the right smaller face (Manao), and Shiva Mahadeva on the bigger left side (Maru).

The skin of the slain Demon was also utilised in making the two faces of the Mridanga, including that of the third one located above its centre which was initially known as 'Puskar' and which has been dispensed with later on - so also the bones and other arteries of the slain Asur were utilised in the preparations of other essential parts of the instrument.

In Manipur, 'Pung' in the form of 'Yaibung' or 'Khunbung' was first invented from the time of Meidingu (King), Khuyol Tompok, also called Khui and Kshemchandra, the son of Pakhangba in 154 A.D. as the 'sounding drum' or instrument for giving 'alarming sounds of calls' to his subjects - the difference in the number of beats of growling sounds produced by striking by two sticks (Pungjeis) on its two leather faces indicate the 'royal message' to be passed on to the people i.e. the purpose for which it required to be passed on to the people - either to come fully prepared for a 'war' or for some other very important and urgent purpose, etc.

Pung chollom at Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati on November 1, 2006

Such a signal-giving drum prepared later on and found in the 'Kashom-Khulen' village of the Ukhrul district of Manipur used for the most vigorous and war-like dancing of the Tangkhul tribe of the area is one of the biggest and longest indigenous instrument having a length of about 4 feet and its sound can be heard within a distance of some 7/8 mile's radius.

Such drums are also used for the very rythmic indigenous dances of the Kabui tribe, now preferred to be called as Zeliangrongs (combination of three sub-tribes the Zemis of the north, the Longmeis and the Rongmeis of the south), of the Western areas of Manipur.

In fact, every Kabui village, both in the Hills and the valley keeps such a drum for giving 'alarming' calls and for their annual 'haraoba' (chakan-gun-ngai) festivals - one of the biggest of such drums had been in the possession of Khoupum village of the south-western hills of Manipur.

Then the indigenous instrument in a much reduced and improved form of 'Dholak' came to be used indispensably in the indigenous 'Lai Haraoba' dances of the Meiteis, particularly of the Maibi and Khamba-Thoibi dances and then later on for the 'Holi Sankirtan singings' after the Meiteis embraced the 'Gour Dharma'.

Also from the time of Maharajah, Sir Churachand Singh (from 1907 to 1941 A.D.) it came to be used for the so called 'Khongjom Parba singing' - singing by one person, either a male or female in ballad form in sitting posture narrating the account of the 'Anglo-Manipuri War' that had taken place in the year 1891 on 23/25 April at Khongjom, 35 kilometre south of Imphal between the mighty British forces and the Manipuris which culminated in the utter defeat of the latter and in setting the 'Sun' of their thousands year old 'independent sovereignty', and of the account of the great 'ordeal' of taming a mad elephant by Raja Shri Bhagyachandra (Nungnangkhomba, Chingthangkhomba, Joy Singh and Karta Maharaj) carried out at Tekhao, Assam (Sibsagar erstwhile capital of the Ahoms) in the later part of the 18th century under the orders of the Ahom King, Swargadeva Rajeshore Singh, as an acid test for confirming if the former, who was taking 'asylum under his royal care', was really the blessed devotee (Krishna Bhakta) king of the kingdom of Manipur. Miraculously enough to the Ahom king and to all who had witnessed the great event, blessed Bhagyachandra came out quite successful in the ordeal quite unbelievably and had easily tamed the wild elephant.

Also of the 'Jila Durbar' - the historic meeting taken place between the Viceroy and Governor General of the British India, Lord Northbrook in the year 1874 A.D. in July month and Chandrakirti Maharajah, son of Maharajah Gambhir Singh, accompanied by his two young sons, Kulachandra and Tikendra (Koireng) and many other high ranking Manipuri generals and officials on board the Viceroy's yacht (steamer) on the Barak river at Malugram, Silchar, Cachar, Assam.

The Viceroy and the British officers were highly thrilled when they saw the king of the independent Manipur coming for the meeting in a grand and majestic royal procession led by a Brass band of a strength of 30 bandsmen under bandmaster, one Tolen and well armed (swords, spears, shields and fire arms) Manipuri soldiers in thousand including some 500 gallant armed Kuki soldiers under their very able commanders in their quite colourful traditional uniforms (all the sepoys in black dhotis tightly worn, tucked-up upto knees below which covered by protective black colour shin guards or pads, black tight jackets and black colour light turbans well tied by the so called Khadang chets' (a piece of cloth tying the turbans tightly from above the head down the chin).

And the commanders in their chiefship awarded decorative dresses of spotted 'Khamen chatpa' dhotis, half sleeve green velvet jackets, black and light yellow colour turbans with white feather hackles wearing golden colour arm-bracelets and bangles followed by 50 select cavalry-men mounted on indigenous ponies - well trained both for war and playing Polo (Sagol Kangjei) - all the riders dressed as same as the sepoys on foot carried indigenous thick cane polo sticks in sloping positions resting them on their right shoulders and 'Arambais' (poisoned arrows) in bamboo made cases fitted on the left sides of their indigenous saddles.

And the king dressed in majestic Manipuri royal dress mounted on the famous royal elephant, Moirang-sha (one of the most intelligent and just human-like animal of that time) seated most gracefully on the specially prepared 'royal seat' (Howdah - taibot) well decorated with peacock feathers on its canopy known as 'Sembang Mahum' placed above the 'Taibot-mat' covered by red blanket (Farangji) guarded by two other well known royal elephants, Kondumba and Heramot, on the left and right, mounted by Thangal and Sougaijam Balaram generals and other chiefs (Selungbas).

The other elephants that were in the royal procession- Arangba Achouba, Jir-sha, Dhintar etc. At one time, during the reign of the great king Pamheiba alias Garibniwas in the 17th century, there were some 150 elephants, it is said, kept at the royal stable at Kokchai samu sang, at Mayang Imphal which formed the invincible elephant column of the Manipuri Army.

The grand sight of king Chandrakirti of the independent kingdom, Manipur on the well decorated royal elephant was compared by the people who had witnessed the historic and most majestic event of the time with that of the deity Indra Deva's (Soraren) mounting on the most majestic and divine elephant "Irabot".

To be continued ...

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* Waikhom Damodar Singh wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted on July 31st, 2008

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