Mahakali dance being rehearsed for Indra Jatra

Kathmandu, Sept 1: With Indra Jatra around the corner, seven crews of Mahakali dancers of Bhaktapur have started their training to perform the dance during Indra Jatra festival of Kathmandu. 

An ethnic community from Bhaktapur has come together to perform the age-old dance in an effort to preserve the intangible heritage.  

The Jyappu community of Bhaktapur is the lead performer of the street dance. The dancers are selected on the basis of their body figure and dancing skills, said Tulsi Narayan Dandeksya, head of the Mahakali Dance Management Committee. 

A new group of 28 are added to the dancing crew. Both new and old dancers have been rehearsing dance for the last five days, he said. 

They will perform the eight-day dance from September 7 at Hanumandhoka. 

“I am giving training to both new and old dancers of my two crews at my house in Bhaktapur-5 after their school time and other five crews are also getting training from their own leaders,” he said. 

He informed that those willing to perform the dance need to join the group at the age of four to five years. This year, children aged 5-12 and those in their seventies have been performing the dance. 

The fresher dancers firstly need to perform the role of Kawamcha and then Khyak, Betal, lion and lastly the Mahakali dance. Their level will upgrade after they perform for some years in the same character, eventually becoming able to perform in the role any character, he added.  

The colourful mask dance is performed by around 25-30 people in seven different groups which include dancers and musicians. Half of the members in each group are real dancers. They perform different characters like Mahalaxmi, Mahakali, Kumari, lion, peacock, jungali, kankal dances to the beat of musical instruments

The seven dancing crews of Mahakali dance are: Kharbuja, Daibagya, Muskyakho, Galeashi Pukha Devi and Makha Phyan, Phaiju and Byanju.  

The main characters in this dance are Mahakali, Mahalaxmi and Kumari, so it is also known as the Devi (goddess) dance, he said. 

The dance, which belongs to the ancient city of Bhaktapur, is also registered at the Department of Archeology (DoA) as an intangible heritage of the nation. 

Mahakali dance is performed twice a year – on the occasion of Indra Jatra and during the Gai Jatra in Bhaktapur.

Surendra Dandeksya, 34, and Bijesh Dandeksya, 32, have been performing the Mahakali dance for eleven years while Hari Twanadasu, 35, has been performing Kumari dance.   

Purna Chitrkar, earthen tradition mask maker of Yachhe of Bhaktapur, is repainting the 16 masks of several god and goddess of Mahakali dance.  

Chitrakar is the only person who can make the deity masks.  

“Mahakali dance is the identity of Bhaktapur. We are the only group that has been giving continuity to the age-old dance despite not getting adequate financial support,” Dandeksya, head of the group, said.