Rehearsal of Mahakali dance for Indra Jatra begins

Kathmandu, Sept. 14: Kathmanduites are now preparing to mark their biggest Jatra, Indra Jatra, known as Yenya in the local language.  This year, the annual Jatra of Living Goddess falls on September 17. 

Street mask dances are one of the major features of the Jatra, and Mahakali dance is one of them.  Seven crews of Mahakali dancers of Bhaktapur have already started rehearsing the dance. 

This year’s Mahakali dance will begin on Sunday in front of the Kageshwori Temple after erecting the pole. 

Dances of seven deities with seven instruments and seven rhythms are the speciality of this dance. 

Tulsi Narayan Dandekshy, head of the Mahakali Dance Management Committee, said that the dancers from an ethnic community from Bhaktapur would perform the eight-day Mahakali mask dance during Indra Jatra in Kathmandu. 

 The dancers from the Jyapu community of Bhaktapur are selected based on their body figure and dancing skills, he said. 

Both new and old dancers will perform the traditional dance daily from Sunday. “Dancing crew members first change their clothes according to their role at Bhadrakali and walk to Hanumandhoka,” he said.  

 “I have been giving training to both new and old dancers at my house in Bhaktapur-5 after their school time while five dancers are receiving training from their leaders,” he said. 

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

The fresher dancers first 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 of any character, he added.  

The colourful mask dance is performed by around 25-30 persons 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, Makha Phyan, Phaiju and Byanju.  

The main characters in this dance are Mahakali, Mahalaxmi and Kumari, so it is also known as the Di Pyakhan (Devi dance) in Bhaktapur, 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, 38, and Bijesh Dandeksya, 35, have been performing the Mahakali and Mahalaxmi dance for 13 years while Hari Twanadasu, has been performing Kumari dance for 13 years.   

Purna Chitrkar, who makes the earthen traditional mask in Yachhe, Bhaktapur, is repainting the masks of several gods and goddesses of the Mahakali dance.  

Chitrakar is the only person who can make the 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.