Chheihlam
 Mizo women performing the Chheihlam at Tuidam village, Mamit district, Mizoram, in 2014 | |
| Native name | Chheihlam |
|---|---|
| Genre | Folk dance |
| Instrument(s) | Khuang (drum), bamboo tube, hand clapping. accompanied withChheih hla (sung) |
| Year | After 1900 |
| Origin | Mizoram, India. Inspired byPuma Zai songs |
| Related dances | Tlanglam dance |
Chheihlam (also Chheih Lam; from Mizo chheih, an exclamation of joy, and lam, "dance")[1] is a folk dance[2] of the Mizo community of Mizoram, India. Among the youngest of the principal Mizo dances, it embodies what the Government of Mizoram describes as the spirit of "joy and exhilaration", and is performed to a song called the Chheih hla, usually in the evening at the end of a day's work.[3][4] Performances take place in the round: spectators sit in a circle on the floor, singing and beating time on a drum or a hollow bamboo tube, while one or two dancers in the middle improvise verses and move to the rhythm.[3]
The Chheihlam is among the regular items at Chapchar Kut, the spring festival of the Mizo people, and at the other major Mizo festivals of Mim Kut and Pawl Kut.[3] Government and private cultural troupes, including the Song and Drama Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, perform the dance at public-information events and at official functions both within Mizoram and elsewhere in India. School and college cultural programmes in Mizoram incorporate the Chheihlam alongside the Cheraw and Khuallam as part of the standard repertoire of Mizo folk dance.[4]
Origins
[edit]
According to the Government of Mizoram, the Chheihlam originated after the year 1900, modelled on the songs known as Puma Zai and on the older dance called Tlanglam.[3] In its early form the dance was associated with the zawlbuk, the central communal house of a Mizo village in which the unmarried young men slept, and with the social drinking of zu (Mizo rice beer) in the evening.[5][6] The arrival of Welsh and other Christian missionaries from 1894 onwards and the spread of Christianity in the early decades of the twentieth century brought significant change to the traditional repertoire: the older songs survived in a fragmentary form known as Puma Zai Siper, while the Chheihlam itself was adapted, gradually losing its direct association with rice beer and developing into a form of communal entertainment performed at festivals and public events.[4]
Performance
[edit]
A Chheihlam performance is organised around a circle. Spectators and singers squat on the floor along the circumference, beating time on a khuang (the Mizo wooden drum) or on a hollow bamboo tube and clapping their hands.[3] In the centre of the circle, one or two expert dancers chant verses while performing characteristic movements: the body is held low, the limbs drawn close to the trunk, and the dancer crouches and rises in time with the rhythm, with various jerking motions of the legs and gentler movements of the arms and torso.[3][5] As the tempo increases the seated participants leave their places and join the dance, and honoured guests are likewise invited into the circle, until in principle the whole gathering is in motion.[3] There is no fixed choreography; the participants follow the lead of the central dancer.[5][7]
Music and lyrics
[edit]The dance is accompanied by a song called the Chheih hla ("Chheih song"), a short composition of typically three lines whose lyrics are improvised on the spot. The verses generally recount the heroic deeds and adventures of the performers and their ancestors, and praise any distinguished guests who happen to be present.[3][4] Musical accompaniment is modest, consisting principally of the khuang or a bamboo tube together with hand clapping; gongs of the kind used in the Khuallam and Cheraw dances are not employed.[3]
Costume
[edit]Although the Chheihlam was originally a domestic and convivial dance for which everyday clothing sufficed, modern performances on festival and public occasions feature the full repertoire of Mizo traditional dress. Women typically wear the puanchei with a matching kawrchei blouse; performers in the more formal stage adaptations developed from the 1960s onwards may also wear the vakiria headdress and the thihna necklace, similar to the costume of the Cheraw dance.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Chheih Lam | Serchhip District, Government of Mizoram | India". Archived from the original on 18 February 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ^ "List of folk dances of Mizoram". www.pratidintime.com. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "About Mizoram: Dances". Government of Mizoram. National Informatics Centre, Mizoram State Centre. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Dances of Mizoram". Tribal Tours in India. Retrieved 21 June 2026.[dead link]
- ^ a b c "Dances of Mizoram". Maps of India. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ^ "Mizos set to celebrate Chapchar Kut". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ^ "Traditional Chapchar Kut festival celebrated across Mizoram – GKToday". www.gktoday.in. Retrieved 22 June 2026.