awakening of the serpent energy - UWS ResearchDirect

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AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT
ENERGY
AN INDIAN-ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE EXCHANGE
Beena Sharma
MA Sociology, BA Performing Arts
Master of Arts, Honours (Performance)
2001
University of Western Sydney
School of Applied Social and Human Sciences
Beena Sharma
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ENERGY
AN INDIAN-ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE EXCHANGE
Beena Sharma
MA Sociology, BA Performing Arts
Master of Arts, Honours (Performance)
2001
University of Western Sydney
School of Applied Social and Human Sciences
Beena Sharma
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MA (Hons.) thesis
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that this thesis, except where acknowledged within the text, is my
original work, and that it has not been presented previously for examination for any other
degree at this or any other institution.
I also agree to abide by the Copyright Rules of the University.
Signed ………………………
Date __ / __ / __
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Dedicated to
AUM NAMAH SHRI TRIPURA HRIM
(Salutation to the Highest Being in the Abstract)
and
My Gurus and Parents Rajender and Sarla Paul
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to numerous people who have either influenced me or have given me
valuable advice and assistance in my venture.
First and foremost I am grateful to my mother, Sarla Paul in conceptualizing my dream,
and to my father retired Wg. Cdr. R. Paul, for translating verses into English and helping
me in collecting materials on the Serpent energy. To Neena Bhardwaj, my sister, for
organizing the music in India.
I would like to offer a heartfelt acknowledgment to my family members, especially my
husband Vijay and my daughters Radhika and Sarika, for their tireless support and
patience throughout my writing. To Radhika I am further grateful for the illustrations and
the drawings.
To the Department of Asian Arts, Art Gallery of NSW, for allowing me to use the
documented work on The Hindu Gods and The Dreaming.
To Mangalmay Mandir, Ratlam, M.P, India, for using excerpts from Shiv Upasana
Kalapam.
To Angela Martin, Aboriginal Education Officer of Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney for
making my vision come alive in a performative mode, and letting me use some of the
photographs in action.
To the Government of India Tourist Office, Sydney, and The Consul General’s office of
the High Commission of India, Sydney, for their enthusiastic support.
To Imelda Willis for her willingness to talk about the energy experience in the third eye,
and for coming down from Townsville and introducing the program to the audience for
two days.
To the Venerable Achariyaji Chandra Prakesh, Shiva Temple Minto, Sydney, for
transcribing the script.
To my friends Barbara Leigh, Mrs. Bhattachariya, and Ranjana Malhotra who have all
variously encouraged me and showered me with their good wishes in pursuing this work
and for offering any support that they could render.
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To Late Tej Prakesh Tulsi for composing the music.
To Vijay and Ritu Paul for the encouragement, and moral support throughout my stay in
India.
The Dance Department of UWS, for taking the video.
The Department of Social, Community and Organisational Studies, UWS, for making a
grant available to assist and compile these studies undertaken.
To Stephen Page of The Bangarra Dance Company for allowing me to interview him.
To Bernadette Wolong for my workshop and brief discussion on serpent energy.
To Dr. Kumar Suresh Singh, Director General (Retd.), Archeological Survey of India, for
suggesting in bringing out the spirituality in my dance.
To anthropologist Leela Dube, New Delhi, for her guidance.
To friends Anupam Sharma and Sofia Oberoi for all their support and encouragements.
To Pt. Sundar Lal of Brighu Ashram, Haridwar (India) for his spiritual guidance.
Finally, I am indebted to my supervisors, Kathy Driscoll and Anne Marshall, at the
University of Western Sydney, who enthusiastically encouraged me in my endeavors.
Kathy was always available to discuss and critique my performances. Anne Marshall
(who is herself an Aboriginal performer) was always available to talk, discuss, and check
every aspect of my work, and for always directing me to the proper sources for my
research and for her moral support and encouragement.
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Note to examiners
Beena Sharma’s thesis was printed from Zip disks
formulated in America and posted to Australia.
Unfortunately, some of the punctuations has disappeared
and seems impossible to fix since, while it appears on the
screen, it does not print out.
Attempts to correct this have failed.
SYNOPSIS
This is a story of a cross-cultural dance exchange
conceptualising myth as a living art through
traditional Kathak dance form in collaboration with
contemporary Aboriginal dance form, weaving and
celebrating the reconciliation and independence of
all people through male and female energy to evoke
an ancient universal serpent energy.
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It is presented as part-fulfillment (50%) of an MA
Honours (Performance) examination, and continues
the poetic traditions of interpretation which
accompany the arts in both Indian and Aboriginal
cultures.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of Originality..................................................................................................2
Acknowledgement ...........................................................................................................4
SYNOPSIS ....................................................................................................................... 7
PREFACE .................................................................................................................... 13
Multiculturalism and The Art of Dance ........................................................................ 13
Dance as A Reflection of Experiences .......................................................................... 13
Experiences Find Expression........................................................................................ 13
Dual role as The Serpent .............................................................................................. 14
The Serpent Expression Begets Communication .......................................................... 14
Communicating and Mapping the Probability ............................................................. 15
Communication Transpires through Energy ................................................................ 16
Expansion as Energy in Motion.................................................................................... 16
Motion is the Grounding of Energy .............................................................................. 17
Expanding Energy Transforms Itself ............................................................................ 19
Probable Connections Become Synergy in Performance ............................................. 23
Prism Deflects............................................................................................................... 25
Kathak’s Role as A Medium in the Project................................................................... 25
Communication ............................................................................................................. 26
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 29
MY BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................... 29
Live energy in action..................................................................................................... 29
Fate’s groundwork........................................................................................................ 30
Fate begins its networking ............................................................................................ 31
I Began My Journey ...................................................................................................... 33
It’s All In The Making ................................................................................................... 37
What is a myth?............................................................................................................. 37
Setting of the stage ........................................................................................................ 38
Global Ramifications .................................................................................................... 45
Structures I Used In My Myth Making.......................................................................... 46
Transformation ............................................................................................................. 48
My interpretation of bindu or dot in Transformation ................................................... 49
CHAPTER 1................................................................................................................. 51
Awakening of the Serpent energy.................................................................................. 51
The Task ........................................................................................................................ 51
Definitions on culture and inter-culturalism ................................................................ 54
Culture a social process................................................................................................ 54
An organizing principle ................................................................................................ 55
As symbols in repetition culture thrives........................................................................ 55
Inter-culturalism: Mutual exchange, friction or interaction between cultures ............ 56
Where one social process analyses another social process.......................................... 56
Symbolism - a new phenomena as a process of awareness .......................................... 57
Creating a new myth ..................................................................................................... 58
A new culture emerges .................................................................................................. 58
I began my task ............................................................................................................. 59
I Collected Data On Serpent Energy ............................................................................ 61
Exploration ................................................................................................................... 62
Analyzing the Data........................................................................................................ 69
I Chose the Pitjantjatjara Concept of The Serpent...................................................... 73
Heroes ........................................................................................................................... 74
What Did I Do............................................................................................................... 78
I Observed the Cultural Parameters............................................................................. 79
The Cultural Ethics ....................................................................................................... 79
I Achieved My Aims and Objects .................................................................................. 79
Fig. 17 The symbolic elements used in the performance making up the Indian and
Aboriginal Mystical Worldview. ................................................................................... 84
Outcomes....................................................................................................................... 84
Conclusion: ................................................................................................................... 84
CHAPTER 2................................................................................................................. 86
My Desire for A New Myth ........................................................................................... 86
Ramayana ..................................................................................................................... 87
Preparation of Role-playing ......................................................................................... 89
Role in Action................................................................................................................ 90
History Unravels Itself.................................................................................................. 92
In The Expanded Experience the Making of My Myth Unfolds Itself ........................... 95
Reliving the Ancient Serpent in a new Myth. .............................................................. 100
CHAPTER 3............................................................................................................... 101
Bringing the Myth to Life............................................................................................ 101
How it all Started ........................................................................................................ 101
The Search Began ....................................................................................................... 102
A Third Performer....................................................................................................... 105
Discussions on Themes ............................................................................................... 106
Artistic Decision.......................................................................................................... 106
Promotional Materials................................................................................................ 112
Issues and Solutions.................................................................................................... 113
Conceptualizing the Performance............................................................................... 115
Individual Process, Experience and Expression......................................................... 116
Different Texts Developed........................................................................................... 120
Cultural Symbolism through Narrative Text............................................................... 122
Contemplative text ...................................................................................................... 134
Transformation Enters My Performance .................................................................... 134
Transformation in Different Role Images ................................................................... 135
Transformation as Spiral and Linear Formations...................................................... 135
Transformation Becomes an Eye Opener ................................................................... 136
Time Text..................................................................................................................... 137
A New Perspective in Kathak...................................................................................... 139
Changes in Kathak...................................................................................................... 139
Creative Energy at Work ............................................................................................ 141
Audience Reaction ...................................................................................................... 144
The New Look in Performance ................................................................................... 146
Interesting Moments.................................................................................................... 148
Interpretation of Serpent Energy ................................................................................ 152
Outcome: Compassion ................................................................................................ 152
Participation of My Myth as Universal Awareness .................................................... 155
The Serpent Moves...................................................................................................... 156
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................... 161
APPENDIX A .............................................................................................................. 169
Aboriginal Glossary.................................................................................................... 169
APPENDIX B .............................................................................................................. 172
Indian Glossary........................................................................................................... 172
APPENDIX C.............................................................................................................. 182
APPENDIX D.............................................................................................................. 184
APPENDIX E .............................................................................................................. 194
APPENDIX F .............................................................................................................. 195
APPENDIX G.............................................................................................................. 196
APPENDIX H.............................................................................................................. 198
List of illustrations and Figures.................................................................................. 198
Awakening Of The Serpent Energy
Preface
PREFACE
I Made My Wildest Dream Come Alive
Multiculturalism and The Art of Dance
I see art as a self-expression in the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual
realms. Such representations can take place in various forms - pictorial, sculptural,
architectural, or in music, dance, and drama. Their portrayal at any particular moment
can come to stand as an index to the height of achievement in the growth and
awareness of a society; brought about by the creativity of its members and enriched
by intermingling of diverse cultures.
Amongst the various art forms, I find that dance has the capacity to establish a rapport
between the spectator and the performer through an artist’s visual appeal of the body
movement. Dance can captivate an audience, enhancing its visual impact with the
harmony of the ringing tones and vocal music, bringing into strong relief the artistry
of the body language by using light space and time effects to the maximum. Dance
can also be in total disharmony for the spectator. Whatever transpires at that instant
evokes a lasting impact on everyone’s psyche.
Dance as A Reflection of Experiences
For me, dance is also a social reflection of experiences expressed in various forms,
such as harvesting - expressing the gladness of a new crop. Performed in open spaces,
it is often referred to as a ‘folk dance’; and performed on a raised platform it is called
a ‘harvest dance’. Whatever the situation, the experiences expressed through the
performance, either at ritual ceremonies, rites of passage, festivals, or sacred sites, all
are expressions (emotional, aesthetic, temporal, permanent, creative, transformational,
or spatial) of human relationships with their worlds.
Experiences Find Expression
These expressions find their outlets in written and verbal or non-verbal
communications. Through education, stories, art, or narrative performances all come
to be expressed and interrelated through a functional role in a society. As an outer
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expression through a functional role the expressions re-enact the inner experience or
insight in an individual’s daily life, thereby becoming a functional participant, or the
connector between the insights of a human being’s freedom of thought, which we call
inner self-knowledge as opposed to the intellect or acquired knowledge, the ‘external
knowledge.
On the one hand, vertically, the expressions act as a social mediator between its
functional movement connecting the above two knowledge’s, and, on the other hand,
horizontally, as the connector between the functional role and the physical, social and
metaphysical worlds. I chose to bring forth expressions in the vertical and horizontal
movement as a dual functional role-play in my myth and performance.
Dual role as The Serpent
Serpents and snakes have been integral parts of many traditional societies throughout
the world. Most societies acknowledge a serpent’s dual role as a connector between
the inner self-knowledge with the external knowledge and their environments. My
main concern in this paper was to examine the expression of serpent energy in motion
in dance performance.. These expressions are manifest through oral traditions
(narrative performance), and non-verbal communication, as part of inter-cultural
exchange, through Indian Kathak dance and Australian Aboriginal contemporary
dance forms, in Australia.
The Serpent Expression Begets Communication
I began by studying and observing expressions of Indian and Australian Aboriginal
people’s traditions coming down through the ages as myths, and stories of different
people living in different areas. In order to express myself in the present instance, I
created a new myth that suggests a common source of origin that I find is still in the
present day Indian and the Australian Aboriginal traditions.
My new myth took off as a part of a pre-existing story of Ramayana. In ancient preVedic times, information and other secrets were handed down in the tradition of oral
teachings. These teachings were, in turn, handed down from a teacher to his disciple,
to what in Sanskrit is known as Guru Shishya Parampara. This is still continuing as
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the Rainbow Serpent Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent) myth in Central Australia, as
narrated by the elders in Pitjantjatjara communities. These teachings are treated as
direct knowledge from their sources in creation times, and are regarded as (symbolic
and actual) truths in their communities.
Communicating and Mapping the Probability
Up until the Europeans colonized Australia in 1778, the indigenous inhabitants had
almost lost contact with the mainland of Asia. Millennia past, their continent, once
contiguous with South East Asia, had moved away from the Asian mainland due to
continental drift, thereby separating them from the differential cultural and aesthetic
backgrounds of the adjoining lands. For some time the contacts continued but these
could not be sustained, leaving the Australian Aborigines very much on their own.
(Horton, [1978], cited in Sutton, [1988], p5, Schwartzberg, J.E. [1992] (see Appendix
G)
Having lost contact with the outside world, they strongly held on to their beliefs and
culture bequeathed to them by their elders. A strong sense of oneness with the past led
them to worship their ancestors, whether in seclusion or in joint rituals. This oneness
with the past was, for me, to be in tune with the legacy of injunction contained in the
following verse translated from Manusmriti text in Sanskrit:
Worship the learned, the benefactors, the past kinsmen,
the forefathers and those who are presently repositories
of knowledge.
Being in constant companionship with other living beings in their own cultures, both
the Australian Aborigines and Indians built up a strong sense of kinship with the other
living beings. Through this sense of kinship it gave them perpetuity in form of totems
(the serpent in my myth) as a revival of the ancient ideal of universal love and kinship
of animate and inanimate life. This is epitomized as follows translated from RgVeda
Samhita, AV 11 26.1.3 text (cited in Saraswati, S.P.and Vidyalankar, [1977] p29.
p197).
Together, together let cattle flow, together horse, together
men, together the fatness that is of grain
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Over a period of time, the Aborigines in Australia came to possess a rich culture that
flourished to a very high level, but very little intercultural exchange led to a
comparatively low technical development. Their development of complex thought led
them to express themselves in pictorial arts, oral narratives, and poetry or in dancing
at rituals, such that a complex religious and mythological life evolved.
Communication Transpires through Energy
Strong concentration over the thought of their ancients made me speculate whether
kulini (deep inner listening and quite still awareness) amongst the Pitjantjatjara people
in Central Australia, was in any way similar to the kundalini (contemplation) in
Sahaja Yoga (see glossary Appendix B), in expressing their deep inner beliefs.
During my research, I found that kulini and kundalini were expressions that came
through performance as an expanded experience in certain situations, as for example
in sacred sites, ritual dances, meditation or ceremonies where people got connected to
their inner worlds.
Expansion as Energy in Motion
I related to this experience or expansion, in terms of motion in action, in the
performance where movement in itself is an expression of energy displayed in any
kind of creativity such as writing, inventing, choreography, painting, performance and
improvisation. Further investigation into the fundamental or root cause of this
movement in energy led me to study the concept known as Rta, the principal Rhythm
of the Cosmos theory. Briefly, Rta is made up of the five elements namely, earth,
water, fire, air and ether and is observable as manifesting through seasons. These
elements make up the so-called ‘essence’ or ‘the life giving force’ in nature and
humans. Different ancient cultures such as India, China, Greece, the Arabs, and the
Australian Aborigines came to narrate them under different names according to their
usage.
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Motion is the Grounding of Energy
As I applied the above concept in the making of my myth and performance, I found
this energy becoming active and expanding itself in its ‘essence’ or ‘life giving force’
throughout the project. Working from this perspective of energy in expansion, I
observed, according to the ancient Hindu texts, that it flowed from a source (for
example Rta or the elements as mentioned above) that was common to all living
beings. And its presence in any kind of matter or form was in turn being created as
vibrant and alive in its expansion or transformation. For example see below.
Fig. 1 Transformation in the
Cosmic Order and Cycle of
Season
There is a similarity between the seed cycle and the human cycle of life
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and
day, runs through the world and dances in rhythmic
measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy, through the dust of the
earth, in numberless blades of grass and breaks into
tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
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It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean – cradle of birth
and death, in ebb and in flow.
Rabindernath Tagore
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Expanding Energy Transforms Itself
Vibrant and alive in creativity, the elements, working as energy in motion or as the
expanding energy in the performance, came to demonstrate their transformation in
movements at different levels of actions. Such changes, minor or major, came to offer
different interpretations at the performer’s and audience’s own level on perception. In
my work, I came to classify transformation into three stages. Stage one dealt with
transformation, where I felt elated and energized as my project was accepted and my
mind began making big plans about creating the choreography. At that time, I got my
Aura (colour reading) done. It showed me my direction. Without going too much into
colour study at this moment, take a look at the chart presented in Appendix D, fig. 2
and see the pen markings that indicated the strong changes that were taking place. The
second stage involved transformation actually taking place in the performance. That is
my connection with my deity (details in Chapter 3, photo 19 and 21). Up to this point
I felt it was feasible to demonstrate the transformation to the audience. Beyond this
required the audience to be in tune with the final stage, which I then symbolically
presented where both traditions came to narrate about humans or ancestors physically
taking forms of animals, landscapes, totems, or transforming themselves into
superhuman beings.
For example,
Figure 3A: Transformation of a human into a rock (body of a
murdered Kunia woman) at Uluru (Ayers Rock)
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Figure 3B: The Living Sleep Lizard (left), now a boulder (right), once the dead body of the sleep lizard,
now increase centre for these reptiles. A rituals place where rubbing of stones and chanting of esoteric
words cause lizards to energize or multiply.
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Figure 3c: The Totemic creatures of Ayers Rock
Totemic Creatures of Uluru
A. The Venomous Snake, Liru. B. The Carpet Snake, Kunia. C. The Hare Wallaby, Mala, D. The Spirit
Dingo, Kulpunya. E. The Kingfisher Woman, Lunba. F. The Sleep Lizard, Meta-lungana. G. The Sand
Lizard, Linga. H. The Marsupial Mole, Itjari-tjari. J. The Willy-wagtail, Tjinderi-tjinderiba.
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Fig. 3D The Walking Tree
As, A tree called Warrt-pa stands in the tidal waters of the Cadell River, and when the tide comes in this
mythical dreaming tree walks about. The circles are the wells in which it stands and are spirit places.
Alongside the river are the ant beds, which if touched, will cause lightening to fill the sky.
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Fig 4 Subsequently, the transformation of Ayers Rock into a Totemic Map of Central
Australia becoming a sacred site.
Probable Connections Become Synergy in Performance
I was drawn towards the Aboriginal way of life in Australia on four grounds. The first
was an introductory lecture about Aboriginal Ancestors in Australia that got me
interested. The second was the work of Sharma, Raghunandan Pandit. Vedic
Sampathi: Australia Khand, (Sharma 1990, p185, p 366) where he states:
Research done by Dr. Rost of the Royal Asiatic Society of London considered the
grammatical skeleton of Australian, Mongolian, and South Indian languages to be the
same; (i.e. Australian Aborigine, from India the Tamilians, Kannadas, Khols, Bhils,
and Santhals tribes are said to belong to one group of linguistics, the Austro-Asian
language). Dr. Rost further states (as cited in Sharma p189) that India, South Africa,
and Australia were connected by Indo-Oceanic continent (now lost) in the Permian
epoch up to the end of Mislene period. During the latter half of the time this part of
the land was still connected to Malaya.
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Furthermore,
The Aboriginal people in Southern and Western Australia use
almost the same words for I, thou, he, we, you etc., as the
fishermen on the Madras coast, and resembled in many ways
the Madras hill-tribes as in the use of their national weapon,
the boomerang
Third was the Aboriginal belief in ancestral worship/belief in life after death, the myth
of Rainbow Serpent and their concept of blueprint, meaning reliving the past in a
traditional manner, where concepts of past, present and the future become irrelevant.
Fourth, I came to experience in my workshops, interviews, and casual conversations,
the similarities and dissimilarities in the dance concept. That is, narration through
dance form, grounding of the body, flat positioning of the feet, the expression through
gestures and movement and the interpretation of motion (role play) of the symbolic
serpent. Taking all this into account I came to draw a parallel between the role of
serpent energy in the dance performance as experienced in the ritual and ceremonial
performances, either open or closed for audiences.
Myth as A Prism
My myth acted like a prism, reflecting through the performance the image (serpent
energy) of the old connections that disappeared for millennia, and inma kuwarija
(resurfaced) in an odd way (as creative performance) to help me adjust in the new
environment. Resurfacing as the central force of energy that was motion in
performance, manifesting through the inma irititja, (esoteric verses) as the
Pitjantjatjara people would say of the cycle of seasons in the performance, I came to
maintain different levels of connected-ness also. For example, in the area of physical
or performing space connecting with and interaction with my co-dancer Brian; in the
area of social space with Swati, a university-student amongst the spectators, in the
area of metaphysical space, and spiritual connection with Imelda Willis (Brian’s
mentor), and with Sheilaji.
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Prism Deflects
Although the two dance forms became connected through the energy aspect, they
were in actuality performances made up of entirely different characteristics. For
example, both performers used flat surface for expressing themselves for different
purposes. Generally, for Brian, as an initiate, most of his performances are usually
carried out on inma piti (sacred sites or selected grounds in Pitjantjatjara), especially
when the very topography of their site is identified into the physical feature of their
steps and gestures (Marshall, A. [2000] p4). In the performance, however, Brian’s
thumping of the feet was didactic to emphasize masculinity, whereas the hard and
loud thumping by me was not a gender preposition.
In another instance, Brian’s mentor, Imelda, informed me that in certain ceremonial
dances, the Aboriginal women take part in these dances staying in the background. In
Kathak, men and women perform together at the same level. This conflict was
resolved by me in the performance by dancing both in the foreground and in the
background, employing techniques that were developed in the Moghul courts.
Kathak’s Role as A Medium in the Project
Kathak performance (narrative story) originally began as reciting the epics during
festivity by kathakas (storytellers) outside the temples in North India. As kathakas
were nomads and gypsies, some scholars have referred to them as Brahmins
(Kothari), non-the-less they were treated as outcasts in the society, and hence were
restrained in remaining outside the temple while performing. From afar, they paid
their reverence to the deity by performing bare feet and intensifying their offerings
within themselves.
Over the centuries, Kathakm moved from the temple to the courts and became a
stylized chamber dance. Its uniqueness lay in expediting technicalities in their foot
movements or Tatkars. Rather than remain a story-telling performance, the dance
became an appetizer for the spectator. It specialized as mathematics in dance, where
every beat within a time frame became the art for the connoisseurs. Thus Kathak
never came to be performed in the vicinity of a temple, unlike the dance form Bharat
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Natyam of South India, which enjoyed being a part of the process within the temple
(in the devdasi tradition)
In post-colonial India, Kathak gained status of a classical dance, like ballet or opera in
the European sense. With its new status its performance became unique, and it came
to be performed under specific conditions. Hence I chose Kathak as the medium for
performance in the Arts Gallery of New South Wales, to celebrate India’s 50th
anniversary of independence on August 15th and 16th, 1997. This also celebrated the
reconciliation of all people and showed the continuity of one culture into another, by
holding the Aboriginal exhibition titled Bulada immediately after the end of the
Indian exhibition Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art, from June
through to August 23 and through to December 14, 1997.
Communication
Brian and I communicated in spoken English for understanding the general theme of
the verses, but at personal levels we came to connect better through the melody and
inma mayu/laya and taal (rhythmic beats). As I became familiar with Brian’s puna
timpilpunganyi (clapsticks) and he with my punga punganyi/taal (hand-beats),
creating the tempo for our movements and gestures in practice, I left out the handbeats in the actual performance. However, Brian carried on using the hand-beats as
part of his performance when accompanying me in the performance and came to
accidentally accentuate the rhythm and brought out the musical quality that he
enjoyed, and which was part of his culture.
Both of us used the center of gravity, in the lower half of the body to communicate
performatively. Yet, each used it differently. Brian used it for angled positioning of
the knees while communicating and mimicking an emu. I used it in perpendicular
alignment to the ground (as in heaven and earth) with focus on foot movements in
specified areas, while narrating through every beat the structure of my verse.
Communication developed as we worked through the verses, where repetition became
an integral part of our process. We divided the piece into five parts and Brian linked
the steps and meanings to my one word or gesture in a verse and worked round the
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meaning from his point of view, keeping my gesture as the connecting point for him
in that particular verse
Thus, through my myth and dance, I was attempting to demonstrate a connection
between the existing symbolic expression serpent energy found in the two different
dance forms, in the ever-changing environment of Australia. I aimed at achieving this,
by showing the serpent energy participating from the beginning, as (a) motion in
action, (b) its appearance in my new myth (story) and (c) its participation in the new
dance form, as transforming from the metaphoric into the symbolic totem (serpent as
an icon) in the narrative (verse).
In the wake of demonstrating energy’s universal independence (see Fig16, 17 and 20)
as an act, which calls for reconciliation amongst all people, I aimed at achieving this,
by creating synergy in reaching out to my co-dancer, the audience at large, and
simultaneously connecting with my deity. As part of the above process, the energy in
its role-play, persoified as me, through repetion and improvisation, would show its
historical connection of my new myth to my tradition’s epic, Ramayana. And, in
doing so, would connect me horizontally, with my co-dancer in the physical
performance, with the audience in a social interaction, and vertically, in the
metaphysical with a selected few including my Ishta Devata Krishna and worshipping
deity Shiva.
Through the above, I was to demonstrate a very sensitive issue: that symbolic serpent
energy, in its transitional state, could be seen as belonging to a living legacy to which
humans, nature, or superhuman belong. That legacy is the life giving force. And,
embedded in that legacy, I was to demonstrate a lineage, a centre, or a common
source, into which the action-transformation resuscitated time and time again as part
of their heritage. The life giving force, therefore, operating as a sacred cultural centre
or a sacred discipline in itself, as a sacred culture center or a sacred discipline in itself,
became every actions refuge in the never-ending cycle of their performance.
Traditionally, known only to a few initiates who participate, witness, or get connected
to such a center and sense a transformation, for them it becomes a sacred secret
‘closed’ spiritual experience. In my performance, I was on the lookout for such an
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Preface
audience to discuss about their experiences witnessed at their own level of perception
during my performance.
Some men, women and children in the audience, who would witness the performance
as merely another entertainment organized by the museum, where the performers
mime and dance as part of their daily routine. For such uninitiated audience, it would
become an open performance for pleasure sake.
In either open or closed situations, I wanted to have a first hand experience in
observing energy operating in the sacred culture, as motion in action called upon as
and when desired. If I could do that, then I would happily state that such a sacred
culture, as truth exists amidst us.
Subjectively, becoming part of energy in its role-play, I expected myself to resurface
in the new myth as creative energy. I also expected to transform through repetition
and improvisation in the final performance of Awakening of the Serpent, not only
getting reconnected with my universal energy in form of either my deity (Shiva), or
the Ancient Australian Ancestor (Rainbow serpent), and with those present in the
performance. But also, come to demonstrate the reconciliation of an old order as a
Mystical Worldview. As I would also come to demonstrate the sacred system of
relationships that connect all human, nature and super humans together (see Fig17,
Chapter 1).
Such a project, I anticipated, would demonstrate the very existence of an organized
mystical unification existing on its very own, and I was chosen as its role-play to
verify its existence as a truth. In my profoundest moment, I came to understand, write,
and perform the symbolic manifestation of the principles of the spiritual idea that I
found in the Rainbow Serpent, in Shiva-Shakti, in Father-Mother, or the male-female
concept. That was to be the primordial consciousness of energy existing as a life
giving force, is the spiritual truth that comes to surpass the past, present and the
future.
This was my intention.
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Introduction
INTRODUCTION
MY BACKGROUND
Live energy in action
As I look back and ponder, I can visualize the seed of my research being sown twenty
years ago, prior to my coming to Australia. It was nurtured within five years of my stay
there from 1993 to 1998. I shall begin my journey as far back as I can recollect and how I
was manipulated by fate into my present situation.
My upbringing has been in a post-colonial military family in India. I was exposed to the
newly acquired freedom of choices, expressions, and actions. We, the children, came to
share our father’s love of sports (he was a keen hockey player). One of my brothers
became the national squash champion of India, and the other an army golf player, while
my sister and I took part in the most popular sports of our times, badminton, participating
at the inter-college and state levels representing our colleges.
My mother, who was a classical Indian vocalist, and is a dedicated social and community
worker, has acutely influenced us all. Both my parents are still actively involved in the
Arya Sama, an organization dedicated to uplifting the less fortunate. My parents were
also the founding members in 1960 of The Venus Arts Theater in Delhi. My mother’s
unselfish dedication for her children led my sister and myself under her guidance to love
and appreciate art, so much so that we took to Kathak dance at a tender age even though
it was still considered a taboo in most Brahmin families.
I obtained Bachelor’s degree in Performing arts (1969), a master’s degree Sociology
(1972), and this thesis is a work towards an MA (Honors) in Performance from The
University of Western Sydney, Australia.
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Fate’s groundwork
I grew up in an Arya Samaj environment, where I came to believe in one God, and that all
people are equal. I was always surrounded by the Vedic studies, yagna (fire worship),
and meditation at home. I never came to visit temples for worship, nor did I believe in
idol worshipping and never chanted the epics - Gita or Ramayana as religious texts.
On the other hand, I was married into a Brahmin family where idol worship was
practiced, recitations from Gita and Ramayana were observed, and major fasting were the
norms. Initially I was intrigued by these goings-on but quickly fell into the same pattern
of family life. I was now into meditating, chanting, reading, teaching dancing and
inquiring more and more into the unknown truths expounded in the epics and their
surrounding mythical stories, and the purpose in their continuity. Through my meditation,
I began experiencing heat around my navel area and began seeing expansion of space
during my meditation. I saw visions in dreams that later materialized into events. In
meditation I had a vision of a coloured deity (Krisna). I exchanged conversations with a
male voice. I witnessed my own thoughts materializing in physicality. Although some
what frightened by all this, I was however unnerved and I carried on further meditation of
eight to ten years of my stay in Kuwait. I had no guru or anyone to confide into (except
my books on spirituality) about my sojourns into meditation. Gradually, as the years went
by, I began to gain insight into their illuminating universal experiences through
performance and meditation.
In performance such experiences, according to Marshall, (1995, p11) lead to a heightened
sense of awareness and altered consciousness, such that a physical, social or a spiritual
transformation can take place. I observed similar accounts made by Ellis (1978), Swain,
(1985), Strehlow (1971), Sutton (1988), and Stanner (1989), about aboriginal culture.
As I initially began to experience this heightened sense of awareness in my dance
performances, I began to experience a new burst of energy. Every time a new dance
creativity took place and I would become extra alive. As far as I am concerned, for me
such energy was explained in performing meditation as an expansion in ‘kundalini’ (see
glossary Appendix B) or ‘serpent energy’ lying dormant in Muldhara Chakra (the first
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Introduction
seat in meditation, (see fig 5 below). This serpent energy, consciously or unconsciously,
awakened at its source, travels upwards merging into the universal energy shared by
performer and audience.
Fig 5. The Subtle Body
Fate begins its networking
As I arrived in Australia, I instinctively (it seemed) began taking a keen interest in the
Australian Aboriginal people. Within three months of our arrival I attended a lecture on
Aboriginal cultures. The presentation showed to me some similarities between Aboriginal
and Indian cultures and made me feel as if we all belonged to one family. I am sure many
other Indians must have felt so as well. In the lecture we were asked if we knew our
ancestors. I very confidently said, “Yes”. I belonged to Sage Kapila’s lineage, and my
husband to Sage Kasyapa’s lineage. The lady presenter looked surprised, she however
was questioning my ancestry in Australia. I laughed and remarked “very soon I will find
out”.
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I was amazed to learn that the Australian Aborigines were well equipped in their own
way in tracing their ancestors, believing in life after death, enacting their rituals and
ceremonies through oral and narrative performances and identifying themselves with
their landscape through their myths. This was so much so, that the myths came to form a
network of maps of sites and dreaming tracks as living memory between them. They
journeyed back and forth and covered the entire country of Australia. These myths
became storehouses of living knowledge which were and still are ensconced, not in the
writing but in performances – such as, dance, drama, song, and the dynamic iconography
in which the stories that make up the maps came to be acted out in the permanent present
tense - The Dreamtime (explanation a bit later). I could relate to what was being
explained but not actually identify with it.
Marshall (2000 p2) suggested that the Aboriginal people have, no gods as such for people
to identify with in an anthropomorphic sense, although the constant presence of the extrahuman is implicit in all facets of Aboriginal ontologies. While there are direct
experiences of the creation and transformation of the country and all living things. The
myths are very very complex and very very long. For eaeons they formed a network of
maps of places and the living links between them which traversed and covered the whole
space of the continent of Australia.
Again, with my ethnic background, I knew what she was saying. But, in order to present
them from my perspective of understanding the Dreamtime, I began examining this
presence in their lives. Was it similar to what we identify as essence or life giving force?
And if it is not human, and not God, then what is it? How does it act as a living- link
between the past, the present, and the future, always expressing itself in the present tense
- The Dreamtime? (a European translation of an Aboriginal concept found all over
Australia. The Pitjantjatjara word is tjukurpa )
For me the revelation came as a bombshell. I saw Dreamtime in the Vedic context as, In
samadhi attain karma yoga - remaining in tune (samadhi) within yourself (yoga) and act
rightly on that (karma) basis (becomes the essence of the Gita. In samadhi the awakened
practitioner, in a transcendental state, goes beyond time, space, and nature to the state of
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super consciousness or Dreamtime, where continuity of life is unrestricted by space and
time. This means that life in terms of its presence, essence, or force, transcends past and
present and incorporates the future all in one. In other words, I came to understand the
term Dreamtime as a crossroads of multiple junctions (a place or a situation or a tjukurpa
space) where the going and coming (Dreamings) of this presence, essence or life giving
force, takes place irrespective of the time frame. Dreamtime then could be happening
now in the present moment in the physical world, then in the metaphysical world, or at all
times. Technically I came to understand it as being similar to a time capsule that
transports you into different dimensions.
Before I go any further, I want to emphasize that I am in no way claiming to be an expert
on Australian Aboriginal culture. Whatever experiences and knowledge that I have
accumulated is coming from my stand as a Kathak performer and I am offering my
experience and reflections of it as a way of understanding the presence, essence or the life
giving force in the traditional context. I have used Pitjantjatjara terminologies because in
my research I learnt more about them than other groups, even though my co-performer is
a contemporary dancer from Torres Strait Island.
I Began My Journey
By inquiring into the presence or the life giving force in form of the concept of Rainbow
Serpent in Australia. I chose the Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent), from north-east of Oenpelli
in Central Australia, in the land of Pitjantjatjara people because, unlike the coastal
serpent, this one was represented as living on land rather than water and played a
dominant role in the rain making ceremony, a life giving force. This was facilitated by:
•
Relating to the Rainbow serpent’s role in terms of creative and destructive forces
of nature. Its dual role of power sometimes becoming ambiguous in gender. It is
often seen by the Dalabon people as their All-Mother (female) Rainbow Serpent
whereas the Murinbata refer to the Rainbow Serpent as mother’s father (male),
and
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•
Introduction
Demonstrating the serpent energy as a tool for kinetically connecting with
spectators in my altered state of mind.
Fig. 6. Ngalyod, the Rainbow Serpent
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I came to concentrate on the dual or ambiguous role of the serpent energy, Ngalyod, in
Central Australia. To understand its role from my perspective I came to rely on Lord
Shiva’s role in Ardhanarisvara -Adi sharpa), which means Shiva’s role as half-male, half
female Lord - and as the first Serpent. Shiva is represented in his androgynous form as
male on the right side and female on the left side (see fig 7).
This form is also portrayed as energy in motion in the form of the first serpent, which
became his icon, the ShivaLinga. In other words, Shiva in his dual form is the lord of
creation and destruction as the masculine energy and Shakti is his feminine energy,
together the two energies are often recognized by the term Shiva-Shakti.
Fig. 7. Shiva in his androgynous form.
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Once centered in my understanding, I was now equipped to write and perform about the
serpent energy in motion with a contemporary Aboriginal performer in the role of a male
dancer and I as a female dancer in the traditional Indian sense. We represented the
transformation, or ambiguous energy, through contemplative (yoga) postures into
gestures of serpent (and its individual energies), star, sun, Vishnu’s disc, emu, poet,
thunder, peacock, lotus, and fish etc. (see Chapter 3 and Appendix F - video).
Simultaneously, I wanted to find out for myself, at what level of connection - physical,
mental or spiritual - would I be in tune with some in the audiences (see Appendix F –
interviews on the video).
I chose my medium of reference for the Performance as:
ARDHANARISVARA-ADISHARPA VASUDHA IVA KUTUMBAKAM
AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSAL FAMILY
IN RTA: RITU CHAKRA
THE NOW CONTINUUM
(Rta: The Principal Rhythm of the Cosmos
Ritu: Seasons
Chakra: Cyclic Movement).
Adding to a direct translation, I used the term awakening to mean taking in the expanded
awareness beyond the five senses as experienced through the rhythmic patterns of
seasons. The serpent is synonymous to energy in motion and the best way to celebrate the
event was to acknowledge that we all belong to one universal family. I adopted Rta: Ritu
Chakra from an exhibition, Prakriti: Man in harmony with the Elements, (Feb-March
1993), The Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, New Delhi.
While contemplating the roles and ambiguous form of the serpent I was further led into
inquiring about its nature. What makes it perform as it does? D both traditions point to its
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Introduction
presence? What is its life giving force made up of ? I came to refer to it as prana (vital
energy). In the Aboriginal context, in Western Australia, some refer to it as wang (breath
or spirit),Taylor (1871, vol.2. page16, cited in Swain, 1985).
Retaining my stand as a performer I wanted to explore this energy or presence as a
sustainer in a cross-cultural performance and to observe whether it participates in our
weaving and synergy in dance. Does it encode and decode itself as a mechanism in our
performance as it meanders through our choreography, sending messages to all those who
are in tune with it in their perception level? And if so, did I connect in varying degrees?
In the performance I came to demonstrate an encoded experience through non-verbal
graphic presentation. No earlier explanation was available in written text except
references to the serpent in the handouts and leaflets.
It’s All In The Making
My preparation for the performance was well under way when my supervisor, Anne
Marshall, suggested that perhaps I should present my work in a myth form. The
suggestion triggered my response to a challenge. That was exciting and was perhaps just
the right substance required to explain the concept of The Serpent Energy. It took me a
further five months before I could get started.
For those who want to understand the performance, I have provided a preview of the
myth that they can trace and acknowledge from where the performers are coming through
and trying to achieve their goals. In my work, and in my culture, myths are truths, sacred
and deep, and are not fairy tales.
What is a myth?
Myth or stories are like our reflections in a mirror. As long as the reflections remain
current we can trace back to their source our very traditions, our beliefs, our values and
all those contours taking shape in them. The moment we cease to identify ourselves in the
reflections, these myths become histories, a collection of the narrative entities. After a
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Introduction
while, for those still living, they come to sing myths which praise and acknowledge the
entities as not only being the backbone of their communities but as solid pillars upholding
the structure and contents of their lives. They become the homes of our heroes. Aeons go
by and their knowledge is regarded as vast and deep. Through myths, the entities as
ancestors come to guide us in resolving conflicts of every nature, and all our problems in
the physical, social and metaphysical spheres, and we come to revere them.
In my instance, the mirror is still there, but the reflections (myths) are changing their
courses so rapidly in making adjustments to the new environments. A fusion or a
confusion of different images is coming through, like a global impression impinging
itself upon intuitive creativity and, caught between them, I am guided into creating a new
form out of the old order.
Setting of the stage
From my perspective, this new form came to have its origins in the pre-Aryan days, as
mentioned in the epic Ramayana of Valmiki. Shiva narrates and predicts to his consort,
Parvati, the course of the Rama’s ancestry (the solar dynasty), Rama’s first birth as
Vishnu. He tells her of Vishnu’s curse on Ravana where he will be caught up in the
never-ending cycle of living and dying. To be liberated from this cycle of death and birth,
Ravana has to achieve Moksha, which he will attain in his succeeding birth by instigating
the episode of Ramayana and being killed by Rama.
My story begins in pre-Vedic times (about 75,000 years ago) when Ravana’s forefathers
were banished from the kingdom of Aryan Land in the Sapt-Sindu region. They
journeyed into the Dakshin Dweep Desha (land of the Southern Seas) where, according to
the monkey lord Sugriva, only the Pit (spirit people), or ancestors could exist. He forbade
the monkey chieftain, Hanuman, from going there in search of Sita. Ravana makes a
return journey to the land of his forefathers to avenge the insults heaped upon his sister
Swarupanakha by Rama’s brother Lakshman. There, when he realizes that Rama is
confronting him, he kidnaps his wife Sita so that in the ensuing battle Rama may kill him
and he, Ravana, will obtain Moksha.
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The forefathers had brought with them into the southern land, two sacred - secret
(mi:lmi:l) knowledge:
(a) The boomerang, an open ended sacred weapon to hunt and protect
themselves, and
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Introduction
Fig. 8. Boomerang
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Artist Lewis Burns, 95, Talbragar, Wiradjuri, N.S.W, in his painting
depicts the Dreamtime legend of the Rainbow Serpent.
(b) The encoded knowledge of the serpent energy,
My mythical connections
During my research I found other connections between ancient India and Aborigines of
Central Australia, (besides the above two), in several Aboriginal words and symbolic
links, such as: connections that became revealed during my research, such as:
(i)
Pitjantjatjara an Aboriginal word, literally the in-between people,
(Hilliard:1968), meaning the going and coming of the spirit people. To see
some similarity with India, I have broken the word into Sanskrit
components
−
pit means spirit people
−
janta means people or the masses
−
jat means category, caste, or in Pitjantjatjara implies kinship relation
subsections or skin groups, (Macquire:Aboriginal Words, (1994) p194).
−
jara means coming and going
(ii)
Ngalyod an Aboriginal word meaning the rainbow snake. Breaking this
word into Sanskrit components
-
Nga or naga means serpent or snake
-
ly or laya means rhythmic movement
-
od or yud means fight or friction.
(iii)
Kulini a Pitjantjatjara word meaning quiet deep inner listening, thinking
or contemplating. Although this word cannot be broken into Sanskrit
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Introduction
components, it is similar to the Sanskrit word Kundalini, a breathing
process utilized in contemplation while awakening the serpent energy in
yoga.
(iv)
Bindi a Pitjantjatjara word meaning eye. This word taken in context with
a similar word, Bindu, in Sanskrit means an auspicious dot on the forehead
applied by yogis and Hindu women on the third eye, to awaken the Shiva
Shakti at the base of pineal gland.
Johari in his book Dhanwantari (1992, page xi) states that this third eye is the storehouse
of pineal gland where newly discovered hormone melatonin is formed. Stimulated,
during it’s application, meditation, contemplation, or sleep in darkness, the hormone
makes its way through complex chemical pathways and slows down the level of six or
seven anterior pituitary hormones in the brain that literally slows down the body
hormonally. Melatonin deals with sex and sexual development, growth hormone levels,
thyroid hormone levels, adrenal hormone levels and the body’s diurnal (daily) cycle.
(v)
Rta a Murrinh-Patha word reflecting the vocabulary of traditional
practices of initiation ceremonies, sorcery, and traditional healing,
meaning taking a photo, or catch (Macquarie: Aboriginal Words, 1994, p
300). Symbolic in Indian tradition, as energy creating or transforming into
images.
(vi)
Kumba a Wembawemba language group, meaning sleep or lie down).
(Macquarie: Aboriginal Word, 1994, p 469). Similar in context, to
Kumbhakarna, bother of Ravana who was given a boon to sleep for ever
by Saraswati, goddess of knowledge. Every six months, he awoke for a
day.
(vii)
Linga a Pitjantjatjara name for the sand lizard man, (Mountford, 1965), as
mythical in the Indian icon ShivaLinga.
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(viii)
Introduction
Kaka a word belonging to Diyari language around Flinders Ranges
meaning uncle (Macquarie Aboriginal Word 1994, p 456). Similar in
meaning to uncle or elder in Sanskrit.
(ix)
Kawalka a word in Diyari language meaning crow. (Macquarie:
Aboriginal Word, 1994, p 462). In Indian context, it is pronounced as
Kaw-a meaning crow.
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Other Mystical Connections
a)
I felt grounding of the feet
Came as symbolic tool in Inma Mayu (rhythmic beat in dance) amongst
the Aborigine. Just as laya & taal (tempo and beat) amongst the Indian
Kathakas. Creating a ibratory hypnotic patterns leading to transformation
as observed in the two traditions.
b)
Some similarity in colour coding
Red for an Aborigine is passion, vitality, rigour, just as red signifies fire
(emotions) at the solar plexus in the Indian context. Black is men’s
secretive business for an Aborigine. It corresponds to esoteric knowledge
(tantric) amongst the Indians. White symbolizes purity for an Aborigine.
Similar to the seventh chakra at the transpersonal point (OM). Yellow
stands for woman’s business amongst the Aborigine. It stands for earth
colour (female energy) residing as kundalini in the first chakra. The
physical level.
c)
Imelda was Brian’s mentor, who explained the serpent energy to the
contemporary dancer. She introduced me as her sister in the final
performance. She informed me in one of our conversations that her
parental great grandfather was from Sri Lanka (Ravana’s capital) and she
is a Hindu. Her, mother is an Aborigine from Yarabaa Mission, Cape York
Peninsula, Queensland. In our meetings she said she got an insight into her
father’s side of explaining the serpent energy. She told me she is
considered a princess of her group. I have read that Aboriginal groups do
not have chiefs or kings. Their social organization is quite different from
European, Asian or African societies. (Macquire: Aboriginal Words, 1994,
p xv). From our conversations I believe her group adapted the Hindu
system of lineage on her father’s side with the new existing order of the
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Introduction
day and she expressed her desire to go and visit her father’s ancestral land
Sri Lanka.
Global Ramifications
Australian Aboriginal mythology, until very recently, had virtually none or little
intercultural connection with any non-Aboriginal world. However, the making of my
myth is narrating the relationship that might go way back into antiquity with the
Aboriginal world in creative times. My myth describes of a serpent totem that was lost
for a reason and was inma Kuwaritja (returning) in a new form for a definite purpose.
The reason for its disappearance is lost. But the purpose in acting it out in a new form is
to awaken the experiences in identifying the essence of life in its innate state so that a
global unification can be realized in the physical, social and metaphysical worlds. It has
begun activating itself through the awareness in the ecology of the world and is
resuscitating within every individual. Through my performance in a visual form it is
expressing its role as a universal ancestor for peace and harmony amongst all living
beings.
The present Aboriginal world in Australia, cut off from its parent lineage continued for
aeons in keeping its hidden secret in a traditional manner. Aboriginal people were (and
are) so much in tune with their deep inner listening and quiet still awareness, Kulini
amongst Pitjantjatjara, that keepers of this knowledge through direct experience could
(or can) transform themselves into any form of animate or inanimate beings. If they chose
they can become their totems (emu, snake, wallaby etc.), or a hill, a cloud, a tree or
waterhole or whatever they desire. This was discussed between Imelda and myself, as
well as with my supervisors.
In their constant movement of acting and re-enacting their oral stories they established
their rightful ownership of those stories and hence the land to which they related. This
was a part of a whole process continuing across the continent of Australia. Such stories,
mapped over the whole area, led them to identify with one another through a similar
pattern of networking. These stories were lived in to such an extent that they came to be
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acted out in a religious sense at any particular moment. This was their legacy - to
translate the blueprints laid down by their elders. This to me came as a powerful
anointing. In the repetition of narrative performance, they sowed their seed of faith. I saw
Dreamtime as the existing active participation of the mythical beings and all human
beings in the present moment in the Aboriginal storyline.
Further more, I have paraphrased what Marshall (2000, p5) says that, though the
Aboriginal people follow their songlines from sacred site to sacred site, in their narrative
they move backward and forwarding time and space, being involved in different episodes
happening simultaneously. They are switching from one episode to another, from one
element of a single episode to another, from one time frame to another without warning...
never giving a full picture of their myth. It is just not possible. The beginning and end of
their territory is marked by sections of the songline, but their histories are fluid.
I find myself in a similar situation in my myth. There is no beginning and an end. There
is no direct relevance to the existing Ramayana myth untill I make the connections in my
storyline through performance and narration about the knowledge ready to be received in
this age. Thus making my new myth complete a part of the global picture that that began
aeons ago and is still continuing in the present tense.
While Pitjantjatjara people were singing their being, we were singing ours.
Structures I Used In My Myth Making
In order to articulate this new episode in its connections, I based my storyline on
narrative structures. These structures, according to Levi Strauss (cited in Doty: 1986,
p195) reached deep down into the cultural bedrock at many different points in bits and
pieces. These cultural values were binary opposite in character as hot-cold, male-female,
day-night etc. The only way the oppositions could be overcome was by introducing
intermediary terms such as warm, and androgynous, twilight etc. as continuity in a
process.
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Jean Piaget (1970, cited in Doty: 1986, p196) moved a step further and pointed out that
these intermediaries were indicators of transformations taking place within the narrative
structure involving certain laws. So, then I began finding a connection or a law involved
in motion in a narrative performance before I dealt with transformations. In finding the
connection, I investigated and explored the principles involved in these laws in action
through performance. According to the Vedas these principals are termed Rta, or energy
in motion. Through them, I mediated my connections.
Two opposite dance forms are existing in their traditions. These traditions have cultural
values steeped in their myths. For continuity as a way of life I referred to contemplation,
in kundalini (Sanskrit term) or kulini (Pitjantjatjara term), the connector or mediator
through which we gain intuitions into our ancestral worlds.
I see these intuitions as energy lying in its innate state (Bindu or Bindi), which acts as an
energized transformed force, once it is propelled into action as creative energy either in
dance and painting or any such like activity. In other words, a transformed shape takes
place according to an individual’s intensity, according to their level of perception. In my
understanding I came to observe the dot concept paintings, the acrylic paintings,
introduced in 1972-75 in Central Australia, as having a similar energized impact on me
through their color configuration and graphic patterns.
Marshall (2000, p 4-6) states that enacting the inma (ritual performance) becomes a
means to get connected to ancestral beings in the tjukurpa (Dreamtime) and to learn great
truths of creation and continued existence. Each increase inma centers around one or
more ancestral spirits and their deeds and travels through the land, their activities causing
animals and plants to come into being, to maintain a plentiful and renewable existence as
food and/or to transform into people, animals or topography (see fig 3a, 3b, 3c).
Whatever the cause of transformation may be, this way a living presence is maintained
for all times. The inma therefore becomes the record or history of Pitjantjatjara and other
Anangu people.
We see that many disputes are settled by quoting the Inma or Vedic connotations. Great
emphasis is put on the accurate pronunciations, rhythms, and right words. Sometimes
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Pitjantjatjara people don’t know why David Umala: Mimilli, (1988, cited in Marshall,
2000, p 8) and are reliant on oral traditions. But the Vedas, which are written texts, have
an explanation. The Sanskrit vowels and consonants are termed Bija Akshar or root
sounds. As these root letters are combined into words and arranged in right combinations
(mantra), making a verse (chant). The impact is overpowering, as in chanting of the
Hindu Mantra (Om bhur bhua swaha etc; one of the oldest, shortest and most powerful
chants) or it’s root word Om.
Marshall, A. (2000, p 4), based on five years of performing regularly with Pitjantjatjara
people in the Central Desert, with whom she and her colleagues often lived and traveled,
states that, an inma can be both an open or closed form of performance which becomes
the basis for the different levels of performances brought into actuality at a number of
different perceptual levels by means of personal and shared group performance
experiences (to transform into human, animal or topographical features; the object
transforms into subject, at sacred sites or inma piti).
Singing the inma includes the past-future, but is also actually happening in the present,
through the presence of multidimensional times. Thus the myths are encyclopaedias, no
less authoritative than an epic story where old verses come from ancestors inma irititja as
do strotams, esoteric Sanskrit chants, which have been written down, and contain Old
knowledge. This has always been. ( Sam Pumani 1986, cited in Marshall, A.2000 p7).
I began seeing some such similarity in the process of transformation in myths. This
became a focal point of exploration in my research.
Transformation
The best way I could draw a parallel understanding was in terms of explaining the
presence mentioned earlier from my point of view.
To do this different types of transformation in my performance I began by sending out
the meanings or messages experienced by myself. This became a point of reference in the
ongoing process of shifting grounds (the tensions and intentions). In my case, it was
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between my dance performance with a contemporary Aboriginal person and the audience
at large.
My interpretation of bindu or dot in Transformation
For me, once the connection as an intermediate fell into place, the Bindu (or Dot
mentioned earlier) set in motion, came to activate the energy into transformation or
change in the performance as a spiraling interpretative pattern which I call Chakras. As
these chakras came to network through all the systems - the physical, social, and
ecological - they flowed outwards. In my performance I saw them activated in a narrative
form, highly charged, as they are in some verses in esoteric mantra and anitji words in
Pitjantjatjara, (Marshall, A. 2000, p5) in symbolic forms. Using this circular
interpretation of energy as a conceptual tool to perform the connection and
transformation (with the help of the natural articles as sun, moon, lotus, thunder, emu etc.
as backgrounds activating the energy in a specific direction) the subject I got connected
to was my sacred deity. I could change into any other form I chose in a different setting.
In India, at secret ritual performances during transformations (by activating the energy in
a specific direction) a subject can become his sacred deity or change form as in the
Ramayana, where Maricha takes the form of a deer. As another example, an object a
stone image (Shiva-linga) becomes fertility personified, or as a symbol of female serpent
in the performance I, became a subject in Shiva-Shakti.
In this approach, through communal framework of reference that was my structural tool, I
demonstrated a narrative myth built on the basis of the original myth (Ramayana and The
Rainbow-serpent Ngalyod) such that as a living art it could be understood in terms of
energy resulting in synergy as an outcome of interaction between two different systems
of dance forms in a new environment.
It was an attempt in the present tense, to re-establish experimentally (through the myth
and the performance) the lost contact of the past (as in serpent energy) going into the
future (cross-cultural) as a never ending process, without a beginning and an end.
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Inter Cultural Exchange in a Multicultural Society
A Methodology for the Awakening of the Serpent Energy
In the Indian and Aboriginal Cultures Through Dance Form
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Awakening of the Serpent energy
The Task
In making my myth Awakening of the Serpent Energy function as an inter-cultural
exchange, as an ongoing process between the Australian Aboriginal contemporary dance
form and the Indian Kathak dance form, I developed a research methodology by
addressing the issues most central to my research topic.
Initially, I began by looking at several issues that required an investigation via a dance
rehearsal and performance. To make sure that a good exchange occurred academically
and performatively, I settled for the following issues, and these issues were developed
through several stages in the methodology, in the creative performance, followed by
reflective analysis. The issues were:
(a)
Intercultural exchange in terms of performing arts between two traditional
(Indian and Aboriginal) cultures and creating new dance forms.
(b)
The role and importance of repetition or reliving the past in a traditional
manner for continuity in future? What is the nature of this type of art?
What is its sustenance?
(c)
The belief of serpent energy is existing in the two cultures. Its role as
expanded awareness in establishing similarities in the grounding of
spiritualism in the two indigenous cultures. Did the performer in the role
of creating the dance in terms of the myth, uphold the notion of pastpresent-future?
(d)
The way in which performers from different cultures work together to
reach mutual understanding and through the grounding of the body get
connected with each other and other realms i.e. nature-human-spiritual.
I began my task by looking around at different ethnic groups in and around Sydney. To
see which one group would be most appropriate in representing Australian Aboriginal
and Indian for such an intercultural exchange, and would be willing to experiment with
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new forms of dance, while retaining their original cultures. In order to get a feel of an
Aboriginal dance form, I attended workshops with Bernadette Walong and we discussed
my theme in passing. I met and discussed my project with Stephen Page, who is the
artistic director of Bangarra Dance Company, and I mentioned to him I was looking for a
partner in my performance.
I also met with Sean Choolburra, artistic director of The Ngaru Dance Company and
resident-performer at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Side by side, I was also choreographing singly and with other groups, various dance
numbers and folk items. For example, I had co-choreographed an intra-cultural
Deepawali: Festival of Lights performance with ethnic Indians from Fiji. Choreographed
‘Morning Rituals’ - a Kashmir folk dance at The Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre, a
Bhangra Dance for The Festivals of Culture. Performed a solo stylized Kathak dance in
‘Vision of India’ at the Darling Harbour; and a solo item at the inauguration of The Big
Event at Belvoir Theater, Sydney. Also choreographed a stylized folk dance for Sydney
Cove Authority and a ritual folk dance Dandia Raas for Carnivale.
I documented the work on Noroc, a play exploring the displaced lives of four women
performers in a new cultural environment in Australia, where non-verbal language takes
charge of their daily expression of existence and guides them to reinvent themselves to
live in their new lives. As I was documenting this work, I subsequently wrote a paper on
cross-cultural exchange in performing arts, and I experimented with an inter-cultural
class performance with students of University of Western Sydney (Nepean). My
experiment was bringing to life, with dancers from various backgrounds, the symbolism
of Rangoli art as a communicating motif, through rhythmic dance and complex music
structures.
Eventually I decided to work myself with the artistic director of The Ngaru Dance
Company. Equipped with the myth of the serpent Ngalyod, its energy in action in the
Australian Aboriginal culture and the resident performer of the Arts Gallery, I looked at
different ways in which my Indian background would contribute to the research.
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I began by taking a position as an Indian professional creative performer and dance
researcher bringing an insider’s approach (i.e. my knowledge, insight, and artistic skills)
as well as researcher's tools- the ancient scriptures and dance study into the foreground.
As, I was familiar with the concept of serpent energy in my culture through experience
and reading. I felt competent enough to research the same through the functions of
serpent Ngalyod, in terms of deep inner listening and quiet still awareness amongst the
Pitjantjatjara people of the Central Desert of Australia.
In researching the above, first, I began collecting secondary information on serpent (see
my collect data and analysis of data) then, on that I based my research on the documented
works on cross cultural studies.
Lastly, although there was not much material available, for a comparative study in the
dance field I tried comprehending meanings into complex rhythmic patterns, tempos,
beats, and their structural patterns accentuated through emotional and body movements.
This I gathered from the contributions in Pitjantjatjara music by Catherine Ellis (1978),
within its social and performance ecology. I gathered my understanding of dance and
music (as discussed later) from Anne Marshall, (2000), and from the comparative video
performance of David Muir in Road To The Stamping Ground (1996).
Other information’s were gathered from casual interviews with Bernadette Walong, (a
former performer and choreographer with the Bangarra Dance Company), Menakshi
Sheshadhri (an Indian film actress/dancer), Uma Sharma (a recipient of President’s
Award in Kathak Dance). Urimila Nagar (occupying the traditional Jaipur Kathak Gaddi
(Seat) in Kathak Kendra in Delhi), Neena Bhardwaj a contemporary performer and a
teacher, and Imelda Willis, the mentor of my Aboriginal dance partner, herself an
Australian Aborigine from Townsville.
I also gathered information from the video screening of The Dreaming, the Hindu Gods
from the Art Gallery of NSW, and audio of Shiv Upasana Kalapam from Mangalya
Mandir, Ratlam, M.P. India. And from the documenting of the live performance in
understanding the role of serpent energy as a living presence.
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Definitions on culture and inter-culturalism
Before I carry on any further I need to explain and define the terms culture and interculturalism. Culture according to Edward Burnett Tylor (1971), refers collectively to a
society and its way of life. It is a complex interaction of knowledge, habits and laws
accumulated over a period of time by individuals as members of society and society as a
whole.
Anthropologists A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn, (1952) went further and stated that
culture ranged from learned behavior, to ideas in mind, to a logical construct, to a
statistical fiction, etc. For them culture was an abstraction from behavior. These raised
several issues, such as ideas in mind become significant in society only if expressed in
language, acts, and objects. A logical construct or statistical fiction was not specific
enough to be useful as a definition. Criticisms led them to state that culture is an
abstraction from concrete behavior but is not itself behavior.
White (1959), and Kroeber (1952) both argued that culture was a phenomena that could
be explained in terms of itself. It was a super-organic entity according to them, and
existed beyond its individual human carriers. Some researchers argued that this definition
left out the human factor of free will, which enabled humans to create and change culture.
These researchers also argued that culture was merely an abstraction, not a real entity.
This became a serious issue, according to John H. Bodley (1994). This could lead one to
deny the basic human rights of small-scale societies and ethnic minorities in maintaining
their cultural heritage, in the face of threats from dominant societies. For him culture was
an objective reality and believed that culture was not a super-organic entity but included
all its human carriers.
Culture a social process
Bodley describes culture as a social phenomenon (a social process). It is learned or
acquired in the process and was not biologically inherited. It involved ad hoc meanings to
any objects, behaviors or conditions that make people enormously creative,
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differentiating from animal behavior. People could teach animals to respond to cultural
symbols and meanings, but animals cannot create their own symbols. The symbolic
element in human performances opened up vast qualitative expansions in language and
other forms of communicative systems. Speech or oral tradition, for example, became
productive in allowing people to communicate about things that were remote in time and
space. Culture, then, as a cross-generational aspect as some researchers would agree, was
an observable phenomenon, and could be treated as an objective reality. It was people’s
unique possession. This is the definition that I am using too.
An organizing principle
Culture, as a social process, became a historically transmitted pattern of meanings
embodied in symbolic form, that could be observed in any society as an evolving and
growing process. In other words, it could be stated that history in making was not
something dead but very much alive and vibrant (in the present), to be acknowledged by
cause and effect relationship in the continuum of events and things. Culture, therefore,
becomes an organizing principle.
As symbols in repetition culture thrives
Any changes within this process, for example “The Vietnam War”, as Bonnie Marranca
states in Thinking about Interculturalism (1969) “is the expansion of one world in another
world, the future in the past” (p11). So history in repetition was culture in making of
ideas, customs, beliefs, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and institutions evolving in our
daily activity through the ability to symbolize. History shows that every society has its
own unique and particular expression to exist within a system and culture promotes
security and continuity of life. Therefore, a social culture should be studied and examined
in its own context and not from other’s point of view came to be precisely my reason for
introducing my background in my tradition. As I began to speculate a performance with
an Aboriginal partner, I left the choices of defining the two traditions in the performance
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to the individual artist and their creativity as interaction between them for a mutual
exchange.
Inter-culturalism: Mutual exchange, friction or interaction between cultures
At a conference at Amsterdam, Pluralism in Art of Interculturalism (1966) Josette Feral
states that Interculturalism is not Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism was a term that was
mostly used by politicians in the 1970 to show diversity of cultures and to take into
account those diversities in all political arenas. Although this concept was used in a
positive sense, it led to a juxtaposition of cultures. The notion of multiculturalism was
subsequently replaced by interculturalism which is ... the idea of mutual friction of
cultures, an interaction, an exchange between cultures. She further states that ...
interculturalism presupposes cultural pluralism, with the added awareness that different
cultures never sit quietly side by side, they always intermingle or fight among each other.
(p1)
Where one social process analyses another social process
Rustom Bharucha in Theater and the World (1993) states “... interculturalism of any arts
should be an exploration where the process... analyses the social process... in other
cultures” (p5). His critical scenario of Euro-American theater shifts the emphasis of
interculturalism from the ethics of colonialism of theater (that is a code of conduct within
a society on whom was imposed the will of the imperialists) to the ethics ‘of postcolonial theater’ (where there was a freedom of choice), where taking “forms and images
of the others” and “presenting it as a vital cultural exchange” (p8) was an inter subjective
act. As was the case of Peter Brooks’ Mahabharata, where the contents and
presentational techniques were borrowed from another culture and the interculturalism
label was referred to as the mixing of various cultural materials of one culture into the
Western performance context” (p211). In his opinion, any kind of intercultural exchange
should constitute within its ‘ism’ (process) an ethics of representation and social
relationship that constitute it (p4)
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However, are we not witnessing within this process a transcultural perspective? As an
example, take the case of Salman Rushdie (author of The Satanic Verse (1982)), and the
late Ayatollah Khomeini’s calling for his execution as an enemy of Islam. Was Rushdie
misrepresenting Islam, or was he in fact creating and conveying his own imaginary work
(as an Indian born Muslim living in England) within two cultures? Or was he blending
the ‘text and textures’ of Asian and Western cultures with their dreams and changing
demographics on a global issue? Could the artist not cross cultural boundaries? Was
Rushdie not using it as a creative vehicle? Was this out of bounds for an artist? Another
example is the 1996 film Bhaji on the Beach showing an elderly Indian lady being
confronted with and overwhelmed by the morals of young British-Indians in the UK. Was
this interculturalism - mixing of British and Indian cultures - or trans culturalism looking at British culture through Indian eyes? Here we see that a new environment was
reshaping the embryonic pre-semiotics of an already coded culture.
Symbolism - a new phenomena as a process of awareness
I know art has always been borrowing and adopting. The difference now lies in the
process of awareness which is connected with the phenomenon as well as its reasons for
fighting, exchanging, crossing and contributing towards culture. Josette Feral suggests
that interculturalism in art is a phenomenon where the process of awareness is undertaken
in the artist’s mind and reflected through the artist’s work. From this perspective, I found
the new creativity in my work coming into focus after arriving in Australia. I experienced
the interactions, or changes, and exchanges that were happening in the environment as
already taking place. Till then I had not taken a political stand. I was mainly toying with
the idea of interpreting the realities of life, the myths as I saw them through my
subjectivity (dance) and intersubjectivity (the surrounding environments all around me).
As soon as I took a stand, my performance became a junction between the two entities of
the macro-social (environment) and the micro-social (myself). It became an intersection
which brought to light some of my hidden aspects, that I wasn’t aware of, and the society
at large. As I came to re-evaluate my own position in history in relation to my work, I
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came to re-examine my Kathak performance against its own traditional context. It made
me re-asses my relationship with the outside influences (Australian Aboriginal).
Creating a new myth
As I defined my position of creating an intercultural dance performance exploring the
serpent energy in the two cultures, I was making a political statement. Interculturalism
therefore was not without a pre-determined political stand. Once the loans or borrowings
between one culture and other were integrated into the performance, we continued to
move back and forth from our source cultures into the new performance. Familiarizing
with the alternatives or the other different culture within the performance, I was accepting
the other performer as familiar and legitimate. Similarly, in my myth making I adopted
elements (Boomerang, serpent, clapsticks, the dot concept, morning star, kulini etc.) from
the Aboriginal culture and wove it into my narrative fabric. It came to create its own
story that went beyond the cultural divisions and differences.
A new culture emerges
As a shift in cultural symbolic and political spheres occur, either through imposition or
adoption, a new culture emerges. This displacement produces a new political positioning
of empowerment and the symbolic meaning become different in the new context. What
was going on here was a process of co-existence of elements from the previous cultures
in the creation of the third. As an example, one can look at the Anglo-Indian ethnic group
in India who evolved their own culture and society from a mix of Indian and the British
societies.
In other words, transculturalism should not be confused with interculturalism.
Transculturalism is taking one culture into another land, as the British took their culture
to India. It remained in essence the same British culture it was back home in England,
with slight adaptation for the Indian environment. Interculturalism is the taking of one
culture and mixing it with another but however keeping the features of the two very
distinct. Another example, is the Muslim culture which was brought to India and mixed
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with the Hindu culture of India. The resultant culture has distinct features of both without
displacing either. Interculturalism in performance, therefore, became the study of ethics
of representations underlying any cross-cultural exchange and the social relationships that
constitute it.
I came to focus on my issues in the new creative performance as follows:
(a)
I presented interculturalism in myth-making and through it in performance,
emphasizesd the similarities and differences in the Indian and Aboriginal dance
forms,
(b)
I presented the performance as a mixture of the two cultures, by keeping their
identities alive, yet creating a new dance Awakening of the Serpent Energy as
expanded energy for mutual exchange and understanding,
(c)
I achieved it through the role-play in Kathak and contemporary Aboriginal dance
forms as performed in their traditions,
(d)
I expressed it through repetition in verse, movements, gestures, and motion (as in
tempo of rhythm and beat),
(e)
I observed where creativity in the form of improvisation took over the new
performance,
(f)
If it did, then I asked myself if Rta as a force of creativity or an inspiration for
improvisation manifested itself universally and got connected with the performers
and to some of those present at the performing space.
(g)
If so, was it observed as an intercultural performance in the new environmental
realms of natural-human-spiritual sphere?
I began my task
In Rustom Bharucha's Theater and the World, (a dramaturgical analysis of an intracultural theater project), he shifts the emphasis of interculturalism from the ethics of
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colonial cultures, to the ethics of post colonial, towards globalization and a universal
awareness. These became my stepping stones.
•
Any performance or event in ‘repetition’ would become ‘culture in making’.
I began building my arguments, based on Helene Cixous ‘strategies’ that, viewing a
singular performance, without the knowledge of the processes reduced to a beginning and
an end, can be seen as a measurable, readable and coherent event. This is because the real
translation of a performance is seen as taking place between the director, who encodes
the texts, and the spectator, who decodes the texts. Alternatively, I saw any process of
meaningful exchange, at any given point of time and space within a social culture,
constitutes negotiated actions and interactions of different people in it. And each moment
in that time and space is like an improvisation, like an experimental piece where each
time an interaction occurs its re-occurrence becomes a repetition.
These moments (the NOW, or improvisation) or interactions, without a beginning and an
end, become bounded in time and space as an ‘event’ or performance, or a unique
culture in itself. These act in the performance came as neutral zones, or circuits of
energies (see chakra in glossary), or meeting places (as in contemplation) where the text
(desire, prayers, anger etc.) as recognizable message can be read, through repetition
reproduced and as a relational system be measured for their coherence, (Cixous, p85)
where connection of moment to moment as a routine process in a life cycle of a
performer become ‘shifting grounds’ in societies through which transformation and
change take place. Such shifts become anchor points in cultural parameters.
From the above analysis, I demonstrated through my project, that shifts within the
cultural parameters or restraints (there are all kinds of power relations inherent in the
production of social images) emerge as a ‘conscious practice’. So by experimenting with
the performance as a balancing act on one hand, where it shares a historical moment as a
discourse and, on the other hand, where Brecht's semiotics, reconstruction theories of
differences, discontinuities and contradictions are dramatized as enacting world(s) of
differences a ‘performance’ such as the Awakening of the Serpent comes to stand on its
own.
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Demonstrating the performance as an ‘event’, I came to sow a seed in the new
environment, shifting the embryonic pre-semiotics of an already coded culture. I did this
by breaking down the cultural barrier in a male-dominant performing area (represented in
this case by the male Aboriginal dancer) as a female dancer from a different culture and
performing the least talked about subject, The Serpent Energy, through my myth and
through the performance. And simultaneously, coming to co-exist in a new performance,
I took this ‘event’ as a performance which would bring about a shift in the changing
environment in Australia, becoming ‘culture in making’, even if only for a moment.
•
Shifting within the performance the emphasis of ethics from intra cultural to universal
awareness.
This means that any kind of intercultural exchange performance would constitute, within
its process, representation and the social relationships that constitute within it (in a
neutral zone), a relationship between cultures that come to co-exist and continue in a new
environment. I did this by tapping into different fields of studies (sociology, philosophy,
history etc.) and symbolizing, through the creation of my myth and performance, the
individual energies in their own traditional context. I conceptualized them in the
performance, and their universal relationship in other cultures through creative dance as
the Serpent Energy. The relationship emerged as a better understanding for one another in
the performance and the exchange came to be accepted as a ‘tool’ for a practical
structural methodology. That is, other cultural exchanges could be conducted in the same
way.
I Collected Data On Serpent Energy
For data and information on Indian serpent energy, I have relied upon my ethnic and
Indian background and Kathak dance knowledge.
Given the large number of Aboriginal communities in Australia, I narrowed my research
through the inquiry of Rainbow Serpent myths among people in different geographical
regions and finally settled on Central Australia. This was necessary at the time, although
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in the end my male partner was not from the region and so brought with him slightly
different concepts.
Exploration
In dealing with the above issues in creative performance, I began the task of collecting
information about the serpent energy existing in the Australian Aboriginal and Indian
cultures. I began with an exploration of the function of the Rainbow Serpent existing in
Australia as Ungud in Kimberley, as Galeru in Arnhem Land and Ngalyod in Central
Australia. I chose to study the rainbow serpent Ngalyod amongst the Pitjantjatjara
people, (living at Petermann and Rawlinson Range, north of Lake Hopkine and south of
Birksgate Range), because of:
(a)
its association with the rain making ceremony,
(b)
its representative of creative and destructive forces of nature in that region,
(c)
its function from creative times in shaping the natural and human scene into a
social structure, and
(d)
its living on land and in the waters, commanding a presence in people’s
everyday living up till now,
(e)
its dual role in fertility (male and female).
It suited the temperament of my myth making and its expression (role-play) of duality in
my performance. It was a representation of creative and destructive forces in nature and
in it’s dual role in the social structure its living in deep water hole during dry season and
in thunder clouds as rainbow during wet season and keeping the fertility aspect of male
and female alive. The Rainbow Serpent is representative of the creative and destructive
forces of nature, especially those evinced in rain and water. Sometimes the Rainbow
Serpent is credited with dual roles. Often represented as visually striking image of force
and vitality with power that sometimes becomes ambiguous in gender. The Dalabon
people see their All-Mother as a Rainbow Serpent whereas the Murinbata refer to the
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Rainbow serpent as mother’s father. Most serpents, in relation to the cycle of seasons,
spend the dry season in deep water holes, and the period of monsoon rains in the thunder
clouds, thus keeping the ongoing fertility aspect alive.
I presented Ngalyod as the male serpent in motion, through Aboriginal contemporary
dance, and conceptualized the fertility aspect as Shakti, in the Indian generative energy
sense, through stylized Kathak dance as a symbol of Shiva-Linga.
In my explorations into the legendary activities of Dreamtime Rainbow Serpent involved
Aboriginal Australians in general, I chose to make my journey through different forms of
paintings from the tropical north west, through the central desert hinterland to the
temperate southeast of Australia, because in this way I got a cross section view of the
three main cultures and the geographical zones of Aboriginal Australia.
Initially through Peter Sutton’s work (1988) I conducted my investigation of paintings
from Arnhem Land in the north, where nature is in abundance and is observable in the
rock and bark paintings of west, central and eastern Arnhem Land. A feature of these
paintings is ‘mimi’ (stick figures paintings, see Fig. 9) of humans and animals, birds,
reptiles, fish. Sometimes showing human beings depicted in x-rays, where every detail of
internal organs are interpreted as features of landscape or sacred transformations that took
place at the end of creative times by ancestral beings.
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Fig. 9 Mimi spirits, ca. 1970. Yirawala, Western Arnhem Land.
Ochre on bark.
Contemporary senior artists’ works, such as Yirawala, Peter Marralwnga,
Nakkurridjdjilmi Nganjmira, using this x-ray depiction as a way of expressing complex
ideas of painting with half-human and half animal characteristics, revealing their
knowledge of the symbolic connections between the various manifestations of Ancestral
power. (Diggings:1989, p18)
I saw the image of the Rainbow Serpent known as Yingarna, Wanampi, Ngalyod, or
Borlung (p18) (see Fig. 10a, b, c) depicted as the original creator and all subsequent
species, kangaroo, crocodile, emu, snake, barramundi etc.
Fig. 10a Wanampi, Five Dreamings (1983). Michael Tjakamarra Nelson, Warlpiri
people, Papunya, Northern Territory
Amongst his five Dreamings in his painting above, the artist came to show one dreaming
at Yilkiri, a site near Mt. Singleton where a willy-willy turned into the mythological
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Rainbow Serpent, Wanampi. Located near the serpent are tracks of a rock wallaby
traveling between sacred sites.
Fig. 10b.1 Rainbow Snake, rock art, Central Arnhem Land.
Fig. 10b.2 Borlung or Ngalyod, the Rainbow Snake, 1969. Bark painting. Artist is
Mandarrk, Central Arnhem Land (after Brandl 1973).
In the East Kimberly Arnhem Land, the Rainbow Serpent is known as Juntarkal. Here
the body paintings are said to be related to people in their different stages of life cycle
and their dazzling brilliant designs have an aesthetic effect upon the person who wears
them, which is seen as a refraction of the original power of the ancestral beings. By body
painting they share the original spiritual essence of ancestral beings (Diggins: 1989, p95).
In the Northern Eastern Arnhem land I came across Yirritja and Dhuwa moieties. The
rainbow serpent is known as Julungal (see Fig. 10c). If one belongs to Dhuwa moiety
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then the father, all brothers and sisters belong to the Dhuwa moiety, and the mother and
her family belong to the opposite Yirritja moiety. Here every thing, including the plants,
land, animals and even directions, belong to either the Yirritja or Dhuwa moiety. One can
imagine, it a bit like Yin and Yang, according to Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr, Macquarie,
Aboriginal Words, (1994 p236)
Fig. 10c Julungal, 1966
Artist Mitinari, Dhuwa moiety, Galpu Clan, North East Arnhem Land (Yolngu)
In the notes to this painting I observed artist Mitinari had the sole right to paint the design
of circular dots appearing on the body of the serpent Julunga. The presence of the Great
Serpent at Mirrarrmina lagoon was also indicated by this design appearing on waterlilly
leaves, and sometimes within rectangular frame.
In the Central region I came across the contemporary West Desert acrylic paintings in
which the Aboriginal paintings present the landscape in a religious traditional sense of
the dreaming. The Aboriginal people there believe, their images of capturing “land,
country, camp and home” in art is represented as the “landscape-based myth” (Sutton:
1988, p17-p18). Their art came to narrate through expression the “intense religious,
political, family and personal emotions” in the society.
Fig. 11 Two men Dreaming at Kulunjarranya, 1984,
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Artist Tommy Lowry Japaljarri, Kintore, Central Australia, Acrylic on canvas. Note the
use of dots, circles, and roundness.
Their myths are accounts of ancestral travel from site to site, in a
narrative or drama form. It centers around their own incidences of
hunting and gathering food, fighting’s with enemies, and
participation in ritual ceremonies, which describe the rights of one
particular human group with a specific area of land (p19).
They believe that Ancestral Beings carved geographic forms out of a formless region,
shaped the creeks and desert sandhills and rainforest. The land, therefore, became a site
of narrative for the Central Australian Aboriginal people-an artifact of intellect, before
people actually represented it. (Sutton: 1988, p19). In such instances traditional dance,
song and stories of Dreamings reproduced works of consciousness and spiritual beings.
Aboriginal designs of cross-hatching, dotting, patterns in symmetrical forms were only
duplicates of the original and creative Dreamings. When a new sacred song design or
story originated with an individual, it is said to have been found by them, often in a
dream or an extraordinary experience (Sutton: 1988, p19).
This piece of information got my making of a myth going. I experienced an extraordinary
connection with the dot configurations as I was researching through the paintings and it
connected with me as an expression of serpent energy. I understood Suttons explanation
of the visual rhythms and patterns in terms of my dance rhythms and patterns.
Going further down, I found there is not much cultural material available in Southeast
Australia apart from painted shields and the use of body paint in the corroborees
(ceremonial dance) (Sutton: 1988, p147) which is already fast disappearing as Aboriginal
people are relinquishing their tradition for European dress and artifacts. In South
Australia in the Lower Murray River, (p186-7) only a rich tradition of wood engravings,
shields and weapons with geometric engravings were produced and, coiled basketing.
Very little dance or song remains.
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Analyzing the Data
In this journey through different categories of art, ranging from rock to bark painting,
from engraving to land and body decoration, to decorations of tjurunga (ceremonial
boards) and wood carvings, I mostly came across human relationships with nature,
landscape and with each other. I got connected with the dot concept of Central Australia
in a total different imagery however. For me, in the paintings the background became the
foreground, and the dots with their colours communicated their myth. On it’s face value it
was nothing more than a brilliant idea introduced in the 70’s for commercial purposes.
But by now I was analyzing something more than just visual relationships. I found in the
Rainbow Dreaming stories that the dot, circle, hole, representing serpent motif often had
sexual interpretations. Basedown (1925: p282-3, cited in Hiatt, L.R. and Jayawardena, C.
(ed.) 1971, p80), drew the attention to phallic rites.
•
First, although men recognize connection between sexual intercourse and corporeal
reproduction, they attribute it to the spirit of mystic and abstract forces.
•
Second, believing in these forces to reside in certain phallic stones, they perform
secret ceremonies to generate new human life. One such place known to having a
phallic stone is Aranda of the eastern MacDonnell Ranges. The men perform a
ceremony featuring a representation of this stone in form of a headdress worn by
the leading actor.
•
Third, fire may symbolize male generative power and smoke its medium of
transmission.
In the desert paintings, I found the serpent motif represented as copulating couple (see
fig.12), or a snake entwining a woman (see fig. 12a) as a key symbol of sexual
interpretations. Such imagery evokes human sexuality on one level but beyond this it
becomes mystical in nature. What is interesting to observe in the snake picture is (see fig.
12) that it psychologically produces a symbolic energetic range of images with emotional
meanings, arousing a kind of sexuality (Sutton: 1988 p17). But, in actuality, I realized
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that in erotic images are the performed acts of sexual magic (like the Kama Sutra images
in Hindu Tantra) acts that ought not to be messed with. In my understanding, the dots
symbolically represented such acts.
Fig. 12 Serpent and Woman, rock art, Kimberley region, Artist unknown.
Fig. 12a Serpent entwined a woman, ca. 1978, Lickie Nollier, Western Australia.
For example, the symbolic meaning was not simply what it stood for, it was also what the
object itself stood for. The entwining or circle could represent a water hole in a story, but
the water hole itself is a powerful symbol of life, a home destination of mythical events.
Likewise a snake is often depicted as a life giving source (Sutton: 1988, p45). For me,
such a mythical act represented a law.
That law came to be summarized in another interpretation put forward by Roheim (1925,
cited in Hiatt, & Jayawardena, Eds: 1971, p81), in a study of Phallic rites amongst the
Aborigines of Alice Springs quote him stating, first, a regular feature of increase rites is a
quivering or trembling motion of the actors that shake off some of their body decorations
of white downs. The down represents life-stuff that impregnates women, ... Second, men
commonly rub the tjurunga with their hands in the belief that this action produces childspirits. The tjurunga is a phallus and rubbing symbolizes the friction of coitus. Third, the
pouring of blood from the arm or subincised penis onto the tjurunga or sacred ground is a
symbolic effusion of semen. Fourth, increase rites are primarily concerned with human
reproductions. ...
Such a law of transformation came to be imbedded in the abstract forces of procreation.
Symbolically I see it represented by a dot, Bindu, Bind, or the third eye of Shiva.
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Elkin’s account of the rainbow serpent (1930a: 273 cited in Hiatt, 1971, p82) is another
example of the law in a symbolic form, that talks about Wondjina figures in the Kimberly
region as horseshoe shaped band enclosing two circles and an oblong. The appearance is
of a face with eyes and nose, but no mouth and chin (see Fig. 13).
Fig. 13 Wondjina. 1984 Artist Ray Meeks, New South Wales.
Oil on Canvas
Wondjina, Elkin suggests (1930b: 351 cited in Hiatt, 1971, p82) according to
contemporary belief, is a rainbow serpent who “makes and brings down spirit-babies in
the rain to the water holes where the father always ‘finds’ his child in a visionary way,
unless he ‘sees’ it coming down in the rain”. In other words, the fertilizing power of the
serpent is at work: the serpent’s dual performance.
Elkin (1933: 462 cited in Hiatt, 1971, p82,) further believes that the lack of mouth is so
because eyes and nose are really testicles and penis. The rainbow serpent then may either
be representing a genitalization of the human face, or Wondjina is not a face but a
representation of male genitals enclosed by the serpent symbols, the serpents life-giving
power. He also quotes Freeman (1968, cited in Hiatt, 1971, p82) that “thunder and
lightning symbols are often found in associations with Wondjina figures”-energy and
power symbols.
In the same article Berndt in respect of the Kunapipi rite, states,(1951, p.p. 12-16 cited in
Hiatt 1971, p85) “… the name Kunapipi expresses a dual concept:
On one hand it refers to a Fertility Mother, or Mothers, and on the other to the great
Rainbow Snake. This is the symbolism of the uterus and the penis, natural instruments of
fecundity”. The sacred ground, containing the symbolic uterus, is said to represent the
serpent’s body signifying the bisexual role of the phallus. As a male mother, representing
the penis as an instrument of birth, like Shiva in his androgynous form or Shiva-Shakti
For me, the most powerful form of phallic motif was observable in the Toas of Lake Eyre
that contain a number of explicit sexual symbols. Examples can be seen as symmetry and
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duality motifs appearing in a series of two prong forks as paired features of the human
body- breasts, buttocks, eyes, ears, hands etc. Seen in a circular shape, the circle
representing a universal motif in Aboriginal art suggesting roundness, inclusion,
enclosing centrality and un-hierarchic order (Sutton: p62 - see fig. 14)
Fig. 14 Toas of the Lake Eyre region, ca 1904, Artist unknown.
I also came across an interesting observation of the Pitjantjatjara people. They believe,
that a mythical snake Wanambi, (Rainbow serpent) living at Uluru and others in
Pitjantjatjara country “ do not fall into the same category as the totemic beings of
tjukurapa (Dreaming) times. For, although they existed during creation times, they did
not create any part of topography, nor did they change their form at the close of the
creation period. The Wanambi of tjukurapa times are the same as the Wanambi of today”
(Mountford, 1965, p154).
Stanner (1961, pp235-52 cited in Mountford’s footnotes p154) refers to the myths of the
rainbow serpent in Murinbata tribe of the Daly river and the Pitjantjatjara people, as the
“riteless myth”. Because he says he has neither seen nor heard of any ceremony
associated with the Wanambi myth. I found in this a very familiar notion. In the same
tone Basedown (in Hiatt, op ict) makes a reference to the spirit of mystic and abstract
forces as I mentioned earlier. In my interpretation, I saw the Rainbow Serpent as a dot,
Bindi (eye) symbol of the mystical abstract forces operating throughout the country of
Australia.
Once I collected the general view of the rainbow serpent and its representation in various
forms, in its dual nature of male and female, as a regenerator of new life in phallic
worship as universal motifs, I decided to concentrate on the region of Central Australia
for my study.
From here onwards I brought the interpretation of the serpent energy into my work as a
tool in the performance. Then, interpreting it as an act of transforming as a
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communicating motif into varying degrees for mutual understanding and a common
heritage in the universe through the two dance forms, I used the concepts as a
choreographic tool.
As I came to understand its presence as rainbow serpent Ngalyod, through its dual role in
the rain making ceremony my investigation led me to highlight the similarities and dissimilarities in the two traditions. This is what I came up with.
I Chose the Pitjantjatjara Concept of The Serpent
Pitjantjatjara was chosen as the comparative area in Australia for a closer study of
serpent energy because of the similarities I saw in the structure of their traditional society
with those in the Indian society. I saw similarities mainly in:
(a)
their oral traditional mythical stories about ancestors and the creation of the
world,
(b)
their harmonious existence with nature, and their relationship with natural
phenomena like water, streams, animals and landscape,
(c)
their rituals, rites of passage, ancestral worship, their religious beliefs on
rebirth and continuity of life that is unrestricted by space and time and that life
transcends past, present into future.
(d)
their reciprocal system of sharing,
(e)
their existence as a hunting and food gathering people, using the boomerang
amongst other equipment,
(f)
their focus on comtemplation - as deep inner listening,
(g)
their use of mystic forces in the phallic rites,
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their visualization through art as a means of transforming into-physicalmental-spiritual spheres, represented by the mythical snake The Rainbow
Serpent, and
(i)
their perception of the role of rainbow serpent as energy in motion between a
connector (Dreamtime), and its past and present.
Heroes
Another reason I chose to study the Pitjantjatjara people was because according to the
study of Mountford, (1965), the rock at Uluru is a living proof of the identification and
connection of Pitjantjatjara people and their hero ancestors. Their stories tell of the
region of Uluru (Ayers Rock) during creative or tjukurpa times. The sacred creative
period in the long distance past was when totemic heroes performed mighty deeds, and
these tjukurpa heroes made the lands of Pitjantjatjara, their food, their weapons to
capture desert animals, the wooden dish and digging stick for the women.
The heroes also made their laws governing daily and sacred life, the reciprocal relation
between groups, secret ceremonies, and the supernatural punishment if anyone disobeyed
these ancient laws. Hence, as creators and progenitors of all things living and the
topography of their own land they were also the progenitors of the Aborigines living in
that land. Therefore the people came to believe that the same kurunba (life essence)
vitalized all living beings alike and the Aborigines came to accept themselves as an
integral part of the life around them, no greater or lesser than any of its component parts.
According to the myths, in the tjukurpa time, the creative beings were described as giant
semi-human beings resembling their totems in appearance. They behaved like humans
but arose out of the featureless plains where they were slumbering for countless years like
Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s brother. These mythical people made fire, dug for water,
performed ceremonies, or fought with one another like ordinary human beings.
As the tjukurpa time came to an end, where ever the heroes had performed any task such as creating a mountain range, a sandhill, a valley, a watercourse or any natural
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feature - along with themselves were transformed into isolated boulders or piles of rocks.
One such transformation was the Uluru in Central Australia. Thus the Aborigines accept
the stories or myths found at Uluru as records of absolute truths and answers to all their
questions found in their daily lives.
Since the ancestors were the forbears of Kunia (the carpet-snake people), Mala (the harewallaby), Meta-lungana (the sleepy lizard), Itjari-tjari (marsupial mole), Tjinderitjinderiba (willy-wagtail woman) and her children Yulanya, and Linga (the sand lizard
man,) (see figure 3c). The Aborigines believe that they are the direct descendants of one
or another tjukurpa heroes from the distant past. Claiming direct dependency of mythical
beings the Aborigines began living in the land created by their progenitor. Thus, naturally
linked by myth and genealogy with their country, the topographical features of Uluru in
turn became the living storehouse of the myths that explained the origins of the ancestors
and the links between the Aborigines and their land (see Fig. 15 below and Fig. 3).
Fig. 15 Uluru (Ayers Rock)
The Uluru myths came to state the extent of Pitjantjatjara country on the Eastern
boundary of Uluru. It extended from Southern lands of Musgrave Ranges northward to
Lake Amadeus, eastward to the Basedow Ranges, and westward to the western limits of
Musgrave Range.
The battle between the Liru (poisonous snakes) and the Kunia created most of the
Southern Uluru. Minor totems that created portions of the southern face were Linga and
Meta-lungana. The north and northwesterly corner of Uluru was created by the activities
of the Mala people and some portions were also created by Linga.
The western side came to be associated with Kandju (lizard man) whose camps were
transformed into boulders on the southwestern corners. Often the Aborigines came to
believe that the small boulder areas are Kurunba or Kuranita, the concentrated life
essence of a particular totem. They believe that if these boulders are rubbed against each
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other in the Pitjantjatjara country with the correct chanting of the song, the life essenceKurunba within the stone will rise and impregnate the female of the particular species,
thereby increasing the food supply (Mountford, 1965, p25).
For example, if the men left for hunting they first went and used a ritual at Uluru, by
rubbing Kunia stones and chanting special songs called lurubunangi. This ceremony
would wake up the life essence Kurunba of the carpet-snakes in the stones, which in turn
would cause the carpet snakes to leave their holes and wander about making it easier for
the hunters to catch them (Mountford, 1965, p62).
Similarly, Mutitjilda (water hole) at the head of the gorge, on the southern face is not,
according to the ancient stories, just filled with water but with the transformed blood of
the dying carpet-snake man (Mountford, 1965, p54). The gray patch on the southern cliff
of Uluru is not an extensive patch of lichen, but the metamorphosed smoke from the
burning camp of the greedy sleepy-lizard man. (See fig.3) And the semi detached column
of rock on the north-westerly corner is not an unusual example of exfoliation but the
transformed ritual pole that once stood in the center of the initiation ground of the harewallaby men.
Episodes in the mythical times reflected the temperaments of totemic heroes of tjukurpa
times and the Aborigines therefore do not believe in the Golden Age when all was perfect
and believed their mythical forbears were both good and bad, as are men of today
(Mountford, 1965, p198).
An orally well defined area of land was the exclusive property of one family group,
within the boundaries of which they gained their livelihood. The men hunted with
boomerangs and spears creatures like kangaroos, wallabies, and emus. The women
traveled from one waterhole to another collecting grass seeds of the various acacias – like
the mulga and kurrajong (seed of the desert), fruits such as wild peaches, figs, galls on
mulga trees, and small creatures (lizards, snakes, bandicoots, and termites) within those
defined territories.
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The custom that governed their distribution of food was an extension of ancient laws and
rituals that was based on reciprocal system of sharing. These laws came to bind men and
women in the social relationships, cultural myths, songs and ceremonies and expressing
itself in the natural feature of each of the clan territories. The Pitjantjatjara people were
divided into two groups or moiety. The Nananduraka (my people) and Tanamildjan (the
other people) especially for marriage purposes.
The myths came to reveal the closeness of its Aboriginal inhabitants with their
surroundings. So much so, that in every piece of life like the waterhole, fruits, animals,
caves that kept them cool in summer and warm in winter came to be explained through
the myth as an authentic evidence of their origins. In this manner, the mythical stories
became the core of the Aborigines ceremonial life, the themes of their ritualistic songs,
and the subject matter of their art, (Mountford, 1965, p199) such myths kept the
Aborigines ties alive with Uluru.
We therefore see in the arts of Uluru the Aborigines transmit the mythical beliefs from
one generation to another, and the arts on the rock surface came to have three distinct
forms (Mountford, 1965, p199).
(a)
Indentations, in the rock surface which the Aborigines claim is an ancient art
which is not their kind of work,
(b)
Engravings on the Kulpidji (sacred objects) a means of limited symbolism by
which Aborigines could preserve the esoteric history of their groups, and
(c)
Open ended paintings, which were used by anyone to express themselves.
Another interesting feature at Ayers Rock was the increase ritual of fig-tree man of Jirinjirin and the wallaby people of Malupidi. As artists of successive generations painted the
pictures on the cave walls they visualized the rituals with which those paintings were
associated. For example, the actual atmosphere of the ceremonial ground, the circles of
chanting men, the dancers and actors with their colorful body decorations. Behind these
mental images, like a backdrop, would be the knowledge of the mythical stories
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explaining the origins of everything in the world of the Aborigines (Mountford, 1965,
p199).
In other words, I observed amongst the Australian Aborigines that the arts and the acts of
sacred transformation during their Dreamtime came as a mystical experience. It was an
expanded or an awakening experience of enlightened expression coming from within
oneself, spurred by the flow of energy in life. This awakening in itself stood for sacredsecret history permeating as energy and threading the physical, human and spiritual life.
In my understanding this is their Law of Dreaming. The organizing principal behind their
symbolism in Art, with which I got connected as the Dot Concept. Also, I drew my
inspiration for my myth and performance from the above mentioned three points (a, b, c,
by Mountford).
Dreamtime, therefore for me, as a gateway for such transformation, or an act of change,
became the cause between this and that life. And the repetition of arts (follow the blue
prints), their reproduction or imitations became its effects. Through this movement of
cause and effect the connectedness during Dreamtime brought about peace and
tranquillity in its true sense and came to be devoid of outside influences. Connectedness
during such moments between human, natural and spiritual beings became cosmic in
character.
What Did I Do
I approached interculturalism in dance by adopting the criteria based on. Bharucha's,
Theater and the World, approach where he recommends first, to understand the ethnic
cultures within one's own society (intra-culture) and then evaluate the mutual relationship
(inter-culture) of the societies (in this case, between the Aboriginal culture and Indian
culture). Then I moved towards universal awareness as a relationship between cultures
that transcend history, race, language, and time. Bharucha states, inter-culturalism of any
arts should be an exploration where the process... analysis the social process... in other
cultures (p5).
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I Observed the Cultural Parameters
In the context of action and interaction of cultures, the cultural parameters that I defined
were in terms of the Indian culture as the source culture and the Aboriginal culture as the
compared culture in this project. I began by accepting the dancer’s point of view in the
performance as their cultural context. This was so because each country consists of
different ethnic people behaving differently at all times. In other words, the total
viewpoints about each country came to be different from the sum of all the viewpoints
held by each individual in it.
I observed, in present-day sphere, the social cultural context is (was) amidst intense
social change. New ideas and changing values are (were) arising which variously affect
the societies as a whole and its individual members. (Holt: 1967, p6). Every society
therefore has its own unique socio-cultural expression existing within a system.
The Cultural Ethics
I had to change my approach in dealing with the Aboriginal performer in respect of time
and punctuality. I am used to strict schedule in rehearsals, but this performance required
me to accommodate the work around the availability of the performer. At first it was
frustrating and beyond comprehension, but I very quickly adapted his layback attitude as
a flexibility on my part. (This is often called Koori time in popular jargon)
I Achieved My Aims and Objects
(a)
I relived the past in a traditional manner (through Kathak dance
and across boundaries (from intra cultural to inter cultural)
form),
resulting in
changing values, (freedom of choice-performance with an Aboriginal dancer,
independence in ideology in presenting my version of the serpent energy). I
incorporated the performance into the existing order (multiculturalism) where
shifting grounds would ultimately create a new dance for the continuity of my
existence in the landscape environment of my choice.
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(b)
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As a narrator and a performer, I experienced serpent energy and expanded
awareness in dance as the enacting force of creativity (seen in culture as fixed
paths to be traversed). In performance these are repetition of acts and
principles of the body as mentioned in The Natya Shastra or Barba's research
in Theater Anthropology, (1991) as a basis for universality.
(c)
Through (a) and (b) I kinetically projected creative Serpent Energy into the
audience and got connected with some spectators. The performance was
acknowledge in the new environment as part of the ongoing process. In the
sacred-secret-closed-spiritual experience I got connected with different people
from different walks of life.
As an Indian female dancer, I experienced creativity in the physical sense in terms of Rta,
the principle organizer in the setting of motion as written in the Vedas. In the
performance Rta as energy became the spiral instigator of creative power in my
improvisation (especially noticeable on when Brian froze in the performance).
For him, I experienced his creativity as (Rta) expressing itself in terms of masculine
energy brought forward through rhythm and beat of clapsticks (loud and hard) as
compared to rhythm and beat being as accompaniment in my performance. Other places
visible were in his motion of emu, his serpent energy in the building of campfire and in
his participating in the exchange program in the first place.
In short I conceptualized a comparative and similar format of the two traditions as below.
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TRADITIONAL SACRED WORSHIP SYMBOLIC IN
The Physical Realm
The Spiritual Realm
THE RAINBOW SNAKE /
ENERGY
HAS A FERTILITY ASPECT
CONSCIOUSNESS IS
THE SERPENT
IN ALTERED
Is (a tantric or esoteric science)
(KULINI)
DREAMTIME
Living in the hole (female) earth
of life-giving force (male) serpent
chakras energies are creations of
the two energies are
life
pingala,
Contemplation
AND (KUNDALINI)
MEDITATION
Contemplation
to listen and
through the
understand in the
deep inner sense
Pitjantjatjara
(Central Desert)
ida and
left and right,
female and
male.
The two
combine to
According to Kenneth Maddock (1986 p96)
awaken fire energy in
the rainbow serpent is a visually striking
channel
image of force or vitality, a conception
body for
to which it is hard to give a figurative expression.
Elkin suggests that it is
regenerated and reproductive force in
nature and man (p98).
the central
the subtle
eternal bliss.
BOTH CULTURES BELIEVE IN COMPASSION
Earth as the mother spirit
Deep inner listening and quiet still
Transcends within to
awareness
be one with self
This promises expansion of : Past, Present, and Future to become one, unrestricted by
space and time.
(Arjuna's dialogue with Krishna in Mahabharata Book 6)
(Canto 15 in Gita)
(Human)
(Nature)
Micro cosmic
=
Macro cosmic
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TO BE IN TUNE WITH YOURSELF AND THEREBY UNIVERSE
YOU ARE A PART OF THE WHOLE
Both cultures dwell on the idea of a Universe as a social order, and human and nature as a
one corporate whole. Therefore compassion in every walk of life. Thus, life transcends
past, present and future. Life is unrestricted by space and time.
The traditional art of living within universal law is imbedded in unchanging patterns of
creation, irrespective of caste, color, or creed. Hence, tradition can never die. Tradition is
the basis of unity in diversity.
Spiral Energy in action in Indian and Aboriginal Traditions
Fig. 16 Ngalyod and Shiva-shakti as serpent in action
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The Mystical Worldview
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Fig. 17 The symbolic elements used in the performance making up the Indian and
Aboriginal Mystical Worldview.
Outcomes
I established bonds of similarities between my background as an Indian dancer in the
Australian society with a contemporary Aboriginal dancer conversant in his own
traditional culture and society, by creating a myth Ardhanarisvara-Adisharpa and
weaving it through the performance as Awakening of the Serpent.
As ‘motion in action’, through grounding of the body as an expanding connector ‘in the
universal family’. The performance was a meeting point between the exhibitions,
Dancing to the Flute 12 June-23 August and Bulada: The Snake, (in the Sydney
language) from 24 August-14 December 1997, to celebrate the reconciliation and
independence of all people. Breaking down cultural barriers with community
participation in the Arts Gallery on 15th and 16th of August, on Indian’s 50th
Independence Day, I was able to demonstrate intercultural practice in the arts of New
South Wales.
Conclusion:
Thus, I concluded that the serpents (in the physical landscape or in the spiritual realm) are
parts of the universe as moral and social order and human and nature as one corporate
whole and the,
Evaluation of the project came to be
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Innovation in art: ACADEMIC
Educative
Chapter 1
and
PERFORMING ARTS
Opportunity, Creativity,
Knowledge Gained
THE VALUE OF INTER-CULTURAL EXCHANGE=Success
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Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
Katha Vachika
ARDHANARISVARA-ADISHARPA
VASUDHA IVA KUTUMBAKAM
MY Story
AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT IN THE UNIVERSAL FAMILY
My Desire for A New Myth
All of my mother's bedtime stories end with, “In my experience in life, through trial and
error, I have found, that whichever route we embark on, all roads eventually lead to
Rome (metaphorically speaking, of course!) You don't necessarily have to be in Italy to
find your way.” She would then proceed to explain in her own way, her philosophies of
life and would go on and on till she saw that I am half asleep, and her punch line would
dart out, “Nevertheless, I feel, whatever your quest in life is, it will eventually be
fulfilled. This is my faith”.
Over the years I have often found myself thinking about how right she is. Today I find I
have set out on yet another journey reliving the path laid down in a traditional manner by
our elders. The various trails attempted by me so far have been unique experiences in
different directions. People may think I’m crazy. Maybe I am, but I have deep faith in
myself. This time my journey is open to all those who are interested in accompanying me
on my pilgrimage. It is a (myth based on the Ramayana) pilgrimage entitled, Awakening
of the Serpent in the Universal Family. Why a pilgrimage? Because it is a narrative,
religious and a cultural journey in a performing style.
The Vedas (ved meaning wisdom) are said to have been evolved from an ancient source
of mystical or super conscious knowledge (Subramuniya Swami, 1986, p852). They
explain the process of the creation of the universe, its maintenance, its predictions for the
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CHAPTER 2
Katha Vachika
ARDHANARISVARA-ADISHARPA
VASUDHA IVA KUTUMBAKAM
MY Story
AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT IN THE UNIVERSAL FAMILY
My Desire for A New Myth
All of my mother's bedtime stories end with, “In my experience in life, through trial and
error, I have found, that whichever route we embark on, all roads eventually lead to
Rome (metaphorically speaking, of course!) You don't necessarily have to be in Italy to
find your way.” She would then proceed to explain in her own way, her philosophies of
life and would go on and on till she saw that I am half asleep, and her punch line would
dart out, “Nevertheless, I feel, whatever your quest in life is, it will eventually be
fulfilled. This is my faith”.
Over the years I have often found myself thinking about how right she is. Today I find I
have set out on yet another journey reliving the path laid down in a traditional manner by
our elders. The various trails attempted by me so far have been unique experiences in
different directions. People may think I’m crazy. Maybe I am, but I have deep faith in
myself. This time my journey is open to all those who are interested in accompanying me
on my pilgrimage. It is a (myth based on the Ramayana) pilgrimage entitled, Awakening
of the Serpent in the Universal Family. Why a pilgrimage? Because it is a narrative,
religious and a cultural journey in a performing style.
The Vedas (ved meaning wisdom) are said to have been evolved from an ancient source
of mystical or super conscious knowledge (Subramuniya Swami, 1986, p852). They
explain the process of the creation of the universe, its maintenance, its predictions for the
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future, and how the worlds are finally annihilated, how we fit into the cosmic plan and its
reasons for the plan. The Vedas also included the Upanishads, Vedanta-Sutras,
Brahmanas, and Aranyakas. They are the revealed knowledge, Shruti, in a mantra form,
which are highly charged and condensed esoteric root words which when chanted set off
vibratory energies as manifesting through sound energies. The Shruti were handed down
orally for thousands of years till the sage Vedavyasa, at the end of Dwapara Yuga (see
appendix B1 under Yugas), divided them into four parts and put them in a written form,
Smriti. Written Vedic literature also consists of The Mahabharata. The Bhagavad-Gita,
The Ramayana, and The Puranas for the people of Kali yugha to easily understand them.
Ritually, every year, along with Hindus from all over the world, I enact the epic
Ramayana in different roles during the festival of Dusserah. Ramayana is kavya-itihasa,
a “poem-history” written by the Adi-Kavi or the first poet Valimiki, according to the
Indian tradition.
Ramayana
In the story Rama is the hero, and the villain Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducts Sita his
wife. Lamenting her longing for Rama, Valimiki the poet of Ramayana brings out the
quality of compassion that can only be understood in terms of divine or pure love. This
compassionate love karuna rasa or pathos, Bharatamuni, (1996, p79), becomes the yarn
that weaves the main narrative together in the enactment of the epic. In its role playing, it
has been observed the performer experiences many sudden bursts of ecstatic moments
that leave’s the performer dumbfounded. I have woven this thread from the traditional
myth into the making of a new myth, Awakening of the Serpent, where I explore these
sudden bursts of ecstasy as improvised movements in dance in terms of serpent energy in
its creativity. This in turn refers to itself as a universal or a common force in traditional
societies, and in its universal appeal as being a part of a whole to which every animate
and inanimate molecule belongs.
To experience this surge of creativity as happening in every pulse of a movement in any
moment of the expanded awareness, is what I began exploring. From this point onwards
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this moment that I have come to refer is, in the present tense. Through the myth I shall
become a part of that moment in the infinity (past) and proceed into the future as timeless
movements with out a beginning and an end. I will be part of a process, so that I tap into
it at any given moment of time and take in the whole process at an instance.
So far in my life, in all my ritual enactment’s, I have been an actor, performer, narrator,
choreographer, and a critic as well. This time I chose to develop a myth in the timeless
sphere of Here and Now, and as an observer and historian of Ramayana, I invite any ear
to be my actor, spectator or whatever role you might choose for yourself, my reader.
Through this ritual enactment, I will loosely connect with you in a dialogue form to
construct a myth into making of a global web. I shall begin my journey in the NOW
continuum, and through preparation shall bring about a shift in the mutual awareness
where you and I shall venture to move about the process, through the past, present and
future at any particular moment irrespective of time and space. The myth would develop
around Ravana, the instigator of Ramayana and symbolically, history personified as an
historian (me) in a 'performance' along that continuum would in turn become a living
process.
Before moving along the ancient trails, I shall guide you with a bit of background to
prepare for the journey. Like all traditions, the sacred journey begins by revering all the
ancestors.
May the forefathers of ancient days protect me in this my
prayer, in this my act, in this my priestly duty, in this my
performance, in this my thought, in this my purpose and
desire, in this my calling on the Gods.
(cited in Subramuniya Swami (1966, p322 ))
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Then, dear reader, have an open mind, so that you are prepared to bring about a shift in
your perception of the world view when I instruct you to do so. Finally, listen, relax and
feel free to act out as many roles as you desire. This is our preparation for a living
history.
I must emphasize that in facilitating ritual spaces in the enacting of the myth, Awakening
of the Serpent, as a living history, I should offer my thanks to all those helping me, not
only in this world but those from the other worlds as well. Accomplished through the
above invocation, together the journey has begun, with a connection in a new birth to
perform and evolve. I, as a timeless observer (historian) will be your guide and narrator
(Katha Vachika) and both in turn would be the performers on the continuum.
As performers, beginning with a shift in the mutual awareness and taking a subtle stand
on the threshold of time in the mythical episode, and while discussing and evolving as the
pilgrimage moves along ancient traits in new trails, I shall present my myth in shifting
grounds I find myself in today.
Referring to the documented work on cross-cultural studies by Marranca (1991, p11),
Bharucha, (1990, p5), and Holt, (1967, p6), I shall shift the emphasis from my ethnic
Indian culture (intra-culture) to relationships in Aboriginal culture (inter-culture). I shall
be moving gradually towards 'globalization' as a relationship between cultures
(performers) that transcend history, race, language, and time. This would mean my
exploration of the Awakening of the Serpent Energy as a process which would in turn
analyze the serpent energy as a social process in other cultures to eventually exist within
a world view system.
Preparation of Role-playing
Imagine you are letting go of your physical self. In your perception hold on to the shift in
your visualization of expanding it as your awareness in the making of the world. This
subtle stand in the mental sphere has become our stage. For us, at this moment there is no
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conception of time and space. The expansion of the moment, which occurs during the
shift in our perception, without a beginning and an end has become the longer now in the
dimension-less perception. Hold on to this perception.
Moving from the physical sphere on to our shift in perception imagine ourselves on the
threshold of the third millennium where we are, indicating we are in alignment with one
another, I as history (past), you in (future), through 'Now' the present moment in the
continuum.
According to Doty, (1986, p4, 5) “... our myths are fictional, to be sure, but that fictional
need not mean unreal and certainly not un-empirical; ... most of the theories of myths and
rituals ... derive ... from the tendency to rationalize, to substitute abstract social or
philosophical scientific meaning for the graphic imagery of narrative myths and
performed rituals”. Using the term 'Mythography Sciences' he replaces mythical imagery
with abstract graphic imagery.
What is a myth? He states myths are existing social frameworks that express and mold
societies. Myths refer to basic religious or philosophical beliefs of a culture expressed
through ritual behavior or through the graphics (to show a variation between two or more
phenomena by means of a diagram) or literally arts (pertaining to literature).
Role in Action
In our present instance if you look far left you would see the unfolding of the great epic
Ramayana taking shape. If your turn right you should observe its continuity year after
year in its enactment through me on to you in the distant future, in its remaking as
indicated in our cultural traditions.
How does the role function in the process? Our energies are made up of five elements in
the physical self. They are, space, air, fire, water and earth. As we bring about a shift in
our awareness these elements get united with the properties of sound or chant (for
example, in Hinduism the ritual chanting of Om), and assume through their mutual
association, the character of one mass of energy. As our shift in perception takes place
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these energies get shifted from the gross to the subtle state with the acquiescence of the
indiscreet principal, the intellect. Free from the intellect, this shift gradually expands into
universal awareness making us connect with the Universal Energy (Subramuniya Swami,
1966, p299).
According to His Holiness Sushil Kumar (Song of the Soul: The Science of Letters, 1987,
p43, 45), feeling connected with this universal energy the awareness is visualized as the
powerful positive energy. This energy resonates and manifests itself as sound energy and
moves in one direction, towards the Creator. In such a condition you see yourself in a
state of the highest awareness, beyond thought or sound, completely submerged in the
universal creativity. This is stated as the root or seed of all knowledge.
In this state of awareness, for me, the concept of time as past, present and future has
become irrelevant. In such awareness you wonder how Ramayana as a myth in its
conceptual ceremony would re-shape itself as a living tradition?
Again, Doty states (p8): Myths provide information about the structure of the society or
its customs in a narrative form. They are big stories like Ramayana, ... touching not just
the everyday but sacred or specially marked topics that concern themes ... that humans
face over and over again.
Re-shaping of the Ramayana myth as a living tradition takes place like this. Observe
from our subtle stand - for me as a timeless observer, anything that has been on a
continuum for centuries is (a) still standing on its own structure, and (b) through oral
tradition in a narrative form in a society (Subranuniya Swami, 1996, p299).
(a) Ramayana has a pre-Vedic structure to stand upon. This pre-Vedic structure consists
of the tri-pyramid pillars of ancient Scriptures, the temples, and oral narration in the
guru-shishya parampara (see glossary Appendix B). These three pillars we revere, for
they sustain and preserve our ancient wisdom (Subramuniya Swami, 1996, p299). It has
been stated that the story of Ramayana in its making began at the beginning of
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civilization (in an era that the Hindus call kritayuga) and came to be written after The
Mahabharata.
(b) Subramuniya Swami states that the continuity of Ramayana as a living tradition
through the pages of ancient Scriptures within the purified milieu of the temples via the
oral traditions lay in establishing inner harmony for any devotee. This inner harmony
became the spiritual energy (Shakti) invoked by chanting sound during prayers or puja
thereby permeating the sacred temples and flooding out into the world to connect in the
cosmic awareness. Whatever language, story, or songs these oral traditions narrated, they
took on new patterns and reformulated old ones as they went along (Doty, 1986 p13).
Such stories were common to humankind in every sphere of life and were centering on
the eternal energy within their own unique framework. They often did not seem
chronologically distant in the narration but usually were. This was a common feature in
the making of Ramayana too.
Culturally, Ramayana is an important story. It has reappeared countless times within the
framework of the Hindu society's oral and written literature. It is a story represented
thematically in its rituals and iconography. It has gained a tremendous significance as it is
ritually performed during the festival of Dusserah. Imbedded in culture as myth or in the
imagination of creativity during the performance or yearning of its re-enactment, or in the
exaltation of the conscious mind, it rekindles the continuity as a specially marked
occasion, year after year.
History Unravels Itself
In our present subtle state of awareness we shall experience my connectedness in the
continuity of the original myth (based on Ramayana of Valmiki, Sri Ramacaritamanasa
of Gosvami Tulsidas, and Vedic Sampathi of Raghunandan Sharma, 1990)
At this moment I find myself at the end of Kritayuga, listening to Lord Shiva narrating to
Uma (Parvati's name in her first birth) the circumstances of The King of birds Garuda's
(who is half-human half eagle) meeting with Kakabushundi, the crow. He reminds
Parvati that during her first birth in the house of Daksha as Sati, she had jumped into the
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sacrificial fire the ‘Yagna’ because of her husband's humiliation by her father. Out of
desolation in his wanderings Shiva came across Nilagiri Mountain (the Blue Mountain).
This mountain is described to be in the far north beyond Mount Sumeru.
The blue mountain has four delightful and charming golden peaks. On each peak stands
one gigantic tree - a banyan (mulberry tree), a peepul (the sacred bo-tree), a plaksa (the
Indian fig tree) and a mango tree. On top of the mountain sparkles a beautiful lake with
jeweled steps that is enchanting to behold. On this mountain dwells the crow Kakabushundi (who will outlive the end of this world). He spends his days in adoring Sri
Hari (Brahma). Under the peepal tree he practices meditation. He performs sacrifice in
the form of japa (muttering of prayers) under the plaksa and in the shade of mango tree
he offers mental worship to the Lord. Under the banyan he narrates the episodes from the
story of Sri Hari, to the many birds that flock there. At Lord Shiva's direction Garuda
went to Kakabushundi. There he requests Kakabushundi to narrate the sacred story of Sri
(Lord) Rama.
The moment Kakabushundi hears Garuda's prayers he narrates Sage Viswamitra's arrival
and Sri Rama's wedding. Garuda bowing his head before Kakabushundi, realizing him as
a knower of Truth asks him, how did he get this form of a crow? How is it that this
formidable Time-Spirit had no powers over you? (Tulsidas, p745 verses 94 A-B through
1-4) The crow replied "On hearing your questions I have been reminded of my many
previous births. The muttering of prayers, austere penance, performing sacrifices,
undertaking sacred vows, charity, right judgment, Yoga (union with God) and self
realization, through the fruit of all these, through successive rebirths lasting peace was
attained in this body. Hence, this crow's body is very dear to me.
From our position I see myself (several millennia in the past) in the Kritayuga (the golden
age) where everyone is possessed with mystic powers and men in this age exist by
meditating on Brahma. They believe in righteousness. People are pious and are noble.
The people living during Viswamitra's days are Aryans in the Sapta-Sindhu Himalayan
region. As global conditions began to change they decided to come down to the plains
and explore these regions. The route they adopted to come down to the plains they call
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Haridwar ( har - Himalayas and dwar - door). They tried to live in Haridwar but the
impure air made them sick and so they returned to their abode. After a while they came
down again and this time cleared the forests for habitat and established the cities of
Haridwar, Kurukshetra, i.e. from Saraswati river to Drishdusti in the East (Sharma, 1990,
p342). As stated below,
sarasvatirsadvatyordernanghy oryadantaram |
tam devanirmitam desam brahmavarta prasaksate | (manu smriti-2/17)
Reference in Atraiya Brahman tells us that, Viswamitra was an Aryan Rishi. He had a
hundred warrior sons. Fifty of them turned notorious and began troubling people. Out of
anger, Viswamitra turned these Aryan sons out of his kingdom. These warriors went and
settled in different places. They traveled southwards over the centuries. Nearing the latter
half of Treta Yuga (when men performed sacrifices in actions) and early in Dwapara
Yuga (when temple worship began), they settled in South India and further ventured into
the lands of Malaya Dweep Desa also known as the Swaran Lanka Dweep land of
mineral wealth, in the southern hemisphere. They came to be referred as Dravids in South
India or Dasyu Aryans in the Malaya Dweep Desa. Without further contact with their
Aryan brothers, these Dasyu Aryans began leaving their country and were referred to as
Dasyu Raksha. (Sharma, 1990, page 348). As stated below:
visvamitrasyaikasatam putrassuh | pancasadeva jyayansah |
tananu vyajahara tanvah praja bhaksosteti |
ta etesndhrah pundrah sabrah pulinda mutiva ityudantya
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bahavo bhavanti | visvamitra dasyunam bhuyisthah
(aitareya Brahman 7/18)
These Dravid people therefore were Aryans, not different from the masses. However,
their characteristics made them meat-eaters and boisterous in nature. But again, they were
part of the Aryan people. As they ventured out and settled in new places, their physical
features underwent changes due to environmental conditions. This was happening at the
end of Krita, through Treta, and early part of Dwapara Yuga. Those that left their
homeland called their new settlement Andhralaya because they came from Andhra and
referred to themselves as Dravids or Druid (which is a derivative word from Dravid
meaning priest,,Sharma, 1990, p356).
The Rig Veda, the oldest book of the Vedas, refers to these people as noble Aryans.
These people are indigenous to India. Scholars have dubbed their original language as
Nostratic (Subramuniya Swami, 1986, p609). They lived during the age when they
moved about freely in the continents. Over a millennium they came to be referred as
Dasyu, simply meaning enemy (in Sharma, 1990, page 343) and were dark skin in color.
In The Expanded Experience the Making of My Myth Unfolds Itself
These Aryans warriors princes brought two important knowledge when they left their
motherland. Both are existing with them to this day. One is a hunting device which when
thrown kills the prey similar to the modern day boomerang. The second secret-sacred
knowledge in my opinion is the Rta, which they had to religiously follow as oral
knowledge passed down by the Rishi to ensure the continuity of their lineage.
This sacred knowledge of the Rta is the principal of spiral energy in the cosmos and its
application in daily life. The Rta constitutes the five basic elements of earth, air, water,
fire, and ether. The rishis taught that in a socio-culture if one re-lived Rta in the
traditional manner then the life giving energy, as a sustainer in creative power, is
promised as a continuous flow by the primordial beings. Traditional manners could be
either as a narrator or as a performer, either inside or outside of a temple, during rituals or
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public performances, enacting creativity through blue prints. Blue prints became fixed
paths to be traversed. And they had to be followed within set rules and patterns as
ordained by the Rishis. This could be achieved either through dance, or any other
performance, physical activity, or daily chores.
According to the Rishis the spiral energy, Rta energized in an orderly manner came to
form the basic vocabulary of creating myths, sacred rituals, and creative expressions in
arts and understanding of principal rules and regulations of the human body in the
cosmos. The primordial beings, through visitations in dreams, in landscape or in altered
state of consciousness as creative beings or icon i.e. deities, became living proofs of their
existence in form of ancestral spirits, totems, or symbols. So, already existing in dreams
and landscapes they provided knowledge of the past and of the future from the present.
The now then came to connect the past, present, and future in the dimension-less space,
where every moment vibrates and throbs as a totality without a beginning and an end,
only as an continuity. Remaining connected to this dimensional space whose nature is
vast and expansive, serene, pure, brilliant and all inclusive became the eternal silence.
That eternal silence space then is not a bottomless pit, but the subtle intangible pervasive
energy (Rta) in creation, manifesting only through creativity. Which in turn becomes a
dynamic field of probability, pregnant with infinite possibilities to manifest.
In due course remaining connected to this sacred center helped the people to move
forward on their journeys. From the past into present into the future they were
simultaneously watched over and guided in the harsh physical realities of their journeys.
Such a living reality became ‘The Dreaming’ of all humankind in their own expressions.
Coming down from generation to generation as 'blue prints' in oral traditions, humans and
nature worked hand in hand with the principle motion Rta (also referred as the serpent
energy) in its innate state which is - beeja (seed) or Bindu (dot). This came to be known
as kundalini, in which the ‘transcendental awareness’ expands into becoming the longer
now - where past-present-future becomes irrelevant in time and space as also stated in
The Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield (Canto 15).
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I found amongst the Pitjantjatjara Aborigine this was consistent with ‘deep inner
listening and quiet still awareness’ to achieve peace, harmony and continuity of life. In
my opinion, this is how I saw the dot concept in the vast paintings of the desert regions,
quietly vibrating as innate energy in different colors to suit different images and symbols
in the cultural and religious context.
Judith Ryan states in the Images of Power “An iconography system of signs is used to
encode information on many layers of meanings along a secular-sacred-secret continuum
of privileged knowledge . . . They are used, together with music and dance, in ritual
contexts to invoke ancestral power” (Ryan & Ackerman, 1992, p90). She also states that
configuration of dots describes the compositional rhythm of a design that flows, sings,
rises to a crescendo, or is quiet. It is a form of communication, a language which works in
irregular and geometric structures to invoke what is unseen and intangible. Once they are
held by themselves then apart from the visual story of a particular region, or the track
traced by snakes, birds, animals or footprints of men, the concept transcends reality. They
become the live ground upon which they are painted and danced into life. The canvas
becomes a metaphor for the surface of the country. Dots then come together as a linear
current whenever associated with ancestral beings.
Dots and bindu’s, in my view, became innate energies. The Warlpiri artist Ronnie
Jakamarra Lawson (p93) explains, dots have an inside meaning which pertain to the high
school (initiation ceremonies) are vibratory currents which heighten graphic symbols in
the Dreamings and then as I see, connect the past, present, and the future in the
fathomless pit of creativity- as Rta, in my opinion.
Just as you are now observing, many times I have been a witness of the dot energy,
manifesting itself yet again through the performance as Awakening of the Serpent Energy
in the Universal Family.
After several generations of living in the Malaya Dweep Desa, the Dasyu Aryans in the
Southern Hemisphere began losing contact with the rest of the world. Their continent,
once a contiguous part of Asia, drifted away from the Asian mainland, alienating them
from the adjoining lands. Links began breaking away, and as these could not be sustained
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for long the Dasyu Aryans were very much left on their own. They became isolated and
began asserting their heritage. The only way to retain their heritage was to keep alive
their belief in ancestral worship, life after death, and reliving the past in a traditional
manner. By remaining connected with mother earth (the female energy) and the love for
the landscape (male energy present in surrounding environment) Rta came to be sustained
through the ‘blue prints’ of creatively shaping and reshaping their traditional thinking in
different art forms. With no roots to cling to they reintroduced from memory songs,
stories, and paintings to keep alive the knowledge of the past.
Beyond Andhraliya, the Aryans were forbidden to go as there was no inhabitation.
Beyond Andhraliya is the region of spirits where nobody can live and expound their
religion (which includes the South Pole).
Amongst these Druid Aryans came Pulsatya, a pious and righteous Rishi, also known as a
mind-born son of Brahma, to the shores of Southern seas in Andhraliya to impart
religious discourse and lived in the kingdom of Rajah Tranbindu by the side of Sumeru
mountain. (Sharma, 1990, p364). As stated below,
pura krtayage rama prajapatisutah prabhuh |
pulastyo nama brahmasrih saksadiva pitamahah ||
sa tu dharma prasangena meroh parsve mahagireh |
trnabindvasramam gatvapyavasammunipunagavah ||
(Valmiki Ramayana 2/4,7)
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The sage in deep meditation one day was disturbed by the sports of Rajah’s daughters,
nagas, and nymphs. He was greatly annoyed and said, “Whoever will come within my
sight will be heavy with a child”. The daughter of the royal king was unaware of this
prediction. As usual she came looking for her friends. Pulsatya was reading the Veda and
the girl began listening to the reading when suddenly all signs of pregnancy appeared in
her and she grew pale. Frightened she ran to her father. On inquiring about her status and
through yoga, Tranbindu found it was the curse of Pulsatya. Knowing of the Rishi’s true
nature the Druid Rajah Tranbindu offered his daughter to Pulsatya in marriage. Pulsatya
was happy with Tranbindu's daughter and blessed her with a son who would be as
famous as Pulsatya. And since she was conceived whilst listening to the Vedas he would
be called Visrava. They had a son Visrava. Visrava was pious and virtuous as his father.
Visrava's son Visravana (Ravana) owing to ascetic vows in his previous life acquired a
boon from the gods. He became the lord of wealth and soon reigned the whole of
Southern Lands in Swaran Lanka Dweep with his capital on Trikuta Hill in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon) built by the celestial architect Viswakarma.
When the Druids came in contact with Rishi Pulsatya, Sanskrit was taught to them. They
used Sanskrit as their official language and Dravid as their mother tongue.
Because from his father's side Ravana was of rishi's lineage and a rakshasa (demon) from
his mother's side he became well known both for his austere living and his fighting skills
and atrocities. Soon the residents of Sri Lanka began trading with Rameshwaram in South
India. Ravana sent his sister Surupnakha to live in Dandaka forests in South India. The
existing populace at the time were known as Ayers in India. The new immigrants, who
came to claim their heritage, were referred to as Nayers, Dasas, Asuras, Nagas, Danvar
and Deityas. They were black skinned, ate raw flesh, were animistic, cleared forests,
killed animals and drank human blood, Marsden, E. History of India, (cited in Sharma,
1990, p368). They were the opposite of their counter parts the Ayers who believed in
forestry and preserving the animals. As mentioned below,
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vrksamschitra pasun hatva krtva rudhirkardamam |
The Dravids to this present day came from a country which very long ago stretched far
into the Indian Ocean to the south of India but now lies beneath the sea, only their
mountain tops are visible stretching from South East Asia to Australia (Marsden in
Sharma, 1990, p366).
This is true even as of today. The mother tongue of staunch Hindus, the Tamilians, is
different from Sanskrit, whereas all over India Sanskrit is called the mother language. It
had been established the Tamilians and the tribes belong to the Proto-Austro Asian
Language and all the rest to Sanskrit.
In this manner, Ravana created a strong hold in the Aryan Land. It was at this time that
Rama came to Dandaka forest and Surupnakha laid her eyes on him and wanted him for a
husband, and the whole episode of Ramayana took place. This episode, according to Lord
Siva in the earliest hymns of Rig Veda, was already pre-destined to happen because in the
previous births Rama as incarnate Lord Vishnu had cursed Ravana that for attaining
Moksha he would be slain by Rama in one of the proceeding generations. Ravana
compelled Maricha (a Rakshasa) to assume the form of a golden deer to start off the
friction between himself and Rama so that he could attain liberation at the hands of Rama
(Vishnu) and be freed from the cycle of rebirth. A pious annihilation.
Reliving the Ancient Serpent in a new Myth.
As time passed into Kaliyuga, I find us (you the reader and myself) participating in
resuming our old connections in the ancient land of Rishi Pulsatya and Ravana (the
creator of ‘Shiv Tandav Strotam’), in the re-making of Awakening of the Serpent Energy
in the Universal Family.
The intercultural performance that took place on 15th and 16th of August 1997,
commemorated the reconciliation of all people through the Indian Kathak and the
contemporary Aboriginal dance forms.
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CHAPTER 3
Bringing the Myth to Life
I established bonds of similarities between myself as an Indian dancer in Australia and a
contemporary Aboriginal dancer conversant in his own traditional culture and society. I
did this by creating a myth which I called Ardhanarisvara-Adisharpa which I then wove
into a performance I named Awakening of the Serpent Energy. The performance was a
meeting point between the exhibitions Dancing to the Flute 12 June-23 August and
Bulanda: The Snake, from 24 August-14 December 1997 at the Arts Gallery of New
South Wales, to celebrate the reconciliation and independence of all people. There were
two performances which took place on 15th and 16th August 1997.
How it all Started
In September 1996 Ms. Ann MacArthur (Coordinator of Asian programs at The Art
Gallery of NSW) contacted me, and asked if I would like to participate in their exhibition
Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art from June through to August 1997
at the Gallery. I put forward a proposal of performing a cross-cultural dance that I was
working on as part of my thesis, which could add a different flavor to the exhibition.
Through Ann MacArthur I was introduced to Angela Martin, Aboriginal Education
Officer, coordinator of performances, in The Yiribana Aboriginal Art Gallery to whom I
put forward my above proposal. Angela Martin liked the proposal and we agreed to
proceed once I returned from India, where I was going to tour independently with The
Bangarra Dance Company, documenting their performances in India. While in India I
started to think about how my task was going to take shape. I had, in the meantime got a
narrative poem translated from Hindi into English.
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The Search Began
I returned to Australia in March and immediately began looking for an Aboriginal artist
to participate with me in the dance. I made a few inquiries and then the Art Gallery
suggested Sean, its resident performer. After waiting for one-and-half months for his
decision, he finally agreed to accompany me in the performance. After obtaining
permission from his elders we finally met in May. This was going to be a performance
exploring unknown territories of cultures through physical performance and between two
artists from different ethnic background collaborating together to find unity in diversity in
a new environment.
During our meeting I attempted to explain the project to Sean but he showed little
interest. I spoke to him about the serpents in the two cultures and how the concept of
kurunba (serpent energy) could be brought out of the season chakras so that both the
performers could have a common platform to work through. The theme would be
conceptualized by weaving the ancestral energies through video screens onto a landscape.
The landscape was a series of sand paintings (the first of the four Olympic Arts Festival
in The Festival of Dreaming exhibitions) as the backdrop in the Art Gallery. Then we
would divert the weaving into the chanting of the seasons, to finally joining the
individual energies in the performing space and connecting outwards, thus creating a time
cycle of its own momentum.
I explained that in India traditional ragas are based on seasonal periods, such as
monsoon, winter, rain, and spring, uplifting each season as they come along. Thus I felt
each performer could either choreograph a dance on the music specifically created for
this event, or incorporate traditional, in this case Aboriginal music to uplift the event.
However, at all times I stressed we would not impinge on each other's territories while
working either independently or with each other.
Because I had never worked in an inter-cultural dance situation, I wanted to be punctual
to all the meetings and be focused on my commitments. I observed on the other hand, that
Sean had a laid-back attitude (which he had at other cultural experience, as he told me
later on). Perhaps, I thought, this was his way of telling me he was feeling pressured
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working with a dancer from a different culture. We both needed time to adjust to each
other's concept of time. At the same time we were having problems with our
commitments.
I soon realized that often we were at different places for our rehearsals. I couldn't cope
with this (mis-)understanding. Maybe, I thought, that there was a lack of communication
between us or, perhaps other factors that I wasn't aware of. I then realized that the
difficulty we were facing was because of Sean developing a choreographic piece by
himself, which he had never done before in an inter-cultural environment. We had earlier
discussed that we would keep to our own interpretations so that we may not encroach on
each other's cultures and/or to offend the elders in the community. We agreed that if there
is any difficulty at any moment either one of us could follow the other's movements in
their own interpretation.
A short time later I was lucky enough to have been introduced to Imelda Willis, Sean’s
mentor. After only a few meetings we both felt spiritually connected and felt we were on
the same wavelength. She guided Sean into the performance. Imelda is a living treasure
of her culture. Her input in the theme, gestures, and symbols fell into the intricate pattern
of movement and space. For example, my symbolic representation of Lord Vishnu, with a
raised hand and a pointed finger, and her symbolism of The Star God, (see photo 1) with
the performer standing back to back with me with his arms outstretched, was a blend of
universality in motion. Imelda's versatile mind, blending into the rhythmic pattern of our
piece, brought out the best in the performance (see photo 1).
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Photo 1. Lord Vishnu and the Star God.
Suddenly the piece became alive and vibrant and the rehearsals became more dynamic
and interesting. Unfortunately, Sean's dance company wanted him to go to New Zealand.
I know the restraint that artists work under but I was led to understand that he would be
able to perform on 15th and 16th of August, only to find out that he was under a contract
to the dance company. We had no such written contract, only verbal agreements between
two artists, and reluctantly I had to accept his departure.
By June I was very stressed out working in an environment of which I had little
understanding. Angela assured me she would find a replacement who was willing to do a
cross-cultural experiment. A few days later a second performer, Earl, was introduced to
me. By now I was very much enlightened in the ways of doing things their way. I gave
Earl flexible options to work with, and decided to work around his availability rather than
bind him to any scheduled rehearsal.
I realized that with Earl we never practiced enough and never polished our movements.
As we only met once a week he never remembered the cues (the connecting points) we
had agreed on. He was always looking for excuses. And I sensed that he too was finding
it difficult to choreograph his part of the performance. He began making excuses for not
turning up for rehearsals - there was always another appointment to go to. He evidently
had attitude problem as well. At the Art Gallery he had to be released from his duties
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because he had offended an elder in the Sydney community. Considering my cultural
background I was in agreement with the decision even though, personally, I was
devastated, as the performance was only one week away.
I began having nightmares. My assignment and assessment seemed blown out of the
window. Everything was out of my control. I had never been in a situation where I didn't
know what was in store for me. The invitations and leaflets along with the artist's names
were already printed in the Bulletin (exhibition calendar) and posted out. The
performance was to be at Yiribana on Level 1.
With only a few days to go we could only reprint our leaflets. Although there were
discussions of finding another partner for me, all I could do was to wait and hope. By
now I was sick in the stomach. I had to take a decision as I was working on this project
since April. I went and met Kathy Driscoll my dance coordinator at the university and put
the situation before her. We both agreed that I would carry on the performance (with the
yet to be found dancer), but that I would perform again at a later date for my own artistic
satisfaction. That was a big load off my chest. I dropped all the worries and left it to fate.
A Third Performer
Finally, on the Monday before the program, I was introduced to a third performer, Brian.
After getting permission from his elders, he especially embraced the contemporary style
of dancing for this new facet to the Australian scene. With yet another change of artist,
the advertising photographs had to be canceled and new material had to be introduced. I
went through the script with Brian. The script was transcribed into English with
connotations relating to the cycle of seasons in India, having a universal appeal. He was
encouragingly enthusiastic but we had precious little time, if any, left for rehearsals.
On Tuesday we went through the first half of the script. Brian proved to be a very flexible
dancer. Being a musician, he picked up the beats and rhythms easily. He was very
comfortable in this area, as he was experimenting on his own with alternate beats and
rhythms. I felt, he could readily work the serpent through the performing space, the bodytext and the sound-texture.
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Discussions on Themes
I began our discussion on two fronts. Firstly, we talked about the ambiguous nature of
Ngalyod, the rainbow serpent, and agreed in bringing out its male and female energy
form (see the rainbow serpent Ngalyod, in the Appendix D) through our body text.
As these energies are understood to be existing in both the Indian and Aboriginal
cultures, Brian would focus on its force and vitality and I would reinforce its feminine
nature. This we agreed would help us in presenting our own interpretation, through our
own individual processes in the common theme.
Secondly, we hoped that the energy in its male and female roles would emerge, through
the usage of a common spectrum (the cycle of seasons, a universal phenomenon) in its
creativity. We hoped that the energy would guide us to project in a different environment
its continuity in the re-inventing process of ancestral connection through the ongoing
performance over two days. Consequently, our pattern was to portray the male and
female energies through the cycle of seasons.
Artistic Decision
To deal with the above concept, I reversed the pattern of our performance. We discussed
the role of energy in creativity, preservation and destruction in the seasonal chakras. We
also discussed the principles of energy as the horizontal common connecting points in the
seasons to the emergence of the vertical individual serpent energy in the male and female
forms (a task I have experienced and discuss later in the chapter).
I divided the script into five parts (see fig. 19) with the connecting points at SpringSummer-Monsoon-Autumn-Winter-Spring, vasant-ashardha-shravana-bhadra-kaitikkamagha (vasant). The first connection was the opening of creativity was wilutti (spring)
vasant, which is common in both cultures. This was to be done by showing ancestral
contemplation and awakening with the chanting of Om (Indian) and the blowing of the
Didgeridoo (Aboriginal), creating an earthly music evoking the silence in both the
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cultures. The script would then move into summer with the worshipping of ngangka (the
sun) surya namah and heat (tapash) through the traditional cultural landscapes, shown on
a video (see photo 2).
Fig. 19 Cross Culture Calendar in my Script
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Photo 2. Playing the didgeridoo
The second connection was the koki (summer to monsoon season) ashardha. This was to
be highlighted by the Hindi words pavan chakra prachand chalata - wind, circle, strong,
moving in violent speed. This was to be shown by the thumping of the right foot with
semi-circular motion of the body bent forward, rotating the wrist, and with hand gestures
- varsha ritu sajal malay – showing clouds full of water, floods and fish.
The preservation came as the third connection, which is parnatti (the monsoon to autumn
season) shravana. The Hindi words damani ke gour suni, morini ke shour suni was to be
shown by hand and body movements of damini (nightingale), morini (peahen), and the
kalya (emu) coming together and dancing in ecstasy. I used pashupakshi gati (animal
and bird gait) in the dance. The narrator is symbolically showing different emotions, as
aromas in the mind, like the freshness of a ngurreta (a blooming flower) lotus, plucking
and smelling its fragrance. The narrator further says pulni ke bath man, phuli ke milan ko,
aligana ko damini damak, as if in ecstasy to meet someone. The developing emotions
were to be displayed through facial expressions (enlargement of the eyes and holding of
breath), mime and physiological changes through body movements and hand gestures.
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For example, the right hand tjinganyi (quivering) with an up and down movement at the
solar plexus, which is the seat of fire or emotions and the right leg outstretched at an
angle (see photos 3 and 4). I used pataka mudra (where fingers are extended keeping
close to one another with thumb bend inwards).
Photo 3 Peahen (morini) and emu
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Photo 4. Emotions at solar plexus
The fourth connection was kudlilla (the transition from rain to early winter) bhadra or
post-monsoon to cool seasons, shown by symbolic hand gesture of khanjar (dagger),
stabbing as in cold murder. Pangs of separation are shown by moving away from the
center stage and building a nagrra waru (a campfire). The narrator laments about his
separation, from the universal God, as being cold and undesirable as early winter on this
human plane (see photos 5 and 6).
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Photo 5. Building a ‘campfire and sleep’, symbols of cold winter
Photo 6. Humans and birds are asleep
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The fifth and final part of the connection was munya (cold or winter) kartikka, the last
phase in the complete cycle of seasons, where the universe comes into full bloom, and is
almost at a standstill. It is at its ultimate zenith in creation. Here I used more of the Indian
theme, to symbolically say that everywhere the universe is resounding with the Gods
offerings of soma - the elixir drink. All of nature, humans, kuka (animals) pashu, mai
(plants) paudai and tjulpu (birds) pakshi are getting their share of the elixir. The creation
has completed its full cycle. Like the calm before a storm, the anti-climax is not far off.
The narrator ends by praying "shri jaidev pharit mudra mahumati hari charanmati, saras
vasant samay manugat madan manugat veekasee" at the feet of the Lord accepting the
calamity and weaknesses of humankind coming to an end by His Grace. Both the
performers, as energies, are withdrawn into the ancestral totem (snake) and into its
Wondjina (ancestral spirit) or pitriloka (world of ancestors), until another spark is lit to
start the cycle all over again. Here I used an Aboriginal theme.
On the Wednesday before the program Brian and I went over the dance movements and
script again. Brian was having slight problems remembering all the connecting points. On
Thursday he suddenly awoke to the fact that the performance is on Friday! (See script in
Appendix D).
Promotional Materials
Some of the primary sources of materials that I chose for the preliminary research of
Serpent Energy appeared in the program, in promotional articles, the Aug-Sept 1997
issue of the Art Gallery magazine Bulletin, and invitations in the local press. These
materials indicated my contribution and were also helpful for the audience to perceive
and appreciate the social and cultural context of the performance. These materials
became the frameworks for my performance and reference of the research work.
Their reading would help the audience in conceptualizing what was going to take place
in the performing space, the arrangement of the performance, the connection between the
venue and the rhythms in which they were used.
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In the printed material about the topic it was mentioned that this was an exploration of the
serpent energy in a male and female form of two different cultures - Indian and
Aboriginal - coming together as a Universal Family. It also spoke about narrowing down
the gap in our present day thinking to ‘oneness’. Binding the human, spiritual, and
physical reality into one cosmic order through Rta - the principal rhythm of the cosmos.
In her introductory speech Angela Martin (Aboriginal Education Officer at the Art
Gallery) said that this was " ... a continuos journey in a new culture and coping and
caring within its new horizons through new expressions and traditions which are sacred".
Issues and Solutions
I had to deal with an important issue immediately. How was I going to conceptualize the
performance, and how was Brian going to fit into the performance at such short notice
and limited rehearsals.
I dealt with them on two levels:
a) In the first half of the dance process, on the physical level at the performing space,
how would I deal with what was happening during the performance and Brian’s
involvement in it.
b) In the second half of the dance process, at the mental level what mechanisms came
into operations while developing the myth in a creative way in the present moment.
By now, the grand idea of performing in the Yiribana, with all the serpent painting
around the performing space, came crashing down as we were informed it was not
possible to get the paintings up by Friday. Our venue got shifted from Yiribana Level 1 to
the Foyer on Level 4. I had walked through that passage many times, but never inspected
it as a performing space.
The Level 4 of the Art Gallery came to be transformed into creation of images, sounds,
and rhythms. On the wall was a bright rainbow color painting that I had seen and
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mentally decided to incorporate as our backdrop. The space was massive at the Art
Gallery but is not geared for such a dance performance.
On the first day of the performance it was hard for me to listen to the sound feedback, no
matter how hard I concentrated. I found that the sound system was hooked up to the
intercom system in the roof! For me to dance this piece correctly on every beat called for
extra energy of straining and listen to the music to emphasize the correct beat while I was
performing. Otherwise the music and dance would be seen as an uninteresting form of
Kathak. A prominent feature of the Kathak dance, unlike any other dance form in India,
is that every beat in the music is emphasized through the foot movement and reinforced
to heighten the movement and for that there has to be an instant feedback of music. A
technician assigned to help us wired up extra loud speakers the next day that were then
placed properly to provide us with the necessary feedback.
In the first half of the process I had to foremost edit the original script. I began with a
clear idea of introducing our traditional landscape with references from documented work
on The Dreaming, The Hindu Gods at the Art Gallery, Sydney, and Shiv Upasana
Kalapam of Mangalya Mandir, Ratlam, M.P India. The big rainbow painting in the foyer
became my point of departure into flesh and blood. It became my attention for creative
work, to conceptualize the performance about serpent energy in a universal family,
THEN and now in shifting grounds of multicultural landscape.
In the performance, the non-verbal language was to become the parameter of
communication through body, which would take charge of our daily expression in the
traditional dance form. Non-verbal words such as campfire, winter, wet, monsoons,
intuition, didgeridoo, peacock, gods, serpent, emu, yogi, fish, lotus, bee, gave clues of the
individuality of the two cultures. The fusion was re-inventing the ancestral connection
that became a question which we the performers were out to explore.
With the transcription of the poetry the question of which systems were responsible for
the mediation to take place emerged. And what was happening in the performance?
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In every performance there is a synthesis of real and imaginary life deliberately working
side by side. There is a constant reference to reality within a performance but what is
actually being created is encoded as 'outside of reality'. In other words, a performance is
an extension of our daily activities in a concise form. As these activities in real life, for
example harvesting, take a ‘form’ based on certain forms of imagination, for example a
harvest dance, we call them a dance performance.
These dance performances (or activities), stemming out of our lives, enter into a temporal
sphere of time and space as though having a context of their own (harvesting performance on stage). They then become an ‘event’ (a harvest dance). Relate this to the
annual tomato throwing in the streets of Paloma in Spain since 1940, which has now
become a yearly ritual ‘event’ for the farmers and society at large.
My performance tallied with Helene Cixous strategies (1986, cited in Minchinton, 1994,
p85) where she says that when such activities are suspended in time and space their
repetition becomes a process in themselves. When such activities are having a meaning
from the beginning till the end of the event, then such performances, even without the
knowledge of the processes, reduced to a beginning and an end, can be seen as
measurable, readable, and coherent. In other words, in dance, the real translation of a
performance is seen as taking place between the choreographer who encodes the text and
the spectator who decodes them.
Conceptualizing the Performance
How did I conceptualize the production and develop the script for a narrative story? I
believe there are many different ways to devise a production piece - it all depends upon
the type of dancers coming together. Since we had never collaborated previously a
different system had to be developed. Since I was responsible for this project I had to
create a process of bringing ourselves together. We came from very different
backgrounds, both culturally and performatively with different disciplines of movement,
on to being in the same time and space participating through the same narrative and
working with each other's spaces.
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I am a traditional dancer of Jaipur Gharana. I have learnt Kathak in a guru shyshia
parampara. My gurus were late Pt. Sunder Prashad, the late Pt. Devi Lal and guru bhai
(brother) the late Pt. Durga Lal. Since my arrival in Australia in 1993 I have worked with
different ethnic groups from within the Indian community and outside of it. In 1993 I
choreographed a Kashmir folk dance 'Morning Rituals' for The Migrant Resource Center,
Blacktown. In 1994, a 'Bhangra dance' for the Festivals of Cultures. In 1995, a 'Garba
dance' for The Cove Authorities; and in 1996, a Dandia Ras dance with students of UWS
(see 'Yugha Yugha' in the Appendix E).
Brian Denhawk Peter, who is new to the Sydney scene, is a member of the Ngaru
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Dance Company, and is an upcoming songwriter and
performer-in-residence at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Individual Process, Experience and Expression
I decided to choose a fairly individualized process where we initially worked our piece
independently and then came together to choreograph. I was very centered in my
approach knowing precisely what I wanted to attain. I began by presenting the whole
piece to Brian. I then let him work through his own experiences and understandings to
create the materials he wanted to talk about in the cycle of seasons of his region. In
conjunction with my piece of performance, I began to select the materials Brian presented
and helped him constructed them into a shape within the narrative.
For example, his gesture of makko (clouds) was in the shape of an arch, whereas I
incorporated clouds in half-circular motion by using both hands and the upper part of the
wrist in the same motion). Thunder was with kantuni (stamping of our feet together) on
the kutjukuta timpil (same beat), emphasizing the violent sound of thunder. I used
karanas mudra (stamping simultaneous movements of hand and feet while dancing) as
prachand, chapal, pavan (strong violent winds). Brian rubbed the palms together to show
wala (speed) gati in movement whereas I added circular body movement with circular
hand gestures to show the same. Sajal. (flowing full of water) was interpreted by me as
wavy movements (which had an added value for Brian not only as running water but also
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fire and smoke) (clip 1-see Appendix F). From this system, which I call a 'Modular
Construction', I developed modules of performance pieces and then began to weave them
together, as a tapestry, and finally found a way to put them in shape.
How did I structure the performance? I did not start with the idea of an overall structure.
The structure emerged through the process. The jumping off points for the theme and
ideas originally worked on were the nature of identity and how it affects you when you
move from one culture to another.
I decided to work with Brian's interpretation of his traditional concepts in his region
rather than imposing my text on him.
As we were from different backgrounds we chose significant materials from our cultures.
I chose such things as the lotus flower, movement of rain and thunder. Brian chose
campfire, fish, emu, and serpent. We both chose expressions to show how we live in our
own cultures, and defined significant moments of our cultures (both past and present),
and what we personally wanted to say about the serpent energy. Both of us came out with
completely and absolutely different attitudes and responses, which however
complemented each other in the performance, (see below)
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Fig 20 Fish and Lotus hand gestures
For example, the individual expression of the serpent energy came through differently.
For Brian it was sitting on the floor with his eyes closed, head facing downward
pupakati, hands facing the ground marakatipana. In contrast to Brian’s pose, I am used to
seeing a yogi sit in an erect position, palms facing up in a mudra, and eyes open or
closed. Secondly, Brian came to transforming himself into serpent energy by his
rotational head movement and his right hand in serpent gesture to show awakening. I, on
the other hand, emerged as the serpents’ female counterpart by paying my reverence to
the ancestral spirit pit and participating in the continuity of the cycle of seasons through
spiral movements (see photos 7, 8, and 9)
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Photo 7. Wrist moving in opposite directions
Photo 8. Showing continuity in spiral movements, angled positioning of emu
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Photo 9. Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness
Different Texts Developed
How was the text developed through the process? I began by experimenting with
different texts. I got interested in working with the overall cultural text, the narrative
(body) text, the contemplative (transformation) text, and the time text, in the two
traditions. First, I took the concept of Rta: Ritu Chakra (see glossary Appendix B) into
my myth and transformed it into a functional context in my performance. Then, through
the time-frame I looked at the new texts emerging in the changing social context in the
performance, as situations where we personally wanted to say about the issues of
differences and similarities in the shifting grounds.
I began developing the text through the process by inviting people through formal
invitations and leaflets in which I placed our invocation to draw readers to the performing
space through our reverence to the ancestral spirits. Earlier I had put an advertising
material with our photographs that I did not find exciting, so I changed the format. I used
two basic colors to arouse the imagination: red to show vibrant serpent energy and black
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to talk about the secrecy of the performance. For special impact I used recycled raw
earthly color paper with the above information.
Through the cultural text I was interested in working with symbolism in movement and
body text as in gesture and sound to express the narrative text transcribed in the video
recording and handouts. As a performer Brian could express himself through his body
since he is a musician and a contemporary dancer. His use of mayu and timpil came as a
blessing in disguise as the same rhythm and beat also form an integral part of Kathak
dancing. We discussed how he could best interpret what we wanted to show and how
could it be best expressed performatively. I decided to put in more stylized performance
while Brian chose his contemporary style based on the music and our connecting points
(see photo 9, above, and photo 10).
Photo 10. Yoga Posture in contemplation
From the outset I encouraged Brian to come out with his own text and movement to
express what he wanted to say about the serpent energy. After some research we agreed
that the serpent is associated with the rainmaking ceremony.
Brian took on the role of the serpent energy as a male force and myself as the female
force. I then explored the symbols in movement and text of the body. For example how
would Brian contemplate kulini or meditate in his culture? His back was in a concave
shape with pupakati (head) touching the chin and mara (hands) hastabhinaya gesture of
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the hand, was facing the puna (earth) prithavi. The body was let loose without any
tension, almost in deep inner listening and quiet still awareness (see photos 9 and 10). In
Indian culture, I am used to seeing the back straight, spine in alignment with the head;
eyes closed or open and hand in a particular mudra depending on what one is meditating
about.
Similarly, Brian's symbol of the serpent was a beautiful gesture with one hand tilted from
the elbow joint and the wrist (see Photo 11) moving in the opposite directions with body
turned ever so slightly in an angled posture. I used my hands locked together at the thumb
joint to show the fangs (clip 2-see Appendix F) ready for strike and the body in full sway
in a sinuous movement sharpa gati. Shiva's (crescent moon) ardha candra (synonymous
with serpent) was shown with a gesture using two fingers and at the reference of Manu the first man of 7th Manvantra (as in Adam, see Appendix C) with one curved hand over
the head (see photos 9 and 11).
Photo 11. Hand tilted from wrist
Cultural Symbolism through Narrative Text
The performance incorporated our different songs and the physicalities. What was new
was that communication with words became a second language and communication
through the body became a primary language of interaction between us. We came to
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develop the story line as pilunypa (contemplating), (meditating in) samadhi, wadjina
(ancestors) pitrs, and pakani (awakening through) kulni or kundalini, and natya yoga
postures.
The following are examples of other movements developed from the initial postures:
(1)
the awakening of male and female energies through spiraling motions into a dance
form for both hand and foot movements;
(2)
birds in different cultures,
(3)
a new born baby shown by rocking hand movement,
(4)
warding off of the evil eye by cracking of knuckles on the side of the head,
(5)
winter as campfire,
(6)
cold as in dagger and shivering; separation of Radha and Krishna by a veil
(ghungut), flute and peacock feather;
(7)
standing back to back showing gods as Vishnu with his disc in one hand and the
creative spirit with a pointed finger; (see photo 12)
(8)
praying at the snake alter, (see photos 13).
These were some transformation symbols supported by the monologue 'OM' and
clapsticks (see photo 14) to keep the rhythm and tempo of the dance going.
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Photo 12. Vishnu and creative spirit
Photo 13. Praying at the snake altar
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Photo 14. Transformation of “Om” into the vibration of clapsticks.
Unlike other dance forms, like ballet where the balancing of the body is on the toes, here
the grounding of the body in both the performers centered from waist downwards.
Connected to the ground, they expressed their dance by remaining in touch with the
earth's gravity rather than away from it. Dancing inmanyi (phrases) such as yurinyi
(sitting), mutianyi (kneeling), pupanyi (crouching), and half-crouching grounded
positions were utilised by both of us. But the foot movements in themselves came to have
a different connotations. Our emphasis on the feet was for different purposes. My every
foot movement was a wapar (story) katha in itself, adding to the performance with very
specific iconic and symbolic worlds. Brian's tidna (feet) were pakanyi (dancing) to the
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mayu (rhythms and melodies) of the timpil (beat) as a percussionist and a performer
within his dance tradition, but not as a sacred interpreter of inma as he would be in the
traditional context. That is, Brian was dancing in the style of, but it wasn’t genuine inma
(or ceremony), since it was in the wrong context for him. It was none the less a genuine
voice in our dialogue.
Steps measured within the set rules in Kathak of 16 beats, with no running and leaping
accomplished my backward and forward treatment in space, or skipping involved. Brian
made full use of free foot movements as an accomplishment to the intricate rhythmic
patterns emerging, letting his feet overtake his hand movements. His dance gestures, on
the other hand, were his own creative vocabulary, as he tended to weave between the
accents of timpil pulka (musical beats). I tried to coincide with both the gestures and the
music in my Kathak style. This fusing became an important gauge of our collective
artistry.
In one instance Brian replaced his mara (hands) hasta for tidna (feet) pada, to show an
kuka (animal) pashu movement and I used the body text in (raising my feet in a climbing
movement) in slow motion atikranta padas (clip 3 see Appendix F). This is never done in
Kathak, as raising one’s feet is a sign of disrespect. The toes (see photo15) came as a
compromise in the performing space in spiral movement as in 'thunder' and spiral energy
to cover the dance space (see photo 16). The punatimpilpunganyi (clapsticks) replaced
the drums (see photo 17) in the music, and though it sounded similar in textural terms, it
was dissimilar in the visual presentation. The sounds created their own inmapilunypa
(music).
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Photo 15. Using toes to cover spaces
Photo 16. Covering spaces
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Photo 17. Clapstick replace drums in music.
With the vocal texture, Brian expressed himself using his whole body. For example, I
was showing through gesture and body movement a peahen and, as Brian did not have a
peahen in his culture, he chose an emu. Using sharp angled leg movements with uplifted
knees and hopping to mimic the kalya (emu), he brought out the animal totem to which
he belonged, with a live vocal sound 'Kor-Kor'. This way, through a central common
language of performance and music, we acted together in harmony yet stayed within our
own text in movement and gesture and spoke about our individual cultures. In the microcosmic performance through the peahen and emu (see photo 18) representing their
individual cultures through a shared movement source, we got very much in tune with
each other's performance in the macro-cosmic dance.
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Photo 18 Peahen and emu in a similar movement
While Brian's gestures were in conjunction with my basic story, and complemented my
dance, I was carrying my cultural meanings at a greater depth. Together, using different
gestures and symbols, i.e. morini (peahen) and kalya, (emu) to stand for similar
meanings, ( that is tjulpu or pakshi (birds)), we were experimenting our ‘adapting’ or
‘adopting’ attitudes in a new cultural context at a non- verbal level
Use of non-verbal languages was not simply to challenge the audience but to focus
attention on symbolic objects which could be conveyers of messages too. The puna
timpilpunganyi (clapsticks) and ghungroos (ankle bells) for example, conveyed the mayu
(rhythm) and taal (beat). The significance of Imelda as an elder, knife to convey (killing),
a baby to convey (creation), parka (leaves) to convey feathers, and kulini (contemplation)
as creativity of symbolic gestures from within.
Similarly, the use of dim lights on the massive rainbow painting enhanced the magnitude
of the venue by blurring its boundaries. The screen was used as a connector and a divider
between those present and the rest of the gallery: dancers, audience, the museum visitors,
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and workers - emphasizing the images in the dance, such as leaves tied to the arms
signifying raw masculinity and vitality of Aboriginal male force, contrasting to the violetpurple costume, dazzling jewelry and makeup of Indian feminine charm and grace.
The basic color - brown, yellow, and indigo, as used on the screen during the
performance was to create a harmonizing effect in the performing space. Similarly, the
sound of rain and thunder, the tumbling falls, the rubbing of the hands, the sounds of
birds, chanting of ‘OM’, meditation, and the didgeridoo playing were used for the same
effect. These were all some forms of text in the now continuum reinforcing the past and
the present.
The horizontal strips of white paint on Brian's body and the red paint on my hands and
feet have different meanings in our cultures, and in our performance they were used
purely for decorative purposes (see photo 19, 20, 21). I however added a further meaning
to this. I used the decoration in a circular form surrounded by smaller circles to emphasis
the natural phenomena of the movement of the stars around the sun as energy pattern,
symbolizing the same energy concept held within us and outside of us and as an
extension of it from my myth.
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Photo 19. Paint on body. Connecting to my deity
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Photo 20. Paint on my hands.
The work that was finally created was a result of the process of choreographed piece by
me around which Brian improvised gestural dance movements. He used clapsticks as
texture to blend in with the rhythm and beat at the five connecting places. Improvisation,
with the basic narrative, added flavor to the piece in the 'duet performance', always
exciting because of the element of improvisation.
Some of my movements came from gestural reactions lalita- hastabhinaya (hands raised
towards the sky), to the bhava (emotional), state of the narrative piece and were picked
up by Brian and the spectators. Through the body text upanga abhinaya (gestures of
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minor limbs), like controlled eye movement, facial expressions, breathing process, hand
and foot gestures, movements of the body, channeling the energy, I created psyche spaces
to connect with people ‘spiritually’ or ‘physically’ at their state of being. This was the
task I had set for myself. (See photo 19 and 21) connecting with audience and my deity.
Photo 21. Psychic space in contemplation.
Connecting with audience and my deity
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Contemplative text
Entering into a sphere in which I was maneuvering my energy to change and connect was
an act I had learnt to reproduce over a period of time. Such an act means to change or
transform from one form into another, such an object a hill, a tree, a cloud, or a snake
changing into a subject a human, an animal or (as Marichi) into a golden deer in
Ramayana. In my case I was getting in tune with my deity. But would it work while
dancing with someone of another culture?
Transformation Enters My Performance
On the physical level the experience came through motions and gestures, complemented
by Brian’s open ended whole body transformation - the visual movement of a
contemplating being transforming through coded Kathak poetic gesture into the serpent
energy that expanded into the individual male and female performers.
Symbolically, at the same time concentrating at the manipura chakra (solar plexus),
navel centre, in evoking the fire energy to intensify contemplation, I used a subjective
reaction in repetitive gestures through fingers Mudra’s of the lotus, the fish, and hands
raised as in prayers or (invocation) lalita. Simultaneously, I came to evoke in my mind,
the power of my deity into getting connected in space socially and spiritually with every
one around me.
I achieved this at the metaphysical level, (see in photos 19 and 21and Fig. 16 and 20)
through trance (the liminal-phase) and got connected to a higher being. Explicit through
the ratibhava (expression of compassion and love in my eyes), and simultaneously with
those in the audience who were open to receiving such a spiritual connection, my
transformation at that particular moment got me expanding and growing in the mental
sphere. The best way I came to express myself was by drawing the Fig. 16. It was like a
vertical expansion or as an opening up taking place within me (see Fig. 20). I saw myself
both as a performer and an observer (see detail later) (see Appendix F).
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I had my first such experience a few years ago during my meditation but without its full
comprehension. Since then I am better equipped. Here I saw and experienced myself in
three different situations. One, as an observer and the other as an participant, together
alert and alive in creativity as a connector between the physical level - in the
performance, the social level - with audience, and both of them with a metaphysical level
with my deity. I saw myself acting out in three levels whilst in the physical body. I was
acutely aware of every minute detail around me, and my participation in it. The natural
colours in the foyer changed to florescent brightness and I was consumed in it. This is
very difficult to explain, only experience can justify it, but I shall try. Perhaps for those in
the audience it was merely a performance but for me I had an electrifying experience of
energy taking over my physical body and transforming it into action.
Transformation in Different Role Images
It all came about within the graphic space created by our performance that was specially
created, keeping in mind the traditional performance practices in both the dance forms.
This was done by:
•
marking the ground space by leaves
•
symbolic rainbow painting in our backdrop
•
the playing of Indian music, the didgereedoo, and the clapsticks
Symbolically, sacred space was created in the foyer by breaking a coconut backstage and,
burning incense during the performance. Through spoken verse, other images such as
sky, lightening, and running water were created. Body paint helped create the image of an
emu, as did hand paint create the images of the sun and planets.
Transformation as Spiral and Linear Formations
Keeping in line with a linear treatment of movement as part of my Kathak dance concept
and roundels as spiral formations in motion, I let this image take over the graphic
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elements to create synergy in our performance. I adopted this idea from the dot paintings
of Central Australia, a process that Ronnie Tjampitjinpa and Freddie Ward Tjungurrayi
had begun, to join dots together in linear currents which form parallel networks of
roundels and traveling paths (ed: Diggins: 1989 p64)
And just as the dots, as roundels in the background, came to have a dramatic effect over
the graphic elements in their paintings and created a sensation of movement, a similar
flow of energy in our act began activating in a circular motion through a spiral formation
in the form of the chakras or linear spins in the Kathak style. And in the spiralling
narrative, the performance kinaestically drew everyone into the performing space,
towards a satisfying performer/audience synergy.
Transformation Becomes an Eye Opener
As circular motion took charge of the male and the female roles, exemplified by the idea
of force and vitality of energy in its creativity and destruction through the rainbowserpent Ngalyod and in preservation through Shiva-Shakt, it expressed itself in its dual
role as symbolic transformation in the performance through the cycle of season, where it
sometimes represented power that became ambiguous in gender like Shiva in
Ardhanarisvara, the first serpent. Or as Ngalyod spending its dry season in deep water
holes and the period of wet seasons in the thunderclouds, keeping the ongoing fertility
aspect alive in transformation from one form to another. By manifesting itself in the
performance, it connected me to my deity and certain individuals in the audience.
After the performance, in a taped interview, one of the reactions received was that "I
couldn't stop crying". By the term 'crying' the person meant that she experienced the
connection of souls and compassion in the performance.
Observing me during the performance, Brian improvised (see photo 22) a gestural
language in which he responded to me, which made people comment, "... this
performance had to happen. It was destined for both of you to perform with an
understanding of each other". An example of his improvisation was when my hands were
cupped for drinking soma (God's drink), he leapt up to take a sip (clip 5 appendix F).
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Photo 22. Developing a form
His improvised movements like drinking, somersault, quivering of the body, were
synchronized with my choreographed movements. Another example was when I stamped
my foot to represent thunder and lightening, he imitated this movement by vigorously
stamping his kantuni pada (feet) and mara punganyi or hasta (clapping his hands). Even
though this was an abstract improvisation, to the audience it seemed like a well-rehearsed
piece of choreography. In this way different tactics were used for improvisation
throughout the entire performance. This was possible only because Brian was free to
respond to my more rigidly coded movements.
Time Text
I utilised wider spaces to allow Brian room for his improvisations (see photo 23).
However, since Kathak has strict set of rules and regulations, the space within which I
moved at any given moment was limited in the treatment of the dance. Because of the
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contrasting nature of our two dance forms, we, in a sense, created a ‘modified’ dance.
The music also became the common denominator and served to take the performance on
to a higher level Binding our disparate styles. Thus, we wove a web of seeming
complementarity in motion moving through sharpa gati (serpentine course) and ritu
seasons.
Photo 23. Wide space, giving room for improvisation
In such seeming complementarities lay our departing points, which we hid well as we
responded to each other at a level which almost felt as if we had choreographed and
rehearsed the performance.
The ‘image’ that we were portraying was basically taking the traditions and social history
context of the artists and manifesting it through us as a ‘once only’ event. Our
personalities, our sensibilities, our artistic intelligence, our social persona through the use
of physiology called for special use of the body defined by Barba and Swarese (1991) as
pre-expressivities, expressive movements arising spontaneously from our cultured bodies.
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A New Perspective in Kathak
The balancing on one flat foot with the toes of the other was something new for me. As I
mentioned above, the space which I had to cover within the set timing of the music at the
performing-space floor called for speed never used (see photo 23) before. I used the toes
of my right foot to gain space and the flat left foot to break the speed in order to control
my balance. This called for re-positioning of the torso (bending slightly forward to gain
momentum) with the straight lower half of the body that produced organic tensions.
To rebuild my energy I had to use other rules (technique-images) and at the same time
give all refined aesthetic sense to the phenomena by transposing of energy through space.
Dancing at such times into linear movements, like extension of the hand in space,
climbing the sky, energy arising in the solar plexus, opened "new meanings" in the
composition for me. For example, in showing climbing (ascending lofty places), I used
Atikarnta Pades (p184) raising and stretching, lifting or letting the foot fall back. For the
peahen I took a mudra (seal) i.e. Pada Recaka (foot movement), Hasta Recaka (hand
movement), Kantha Recaka (neck movement) (p64) from Natya Shastra rather than the
usual peahen fan gesture used in Kathak. These images from my past came as a
compromise and a balance in the performance suggesting a unification with the more
wholistic gesture and embodiment of the emu. These were some of the features snapped
from the natural context in which I usually danced and came to be recomposed according
to rules, which were not rules of the daily Kathak performance.
Changes in Kathak
Through our physical state, with the help of external stimuli, I created a network of
actions as a dancer, narrator, and actor. For example, I enlarged my eyes to emphasize the
eyes as ‘active’ in Karuna Rasa (sentiment facial expression, see photo 24) to show pain
through tearful gasping. The body action of 'winter' was to squeeze the limbs and draw
them together, hands over the chest; the body is bent forward, the lips throb, and the chin
quivers (see Appendix: E, clip 6). These were used to dramatize by imagination as
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psycho-technique, which was not an attempt to influence our psyche state, but rather the
physical-psyche state of the spectators.
Photo 24. Eyes active in Karuna Rasa, symbolizing pain as separation in winter
It was this language that I used to communicate with Brian. (See photo 25) Through this
media, on the first day of the performance, Brian and I reacted to each other, that is
communicated the symbolic male and female energies of Chakras. Through it I invited
Brian to improvise whenever he forgot an important choreographed movement. For
example, if in the first stanza I found him forgetting his position, in the repeat I would
gesture him to come on to the stage and he would take the cue. This became a protcol
dialogue between us. At the same time I was extending myself into the spiritual realm of
the audience to connect with anyone who was receptive.
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Photo 25. Communicating with Brian to take stage
Creative Energy at Work
In this manner our bodies were brought to 'life' not only for the spectator but for
ourselves too. At this point I felt that the communication from body to body was by
gestures and movements and strengthened by the beat of clapsticks. This became a point
of reference from where we departed or got displaced, which produced a new positioning
of empowerment and symbolic meaning in the social context. New texts were developed.
An example of this was Brian's spectacular somersault (see clip 7, Appendix: F). His
cyclical movement was the result of a system of relationship between the force of gravity
and the body's center of gravity. By shifting the weight from the spine to the neck he
came to create a shift in the pattern of weights while somersaulting, which subverted my
more controlled use of a relationship with gravity.
Eugeno Barba and Nicole Swarese (1991) stated,
As this becomes a familiar pattern, the posture of every day life
gets disintegrated as the new pattern takes over. A culture is
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constructed within the body of the bearer. At this moment the body
rolling through the air becomes another self composition of limbs
neuromuscular intelligence, a mind exploring its environment
through something other than its eyes and ears (its normal self ).
Such shifts in performance have been seen, according to their research in traditional
performances, as constant variables that relate to "Trans-cultural principles of the body
from different performing traditions of the world". These, "resemble each other because
of their principles and not because of their performance". In our performance I saw such
a Trans-cultural shift coming through. This took place where the actions before the
performance began in their normal conditions and by default, got displaced, and as were
recreated during the performance, as a reciprocal relationship began to emerge. This is so
because I saw as an important aspect of the image, it emerged a tangential exhibition in
continuity as action-transformation. It started its conceptual process as I transcended from
the subject (I) into an object (creative form). It became an intuitive exhibition wherein, as
an ongoing process second by second it evolved as visualization and creation began
taking new shapes and forms as I moved about. I realized this new set of improvisation
becoming a form or a bhava (expression) was not a replication or the imitation of the
already coded existing expression that I had rehearsed. In fact, it was a manifesting form
in my abstract state of being that was becoming an externalized form into a resemblance
of what transpired immediately and instantly within me and around me.
Here, as a witness, I grasped the instantaneous improvisation as the direct, self-evident
experience of rta as a sattvic (pure) expression taking shape. Like a flash of lightning I
experienced it was eminating from the motionless silent abode as a symbolic yantra
(geometrical representation of Siva). Cascading as the dot concept. Living and breathing
as a universal abstract tool that came into play by my sheer determination of the will
Caring less whether I was an Indian, Australian, European, Chinese or Middle-Eastern.
Till a mudra like resemblance process took over the entire performance.
As a functional participant in the role play the improvisation came to re-enact itself as
insights in a balancing act.
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As a social participant to achieve the same effect it proferred a different story.
The social spaces in which the images occurred, as examples, the playing of didgeridoo,
the stab in the heart, the gestural communication with Brian, the non-verbal
communicating with the audience, became political in nature (tensions in oppositions).
These became ‘sites’ in the creation of images, as an art museum in themselves, (see
photo 26 a, b) through abstract graphic conceptualization of the geography of the Art
Gallery. This was, then, another new exhibition.
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Photos 26a, 26b. Spectators.
Audience Reaction
Unknown to me, the dance fusion (see photo 27) created tension between one Indian
spectator and myself. She congratulated us for the performance and invited me to perform
on September the 13th, as a traditional Kathak dancer She was not comfortable with the
new fusion, as she herself is from an Indian classical music background. She did not
believe that a traditional dance form could be performed in any other way except in its
original classical form. I honoured her opinion. The tension created between this
spectator and myself found an ‘equilibrium’ or balance, as I acknowledged and
understood her view, in accordance with Jersey Grotowski's Pragmatic Laws, (Barba &
Sawarese: 1991). These are laws that inform us how to behave with our expectant
audiences in order to reach a particular state or achieve particular results.
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Photo 27. Fusion Poise. Traditional Kathak pose in cross-cultural dance.
This spectator attempted to recognize in the performance any local (traditional) and
foreign (adopted) expressions. She tried to reach and understand the equilibrium in the
performance. She saw that I not wearing a traditional Kathak dress nor was I performing
with a traditional partner. Also, I was not strictly adhering to the set rules and regulations
of taal (beat) and laya (rhythm). Even though Brian's clapsticks were synchronized with
the beat of the music, I intentionally danced offbeat. The use of videos as part of a dance,
as I had done, is generally not tolerated in Kathak traditions. Kathak is a dance form
strictly set within a given time cycle with toras, parans, tukras and not a theatrical
performance as I intended it to be. Because I had departed from the tradition in more
ways than one, looking back I can now understand why she felt uncomfortable with the
concept of the performance. This also demonstrated to me that I had created something
new, but still recognizing Kathak.
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The New Look in Performance
The whole performance had a trans-cultural outlook, from gestures (see photo 28) and
costumes using materials such as long Kaftan dress and clapsticks, in transforming
‘things’ into ‘signs’ in the spectators view.
Photo 28. Transcultural look Kaftan and clapsticks.
These shifts away from traditions became junction for routes to develop further into new
spheres, becoming meeting point of the differences between the performers’ view and
that of the spectators. Thus the performance became alive and vibrant, creating new
relationships to achieve harmony and balance, as in the concept of Australian
Multiculturalism where different cultures are brought together (see photos 28A, 28B, and
28C). In the case of this spectator, her sense of harmony and balance had been disturbed.
However, the visual imagery created became a composite image of our movement from
past into present to future.
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Photo 28A. Kathak as a traditional dance.
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Photo 28B. Kathak in a transcultural look.
Photo 28C. Kathak in changing environment.
Interesting Moments
Our second performance was scheduled to begin at the same time as the previous day, as
a repetition and continuation of the previous day's performance, where we should have
gone through the exact motions. Since history is not ‘dead’ but very much ‘alive’ as an
ongoing process, I noticed that Brian froze during the performance (see photo 29). This
resulted in him not being able to play the didgeridoo. His explanation was that he saw
some of his friends in the front row watching his performance and so he lost his nerve.
Instead of repeating his complete performance of the previous day, he was only able to
play the clapsticks.
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Photo 29. History not ‘dead but ‘alive’.
I realized the situation but had to carry on the planned performance by myself. I tried to
communicate with him through gestures to take a more active role in the dance that he
totally ignored because of his nervousness. I could not connect with him despite my
many attempts. I had no choice but to concentrate on my choreographed piece. This
situation became a departure from the concept of repetition, as what we had planned to
carry out had to be improvised.
I began, however, to bring about a change in my performance. I had to improvise in those
situations where previously Brian had been improvising. At various points I came face to
face with ‘empty space’ (Brook: 1983) in which I had to find an act which had a
communicable meaning (see photo 30). With Brian in a sitting position, using him as a
texture (see photo 31 and 32), I began to weave him into my focus of performance, by
dancing in rhythm with the beating of his clapsticks ‘click-clack, click-clack’. By doing
this I emphasized the ‘partner's concept’ in the Dandiya Ras which I had worked on with
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3rd year students at The University of Western Sydney in a modified manner through
Kathak.
Photo 30. Weaving of empty spaces
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Photo 31. Weaving tapestry around the co-dancer
Photo 32. Partners concept as in Dandia Raas
Remaining in rhythm and beat to the clapsticks and improvising at the same moment
within the time cycle is when Kathak is referred to as ‘Mathematics’ in Dance (see photo
27) where every crucial moment is calculated to stay within the basic cycle of 16 beats. I
made use of clapsticks as a hypnotic beat that click-clacked as I danced. The resounding
sound generated by the sticks became my framework within the set rules and regulations
of Kathak (1 time cycle is of 16 beats).
I originally used 2-time cycle or 32 beats for my piece on Friday. Now I was using 4-time
cycle (2 extra time cycle carried over from Brian's beats) or 64 beats to cover Brian's
space as well on Saturday. On Friday I was using the clapsticks as an off-beat tempo to
perform my foot movements of 32 beats. On Saturday I reversed its role into in-beat
tempo to high light the empty spaces. Kathak allows us to use such rhythmic patterns in
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our dances for our improvisation. This is the only dance form in India that allows
improvisation within set rules and regulations of performance.
As a circular weaving pattern emerged around Brian it lent strength and force to the act.
Brian, sitting in painted colors of white and black, could be seen working at two levels
also. One, where he froze, and the second where he created the masculine power within
his tradition to lend strength to the act. Unconsciously he contributed, through his body
text, the force of simple raw energy that the unsuspecting audience were drawn into.
Interpretation of Serpent Energy
What was the meaning of serpent energy? Throughout the performance the serpent
energy was an open-ended symbol, similar to a poem that is full of symbols. In its
mystical form it symbolically becomes a life giving force. For all practical purposes it
functions as an pivot for male and female energies. We experienced it in and around us as
performers, and through us it kinestically awakened in the audience experiences into
which they got connected either at their physical or their spiritual level. Activated, this
energy drew some in the audience towards each other (in terms of compassion). Ms.
Sheelaji (who is interviewed on the video) and Imelda, my Aboriginal sister, told me that
they cried openly during the performance. Joyce and Farida, who are both psychics and
healers, felt the hair on the back of their hands stand. These reactions were evidences of
spiritual spheres being created in the performance and as a result I was spiritually linked
with some in the audience.
Outcome: Compassion
What I was attempting to achieve over the two days performance as a process was the
concept of viewing fundamental universal themes. These universal themes, at any given
moment, I found could cut across horizontally diverse cultures, disciplines, religious and
social stratums. Vertically through the serpent energy, they cut across the concept of
space, form, and time, thus allowing us to reaffirm that these concepts are universal
archetypes rooted in human's common heritage.
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I found that the motifs, such as didgeridoo, dots, spirals, serpent, and the chanting of
syllables, echo the pre-historic esoteric art in a living manner through symbols and
customs into the present day. Through it, a vital relationship between the humans,
animals, birds and the natural elements (the sun, the moon, the sea, and the winds) come
to exist. I believe these motifs are representations and images of pre-historic Ancestoral
energies.
An outstanding motif in the performance was the creation of imaginary graphic, (see
photo 33) a presentation of Rta, the principal motion in the cosmos. As a symbol of order
in disorder shown by the simplicity and stillness (see photos 34 and 35) in the body of the
performer, as the mediator, contrasted with the unfocused, crowding forms of the
audience. The finale of the dance was to achieve a state of mutual ‘absorption’ as the
final phase of meditation.
Photo 33. Imaginary graph in the performance
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Photo 34. Stillness in the co-dancers body.
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Photo 35. Stillness in my body performance
Participation of My Myth as Universal Awareness
The second half of the process as you may have noticed, began as the narrative part in the
video clip of Ravana's Shiv Tandav Strotam composition in tantric and esoteric chants
took place at the contemplative text. I have chosen to write separately about it because I
wanted to graphically present the experience in the performance without disrupting the
flow of the entire process.
My enactment of the myth began as I tried visualizing myself in the longer now, which
brought about a shift in my awareness that took place. This gradually developed as the
chanting of Om and Surya Namaskar began in the imaginary graphic spectrum of Level 4
of The Art gallery. The chanting came to me as the wisdom of the past entering the
present environment in the form of the energy, that almost became alive and vibrant in
and around me in the performing space. The coding mechanism in operation through me
was encoded in the energy process.
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The Serpent Moves
According to (Doty, 1986, p17) the coding mechanism operates in its reliving process as
it examines the physio-geographical, ecological, linguistic, ethnic and social environment
in which its movement patterns are emerging. And as we would actually create and
experience these observations, the symbolic participation becomes systematized within
the story.
With my shift in the awareness, as the performance took on a coding mechanism where
each feature came to stands for one single meaning, I became aware of the body-mind
interaction. For example as in the chanting of Om, or tantric mantras, or the sound of
didgeridoo, the body became a space for symbolic use for spirituality. This integration of
flesh and spirit came to reflect how mythological symbolism uses the human body as an
imaginary graph for projecting symbols for spirituality.
The symbolic effects that came to be observed by everybody present and me were at
different levels. I observed the symbolic effect for some spectators was (a) at the physical
level, for others (b) conceptualized at the imagination level through images of thunder,
rain, serpent, emu, peahen, campfire, sadness, and (c) for me at a combination of the twoa tjukurpa (Dreaming) space. In the combination stage I was consciously visualizing the
altered awareness until I got in tune with my creative energy from where it’s ‘presence’
directed me to move forward and become co-creator in a new dimension.
Emanating as sound vibrations, (resonance of music) the spiritual energy got linked with
my vertical spiral energy and the horizontal energy, enabling me to feel the energy move
from the landscape created in the gallery, to the base of my spine to the highest level of
awareness in contemplation, creating harmony and peace. My very calm performance did
not go unnoticed by the spectators.
Remaining connected in this awareness (as probably the Aboriginal people do), this
positioning made me perceive myself as a part of a spiritual, evolutionary process and not
just as an individual. Devoid of time and space, instinctively, I became aware of my
transformed connection with the eternal energy, on whose strength I was using the oral
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tradition coming down to us through generations, into performing and bringing into
existence an 'Awakening of the Serpent' on both levels.am the role-play of making the
come into existence. This is so, became in a chain of evolutionary process as we are told,
we are tied down to it life after life or performance after performance until justifiably,
only, after we become free from all attachments, can we reach our ultimate goal. The
eternal salvation
The Multi Dimensional Universal Graph.
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Fig.21. A multidimensional graph showing spiral energy as compassion in world
view
This is how the process might be graphically described., came to work. As I became one
with my innerself, my awareness increased in the performance. The physical and
spiritual energy became intune with my ecological energy, and I was at peace. As I
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centered on this energy, trying to live it out, I became an observer as well as a participant
in the performance. I got a glimpse of myself in different creative spaces getting
connected to different happenings at the same time.
In the dual role as I have described the entire process above, my detached self diving into
the intuitive or spiritual center made me intuitively aware of my participation in the
process of reliving the traditions, as revealing the Truth.
It showed me (as in so many other performances) this performance was yet another
temporal bubble of creativity that I was participating in. My next move, whether next
moment, next month, next year, or perhaps another lifetime, I would always be
expressing myself till one day I would in turn become truth itself.
Such orally transmitted and later on written down text came to be called a divine spiritual
text, which in the case of the Hindus are the Vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva.
The Serpent Lives On
In conclusion, Awakening of the Serpent in the Universal Family (pukani kurunba
walytja ahelhe) through Indian Kathak dance and Australian Contemporary dance was an
investigative exploration in the development of the serpent energy through the visual
language of movement
We traced our paths individually through ancestral creativity from historical past by
showing videos of the two cultures, to the now continuum (the performance). On the
way, the changing values (our non-traditional costumes), ideas (freedom of choice and
independence of ideology), and the shifting grounds (such as tensions, intentions, and
improvisations)) were incorporated into the performance.
We not only carried on the traditions but also created new culture in the continuity of our
personal existence in a landscape environment of our choice.
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This ongoing process became culture in making. At any particular moment, it became a
gateway for me to travel into my past and future. My performance, in the ever expanding
vision became a process without a beginning and an end. The transformation through a
dual process in time and space while remaining in the physical time began reflecting
through it the time and the space conceptualized in the performance. My physical self
presented differentiation and fusion in the field of creativity, and my spiritual self
presented the growth from and dissolution into unity.
The performance, one time cycle of motion, came to demonstrate our shared ‘Serpent
Energy’, manifesting out of the transmutation of the eternal and infinite; moving into the
shifting of multiplicity of extremes, through vibratory frequencies in energies, came to
reabsorb all things into the timeless unity from which they evolved. In actuality, the
traditional myths symbolically portray the same things.
As a new communicative synthesis through our performance, we demonstrated a shift in
aesthetic proportions between sacred rituals and aesthetic performance for entertainment.
The information held in the narrative text was expressed in the performance symbolically
through dance, song, music in the art gallery. The spectators were seen to go from passive
reception to active perception and participation. The turanakkorendi (images), as vehicles
of messages, were also issuing biological biographies of the two dancers connecting them
to their source culture and collectively resulting in amalgamation of cultures, in
Ardhanarisvara Adisharpa Vasudha Iva Kutumbakam.
Finally, through my myth and dance, I was successful in demonstrating my connection of
the independent ancient universal Serpent energy existing in the two cultures as the Dot
Concept in the changing environment of Australia. And, in its assimilation of energy
from the two different dance forms into synergy (reconciliation) created at the performing
space, at different levels helped me in making room for myself along with others to share
in the ancient land of lore-Australia.
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Appendices
APPENDIX A
Aboriginal Glossary
(Although not many Pitjantjatjara words have been used in my research, those that make
up my glossary list come from Ellis, Catherine (1978), (an article on Classifications of
Sounds in Pitjantjatjara speaking area in Australian Aboriginal Concepts), Charles P.
Mountford (1965) Ayers Rock, Macquarie University (1983) Macquarie Dictionary).
ahelhe
anitji
arukwita
family
esoteric words in Pitjantjatjara
magical evil influence
bindi
eye
corroborees
ceremonial dance
didgeridoo
an Aboriginal wind pipe musical instrument
ilkari
inma
inma irititja
inma piti
inma kuwaritja
inma mayu
inma mayutimpil
inma mula
inmanyi
inmapilunypa
celestial world
song, music, dance, ‘open’ ceremony
old verses coming from ancestors
dance in selected grounds
newly discovered or rediscovered
dance in rhythmic beats
dancing to the rhythms of the beat
good, true (esoteric) ceremonial song
dancing
music in silence
kalya
kania
kandju
kantuni
karndo
kati
kirra (diyari)
koki
kudlilla
kuka
kulini
kulpidji
emu
carpet snake
another name for linga man
stamping of the feet together
thunder
down
boomerang - weapon to hunt
monsoon season
rain to early winter
animals
deep inner listening and contemplation
sacred objects
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kunia
kuran
kurunba
kurupatila
kutjukutatimpil
carpet snake people
spirit
the same life essence
closed eyes
on the same beat
linga
liru
lunba
lurubunangi
sand lizard man
poisonous snake
kingfisher woman
chanting special songs
mai
maki
makko
maku
mala
mara
marakatipana
marapunganyi
mayu
meta-lungana
mimi
minma
mi:lmi:l
mulga
munya
mutianyi
mutitjulda
plants
ice-cold
clouds
central character in sacred sites
hare-wallaby man
hands
hands facing the ground
clapping the hands
rhythm
sleepy lizard man
stick figures paintings
married woman
sacred, secret
grass seeds
cold, winter
kneeling
water hole on the south side of Ayers Rock
nagurawaru
naldawata
campfire
a decorated pole, erected in the middle of
ceremonial grounds around which many dances and
rituals were performed
my people
rainbow serpent
sun
a blooming flower
nananduraka
ngalyod
ngangka
ngurreta
ochre
basic colors, red, yellow, black and green used in
initiation ceremonies
pakani
parka
parnatti
pilunypa
pindi
awakening or rising
leaves
autumn season
contemplation
pit, hole or habitation of souls before birth and after
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puna
punatimpilpunganyi
punga punganyi
pupa
pupakati
pupanyi
death
spirit people
desert area between Petermann and Rawlinson
Range, north of lake Hopkins and south of
Birksgate range. literally meaning the in-between
people
earth
clapsticks to convey rhythm by men only
clapping by both men and women
head
head facing downwards
crouching
rta
rurmanayi
taking a photo
flowing water
tanamildjan
tidna
timpil
timpilpulka
tjinderi-tjinderiba
tjinganyi
tjukurpa
tjulpu
tjurunga
turanakkorendi
the other folks
feet
beat
assents of musical beats
willy-wagtail woman
quivering
creative time or Dreamtime
birds
ceremonial boards
images, mirror or looking glass
uluru
utereme
utnenge
Ayers Rock
force
vitality
wala
walytja
wanampi
wandjina
wang
wapar
wilutti
speed or fast
world or universe
rainbow serpent
ancestral spirits
breath or spirit
story
the spring weather
yrinyi
yulanya
sitting
spirit children few inches high with light skin and
long black hair
piti
pitjantjatjara
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Appendices
APPENDIX B
Indian Glossary
Mostly adopted from the book, Dancing with Siva for correct interpretation of the
words.
Ardhanarisvara-
Ardha-half, Nari-female, Ishwara-Lord,
Adi-Sharpa
First-Serpent
Arjuna
One of the Pandav brothers in The Mahabharata epic
Bhagavad Gita
"Song of the Lord." One of the most popular of Hindu
writings, it is a conversation between Lord Krishna and
Arjuna on the brink of the great battle of Kurukshetra. In the
central episode of the epic Mahabharata, Krishna illuminates
Arjuna on yoga, asceticism, dharma and the manifold
spiritual paths.
Bindu
A small particle, a drop or a dot. The seed or the source of
creation. It is the primal nucleus or first particle of
transcendent light, technically called Parabindu,
corresponding to the Sakti tattva (Sakti means energy, and
tattvas are primary principles in the building of the universe).
Scientists say that the whole universe just before the big bang
could fit on the head of a pin - a tremendous concentration or
point of energy - that is Parabindu. Symbolized by a small dot
worn on the forehead between the eyebrow. It is a sign that
one is Hindu. Mystically it also represents the "third eye" or
the "mind's eye", which sees things that cannot be perceived
by the physical eye. The dot is a reminder to use and cultivate
one's spiritual vision, to perceive and understand life's inner
workings, as well as look into the past to see the future.
Today the bindu is also a beauty mark worn by Hindu
women; the color red is a sign of marriage, black worn before
marriage to ward off the evil eye. Amongst the Tamils Bindu
is known as pottu. Bindu is also a term for semen.
Saivism divides these tattvas into three groups. First, are the
five suddha' or pure tattvas. Bindu , the transcendent light
resides in this super conscious sphere. It is the region of
emergence of paranada, the soundless sound. Though most
often referred to as sound, nada is more mystically known as
movement, the first impulse arising from perfect quiescence,
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Appendices
out of the motionless Self. It is the region of father-mother
God, Shiva's third eye. It is the power of revealing grace. In
this realm the energies of knowledge and action are in perfect
equilibrium. When the energy of action prevails over that of
knowledge then it arouses cosmic activity in its subtle form.
Second are the seven 'suddha-asuddha' or pure-impure
tattvas. They are the spiritual magnetic energy constituting
the mental body and astral and physical planes. They are the
spheres where the phenomenon of time divides all
experiences into past, present and the future. It is the place of
karmic destiny where law of cause and effect takes place. It is
the place which gives the soul practical knowledge in
accordance with its present life experiences. It is a sphere
where attachment or arousal of desire is without any
experience of the objective world.
The third comprises the asuddha or impure tattvas. This is the
realm of magnetic energy. It is a place of I-ness (ego). It is the
receiving and directing link between the outer senses and the
inner faculties in the external form.
Brahma
One of the trinity of gods, Brahma is The Creator. The others
are Vishnu, The Sustainer, and Siva, The Destroyer
Brahman
The Supreme Being, the name of God in the Vedas.
Described as the transcendent Absolute, the all-pervading
energy and the primal soul. It corresponds to Siva in his three
perfections. Saiviates know Brahman and Siva to be one and
the same God.
Caste
Is the hereditary social status assigned at birth.
Chakra
Literally 'Wheel’. The nerve plexus or centers of forces
located within the inner bodies of human. The seven principle
chakras are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the
cranial chamber. They exist below the spinal cord. They are
seen psychically as seats of instinctive consciousness. The
seven chakras are :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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muladhara (base of spine) - for memory, time and space.
svadhishthana (below the navel) - for reason.
manipura ( solar plexus) - for willpower.
anahata (heart center) - for direct cognition.
vishddha (throat) - for divine love.
ajna ( third eye ) - for divine sight.
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7. sahasraara ( crown of head ) - for illumination, Godliness.
Clan
A group united by common characteristics.
Dharma
Duty or religion
Druid
Druids were tribe people who were occupied with magicoreligious duties. They were recruited from warrior class but
ranked higher. Their rites were held in forest clearings. They
used sacred buildings much later. They were priests of pagan
gods, replaced as seers or poets in successive generations.
Later they became teachers as they took on the responsibility
of transmitting the oral traditions, and by the end of middle
ages were just bards narrating poetry inherited from their
predecessors. They believed in the transmigration of soul.
They believed in fluid cosmology in which shape-shifting and
magic bonds between humans and others creatures are
commonplace. Tree worship was central to their ritual
worship. They took their name Druid from an ancient word
meaning "Knowing the Oak Tree"
Dusserah
A ten day celebration in the month of September-October,
during which Ramalila, based on the epic story of the
Ramayana, is staged. During its performance the effigies of
Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and son Meghnatha or Inderjeet are
burnt by Rama, symbolizing the victory of good forces over
the evil. Dusserah in Sanskrit also means taking away the ten
sins.
Energy
For energy to arise requires movement. This movement is
seen as a pulsation in action. Pulsation as movement behaves
differently in different form of energies that we come to see
and experience. In other words a whole realm of relationships
of energies are taking place at a level before they actually
manifest into a material structure or a physical body. It is
interesting to note that at this level, the movement is based on
relationship set up between two opposite fields, positive and
negative. This relationship is called a 'polarity'. For any
movement to trigger, it first occurs in polarity relationships.
So, we have to assume and believe that polarity lies in a
neutral zone or a common source of energy that I refer to in
my work as 'Bindu' or 'Dot'. This neutral source, then is more
than a source of energy. It is the 'core' of all consciousness. It
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is unchanging and pre-exists to being and form and dependent
on nothing. When a burst of positive creativity takes place in
the neutral source, the movement in polarity comes into
existence in shape of the mover and the moved. In that potent
state, as the positive and negative poles get charged as
energies, it creates movement. Such a common source of
energy is seen as holding the Universe together, as the solar
system, the push and pull of gravity, the ebb and flow of
waves, the push and pull of pulse, and the basic male
(positive) and female (negative) energies in human beings.
This neutral zone, thus, acts like a transformer and as the
movements arise in subtle spheres it moves in high vibration
to slow vibration in gross form to become solidified into
matter. Movement as in a process then becomes a beginning
and an end in itself.
Garuda
Gotra
Vishnu's vehicle, half man half eagle, acts as a disciple of
Vishnu.
A descendent from a common ancestor.
Guru-sishya parampara A 'master-disciple system'. An education system of
Hinduism whereby the teacher conveys his knowledge and
tradition to a student. Such knowledge is imparted through
the developing relationship between the guru and the disciple.
The principle of this system is that knowledge is best
conveyed through a strong human relationship based on
ideals of the student's respect, commitment, and devotion and
obedience on a personal level by which the student eventually
masters the knowledge the guru embodies.
Hari
A name of Vishnu.
Haridwar
Revered as one of the ancient tirtha or crossing places where
every Hindu wants his ashes to be immersed in the sacred
Ganges.
Ida, pingala
Ida is known as chandra nadi (moon conduit). It is pink in
color and flows downward, ending on the left side of the
body. This is a feminine current in nature and is the channel
of physical and emotional energy. Pingala is the surya nadi
(sun conduit). It is blue in color and flows upwards, ending on
the right side of the body. This current is masculine in nature
and is the channel of intellectual and mental energy.
Sushumna, the major nerve current that passes through the
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spinal column from the muladhara chakra at the base to the
sahasrara at the crown of the head is the channel of
kundalini. Through yoga, the kundalini energy, lying dormant
in the muladhara, is awakened and made to rise up this
channel through each chakra to the sahasrara chakra.
Japa
Is the repetition of a mantra orally or mentally.
Jati
occupational sub-caste
Kapila
Sage Kapila was the originator of the Samkhya theory of
cosmology (of space, air, fire, water and earth). Samkhya
developed as an rational inquiry during Buddha’s time and is
a rational inquiry as opposed to the mystical speculation in
the Vedas.
Kasyapa
Sage Kasyapa, in the Vishnu Purana, was the most illustrious
son of Marichi ( mind born son of Brahma ). He was the
incarnate of Vishnu as a dwarf. From his thirteen wives, two
sister Diti and Aditi were married to him. From Diti he had
two sons Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha-the demons. Aditi
bore him Vishnu to fight Bali.
Kathak
A prominent dance style of North India. Kathak derives its
origin from Katha Vachika, - or story telling. It originated in
Rajasthan, namely Jaipur, where the Kathodis or nomads and
gypsies, attached themselves to the temples and recited the
mythological stories with minimal music, gestures and
mimes. Under the Mughal rule the royal courts patronized it.
It became highly technical and stylized with its focus on the
solo performer. The predominance of rhythm and beat with
emphasis on vigorous foot movements and pirouettes became
its dominant feature. In its present form, as a chamber art,
Kathak came to develop its character as an 'easy intimate
style' permitting the dancer to establish an easy intimacy with
the audience. Kathak thus came to enjoy the quietude and
harmony of movements in the one hand to a whirl of action
on the other.
Krishna
An incarnation of Vishnu.
Kul
A group of families.
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Lakshmi
Goddess of wealth.
Laya
Are natural rhythmic movements within the time cycle which
have no binding with the time cycle. Generally, they are
classified as slow, medium and fast.
Manu
The first human man, and a patriarch author of the
Institutions, a title given to world-creators who rule over a
certain period of times. So far seven Manus have been
described. Svayambhuva, Svarochisha, Uttama, Tamasa,
Raivata, Chakshuka , Vaivasvata.
Manusmriti
Ancient Sanskrit text of Manus.
Maricha
A hermit who assisted Ravana by taking the form of a golden
deer.
Moksha
Is 'liberation'. Release from transmigration, the round of
births and deaths, which occur after karma has been resolved
and self-realization has been attained.
Mudra
Is 'Seal'. Esoteric hand gestures which express specific
energies or powers. Usually, accompanied by precise
visualizations, mudras are a vital element of ritual worship
(puja), dance, and yoga.
NatyaSastra
Sage Bharatamunis, ‘Sutra’ dealing with the principals of
theatrical performances in a very concise form.
Om (or Aum)
The mystic syllable of Hinduism placed at the beginning of
most sacred writings. Aum represents the divine and is
associated with Lord Ganesa, for its initial sound 'aa',
vibrating within the muladhara, the chakra at the base of the
spine upon which this god sits. The second sound of this
mantra, 'oo', vibrating within the throat and chest chakras, is
the realm of Lord Murugan or Kumara known by the
Hawaiian people as the God Ku. The third sound 'mm',
vibrating within the cranial chakras, at ajna (third eye) and
sahasrara (top of the head) is where the supreme God reigns.
The dot above it is called anusvra, represents the soundless
sound, Paranada. Aum is explained in the Upanishads as
standing for the whole world and its parts including the past,
present and future. ( page 691. Siva )
Parvati
Shiva’s wife in the second birth, known as Uma in the first
birth.
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Paran
Forceful pieces in pure Kathak dance. The rhythmic
combinations are complex and within its execution sound of
drums, different instruments, birds, and animals are often
carried out.
Pitriloka
A world of ancestors. ‘Pitri’ is spirit and ‘loka’ is world.
Ragas
Are ascending and descending notes or (scales) within the
octave which form the basis of all Indian melodies. They are
played or sung at a given time of the day or night because
they are based on the moods of nature and humankind.
Rakshasa
Comes from the root word raksha meaning 'to protect'. In the
Ramayana they are referred as beings created by Brahma to
guard the waters in the beginning of creation. They could take
any form they desired and misusing their boom they came to
be referred as a class of demons to be guarded against.
Rama
Venerated hero of the Ramayana epic and one of the two
most popular incarnations of Vishnu, along with Krishna.
Ramayana one of India's grand epics. It is Valmiki's tragic love story of Rama and
Sita, whose exemplary lives have helped set high standards of
dignity and nobility as an integral part of Hindu dharma.
Rangoli
A decorative floral art done with colored powders, usually
done on entrances to homes during auspicious occasions.
Ravana
A Rakshas, his destruction was foretold by Shiva. He was
slain by Rama after Ravana had abducted his wife Sita.
Rig-Veda
See the Vedas.
Rishi
A seer, a term for an enlightened being, emphasizing psychic
perception and visionary wisdom. In the Vedic age, rishis
lived in forest or mountain retreats either alone or with
disciples. These rishis were inspired conveyers of the Vedas.
Ritu
Seasons
Rta
Cosmic law
SahajaYoga
Yoga of self-realization through the process of Kundalini,
inner self-awakening and integrating with the universal
energy.
Saivism
Shiva worshipped as supreme God. Earliest recorded
evidence in Indus civilization. Worshipped by Rama and
Ravana as recorded in Ramayana.
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Sapta-Sindhu
The region that extends from present day river Indus in the
west to the Ganges in the east containing five other rivers in
between. ‘Sapta’ means seven and ‘Sindhu’ is a generic name
given to rivers and the river Indus.
Sati
The first name of Uma and Parvati.
Sita
Wife of Rama.
Siva
Is the Lord of Bhutas (Pit) spirit people. The creator of
Tandav Nritya. Also know as Natraj
Siva-Linga
An icon of Shiva as male and female energy.
Siva-Shakti
ARDHANARISVARA: Father-mother, both immanent and
transcendent, a name for Siva encompassing His unmanifest
Being and manifest energy.
Soma
Plant of Rig-Veda, a drink of the Gods
Sri
An honorific prefix meaning sacred or holy. Often attached
before a deity's name ( Sri Lakshmi) or the name of scriptural
works
SriLanka
Meaning Venerable Lion. Formerly, known as Ceylon.
Stylised dance
A correlation between the folk dance presented in the milieu
of environment in which they exist into co-existing in a
classical style without changing the format.
Swarupanakha
Sister of Ravana, the cause of Ramayana
Surya Namaskar
Prayer or reverent salutations to the Vedic triad - sun, energy,
and flame. A traditional greetings amongst the Hindus with a
mudra where the palms are joint together and held before the
heart or raised to the level of the forehead. The mudra is also
called anjali. A devotional gesture made equally before a
temple deity, friend or an acquaintance. The hands held
together connects the right side of the body with the left, and
brings the nerve and nadi currents into poised balance, into a
consciousness of the sushumna, awakening the third eye
within the greeter to worship God the greeted.
Taal/tala
Are fixed beats in a Time cycle.
Tantra
Is an esoteric system of Yoga which combines Mantra
(sound-Om, bija or seed letters) as well as Yantra
(diagrammatic form as in Cross, Star of David or Sri Lakshmi
for material gains as well as spiritual illumination ) to attain
Moksha ( liberation). A synonym for the agamic text, the
Shakta faith, a yogic path of the Kaula sect, it emphasizes the
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worship of the feminine force. The triangle enclosing the
Bindu. The Yoni embracing the Linga. Worshipped in an
abstract and symbolic form through the chakras drawn on
paper and cloth, was a concentrated form of Devi worship for
Bhukti-Mukti- Pradayini. Giver of Bhukti - enjoyment of
material things in this world, Mukti - liberation in the
hereafter. It specifically refers to the spreading out of energy
through the human system. This Yoginic cult as part of the
Tantric cult is regarded as a restricted form of worship, still
persists in certain form today. When the unscrupulous people
use Tantra, these techniques become black magic. This is how
Ravana invoked the 'Shiv Tandav Strotam' to obtain material
victory over Rama. .
++
Time - divisions
See Veda in appendix
Tora (or Tukra)
Small dance pieces executed in fast tempo. They are less
complicated in rhythmic calculations.
Triad
The Vedic associate the triad with Agni -flame the Fire God,
Indra -energy the Storm God, Surya-brightness the Sun God.
The sustainers of life behind the sun, moon, or stars nature,
human and animal form
Uma
Wife of Siva in His first incarnation
Vedas
Are revealed knowledge transmitted by Brahma to various
sages. Rig , Yajur, Sama, Atharva. The knowledge is of a
mystical nature, rather than intellectual. Each Veda is divided
into two sections, Mantras( in verse ) and Brahmanas (in
prose) which include Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. Both
are referred as Shruti. Those texts that were remembered and
based upon the Vedic knowledge by interpretation, discussion
and commentaries on shruti texts were called Smriti, were
works by human beings . They included the Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Dharma Shasta, Kalapa sutras, Manu smiritis and
the Puranas.
Visravana
Name of Ravana
Viswamitra
A hermit who by his tapasya transformed himself from a
Kshatriya to a Brahmin. .
Vyas
A Rishi.
Yagya
Prayer rituals.
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Yavadvipa
Yugas
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Island of Java mentioned in the Ramayana, and also referred by
German astronomer Ptolemy in his ‘geography’ in the second
AD as Jabadieu.
Age, or period. Is one of the four ages that chart the duration
of the world according to Hindu thought. They are Satya (or
Krita), Treta, Dwapara and Kali. In the first period, dharma
reigns supreme, but as the ages revolve, virtue diminishes and
ignorance and injustice increases. At the end of Kali Yuga,
which we are in now, the cycle begins again with a new Satya
Yuga. It is said in the Mahabharata that during the Satya
Yuga all are Brahmins, and the color of this yuga is white. In
Treta Yuga, righteousness decreases by one-fourth and men
seek rewards for their rites and gifts, the color is red and the
consciousness of the kshatriya, sovereignty prevails. In the
DWAPARA Yuga, the four varans ( Brahmin -mature soul,
kshatriya - governing bodies, Vaisya - merchants and
landowners, Sudra-servant or worker) come into full
existence. The color is yellow. In the Kali Yuga the color is
black. Righteousness is one-tenth that of the Satya. True
worship and sacrifice ceases and base or sudra consciousness
prevails. Calamities, disease, fatigue and faults such as anger
and fear are prominent. People motives grow weak
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APPENDIX C
In The Hindu Mythology by W. J. Wilkins, the Puranic Division of time is
described as follows : The three main divisions of time employed in the Hindu
Scriptures are YUGAS, MANVANTRAS, and KALPAS. There are four Yugas,
which together extend 12, 000 divine years. Their respective duration’s is as
follows:
The Krita Yuga
The Treta Yuga
The Dwapara Yuga
The Kali Yuga
=
=
=
=
4, 800 divine years
3, 600 divine years
2, 400 divine years
1, 200 divine years
"One years of mortals is equal to one day of the gods. " As 360 is taken as the
number of days in the year The Krita Yuga
The Treta Yuga
The Dvapara Yuga
The Kali Yuga
=
=
=
=
4, 800 x 360
3, 600 x 360
2, 400 x 360
1, 200 x 360
=
=
=
=
1, 728, 000 years of mortals
1, 296, 000 years of mortals
864, 000 years of mortals
432, 000 years of mortals
One Mahayuga, therefore, being 12, 000 divine years is equal to 4, 320, 000
mortal years. A thousand such Mahayugas are a day of Brahma and his nights are
of equal duration’s; a Kalpa, therefore, extends over 4, 320, 000, 000 mortal years.
A Manvantara is one-fourteenth part of a Kalpa).
According to the timeline research compiled by contemporary researchers such as Dr. B.
G. Siddharth of B. M. Birla Science Center, Dr. S. B. Roy, Dr. David Frawley and others
who have developed a more accurate picture of ancient India as shown below :
-500, 000
-400, 000
-100, 000
-75, 000
-45, 000
-10, 000
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Stone hand-axes and other tools are used in North India
Soan culture in India is using primitive chopping tools
Humans with 20th century man's brain size live in East Africa
Last ice age begins
After mastery of marine navigation, migrations from
Southeast Asia settle Australia and Pacific Islands
Last ice age ends
Taittriya Brahmanas 3. 1. 2 referring to Purvabhadrapada
naksharta's rising due east, a phenomenon occurring at this
date (Dr. B. G. Siddharth of Birla Science Institute) indicating
the earliest dating of the sacred Veda, Vedic culture, the
essence of humanity's eternal wisdom, Sanatan Dharma lives
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-7, 000
-6, 000
-5, 000
-4, 300
-3, 100
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in Himalayas at the end of Ice age.
Taittriya Samhita 6. 5. 3 places Pleads asterism at winter
solstice, suggesting the antiquity of this Veda.
Proto-Vedic period ends. Early Vedic period begins.
Early sites on the Sarasota River
Beginning of Indus - Sarasota civilization in Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro
Earliest signs of worship of Lord Shiva.
Traditional dating for Lord Rama's time.
Kali Yuga era begins
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Appendices
APPENDIX D
This appendix contains copies of the original invitation sent to select invitees from
various organisations and individuals. It also has copies of flyers distributed by the
museum as part of their overall program for celebrating the 50th anniversary of India’s
independence.
It also contains copies of handouts and leaflets given to the audience at the
start of the program to help them better uundertsand the performance.
Copies of the transcribed script (from Hindi to English), aura reading, and
various other material is listed in this appendix.
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To
You are invited to
(an Indian-Aboriginal Performance)
at the
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Domain.
A unique cross-cultural event celebrating the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence
and the Reconciliation of and Independence of all Peoples.
Acclaimed Indian Kathak dancer Beena Sharma and acclaimed Aboriginal dancer Brian
Denhawk Peter weave the male and female forces to evoke universal serpent energy.
The performance is at 1.30 p.m. on Friday 15 August and Saturday 16 August.
Meet at the Yiribana Gallery, Level 1.
I look forward to meeting you.
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THE ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
DOMAIN
PRESENTS
AN INDIAN-ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE
May the forefathers of ancient days
protect us
in this our prayers,
in this our act,
in this priestly duties,
in this our performance,
in this our thought,
in this our purpose and desire,
in this our callings on the
ancestral spirits
A unique cross-cultural event celebrating the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence
and the Reconciliation of and Independence of all Peoples.
Acclaimed Indian Kathak dancer Beena Sharma and acclaimed Aboriginal dancer Brian
Denhawk Peter weave the male and female forces to evoke universal serpent energy.
Friday 15 August, 1.30 p.m.
Saturday 16 August, 1.30 p.m.
Meet at the Yirrabana Gallery, Level 1
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ARDHANARISVARA ADISHARPA, VASUDHA IVA KUTUMBAKAM
AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSAL FAMILY
IN
RTA: RITU CHAKRA
THE NOW CONTINUUM
RTA: The Principal Rhythm Of The Cosmos
RITU: SEASON
The Rishi's (or holy sages) culture of India is the original culture of the universe. It is the
great inspiring Vedic civilisation of the Absolute God which was established by the
divine grace of the Almighty through the sages of Mantras, the sages of Dreams, and the
sages of the Past, Present and the Future ages. The sages also made available the Holy
hymns of Veda, the musical talents, the experiences of The Upanishads, the soul stirring
prayers and verses of Puranas, and the divine code of conduct for human life; Satyam
Bud (speak the truth), Dharma Char (behave according to natural laws) and
compassionate with the Universal Mantra "Vasudha iva Kutumbakam" - to be a
universal family as one kith and kin.
In the four Vedas, Rig-Veda, Yujar-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, the knowledge
of the Universe and the life of the creative world as a whole is situated. The depth of the
Vedas being very deep, the Vedic culture of India had recognised the Eternal Dharma
(Sanatan Dharma) as the world Religion (code of conduct for the whole universe) and
these were recognised as philosophical viewpoints in The Upanishads. The Upanishads
were further supplemented by Puranas (numbering 18 in all), which consisted of ancient
legends, folklore, mythology, tales of gods and aided materials for teachings to the
illiterate. These 18 Puranas are known as the fifth Veda.
The best conclusions of all the Puranas are given in the Ramayana of Valimiki and in
Shrimad Bhagavatam of Veda Vyas. From the Vedas through all the epics runs the
petition by humankind to the divine - " We try our best to live a life of righteousness.
Suffering does not leave us". Beautifully explained in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita by Lord
Krishna to Arjuna at the time of Mahabharat in which he propounds all the concentrated
substance of pure knowledge in one sentence, "In Samadhi attain Karma Yoga" remaining in tune (samadhi) within yourself (is yoga) act rightly on that basis (is karma).
Suffering will not arise.
For the Aborigines of Australia, in particular, the Pitjantjatjara Anangu of Central Desert,
samadhi, yoga, and karma is consistent with 'Inner deep listening and quiet still
awareness'. The similarity in the two cultures can also be found in the Awakening of the
Serpent Energy concept, which the Indians call the Kunadalini and the Pitjantjatjara
Anangu call Kulini. For the Indians, the awakening of the Serpent Energy in the
Universal Mantra "Vasudha iva Kutumbakam" is based on the work of the ten-headed
Ravana, the great composer of the devotional prayer 'Shiva Tandav Strotram'
The male/female forces in a serpent energy, and the life giving force in the red earth is
brought out of the two cultures of Australia and India, as male and female powers. A
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combination of the two powers is found in every human being. When it began to move
upwards through channels in the subtle body, the awakened practitioner in a
transcendental state goes beyond time, space, and nature to the state of super
consciousness, or "Dreaming", where 'continuity of life is unrestricted by space and time'.
Meaning life transcends past, present and incorporates the future all-in-one. Both the
cultures trace the same belief in reality and narrows down the gap in our present day
thinking to 'oneness', binding the human, spiritual and physical reality in the cosmic
order.
The Australian-Indian dancer today is Beena Sharma, who is an exponent of Kathak
dance, of Jaipur Gharana. She learnt under late Guru Sundar Prasad and later under the
late Pandit Devi Lal and the late Pandit Durga Lal. Kathak is a dance form from North
India.
Beena is a post-graduate in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics. She also
graduated in dance from the renowned ‘Prayag Sangeet Samiti’ (the Institute Of
Performing Arts), India in 1969. Beena has performed in many concerts in India and
abroad; the crowning glory of her teenage dancing came when she won the All-India
Dance Music Competition in 1970.
Beena is presently doing her Master (Honours) from The Faculty of Visual and
Performing Arts at the University of Western Sydney. She is presenting, as part of her
thesis, this afternoon's performance, entitled "The Awakening of the Serpent Energy in
the Universal Family", through Aboriginal dance form and Kathak dance.
The Australian Indigenous dancer today is Brian Denhawk Peter. Brian is a member of
the Naroo Dance Company, a song writer, and performer-in-residence at the Art Gallery
of NSW.
The Rainbow-Serpent, Ngalyod
The rainbow-serpent , Ngalyod, which is associated with the rain-making ceremony, now
lives at the bottom of a waterhole at Fish Creek, some twenty-five kilometres north-east
of Oenpelli. Ngalyod is highly coloured, has a luxuriant growth of whiskers, and long
teeth. Should the children bathe in his waterhole, Ngalyod will release small snakes
which, entering the navels of the children cause their death.
Ngalyod made the East Alligator River as he moved from the sea to his present
waterhole. He lives there only during the dry season, for when the wet season develops
Ngalyod, like all rainbow-serpents, goes into the sky in the form of a rainbow.
The Aborigines see their way of life as already ordained by the creative acts of the
Dreaming beings and that they have left the "blueprints" as their legacy.
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Everything that exists now was fixed for all times in the mythical past. All that the living
are asked to do is obey the law of Dreaming, ie. the "blueprints". This dreaming legacy
was not static, dead weight of tradition but an on going process forever being added to
and enlivened. Surrounded by proofs of spiritual power in the landscape itself, the
everyday activities became in large measures a re-enactment of those of the creative
beings.
Since the Australian Aborigines did not have written language, through songs, chants,
legends and stories they developed an 'oral and visual literature'. This oral and visual
narrative centred around land and through song lines and story tracks they traced the
entire country.
Because the ancestors' journey was often traced over vast stretches of land, only a
segment of the entire story cycle was known to a particular group. In this way, oral
literature came to sustain the continuity between clans as well as between the present and
the time of creation. Some of these stories did not allow variations. 'Repetition' became
an important structural device to indicate the unchanging yet ongoing relationship with
the ancestral past and present. The persistent theme became a gateway of access for the
people to their past and to the eternal present of the Dreaming.
Dreaming paths that criss-cross the continent are tracks commemorating the journeys of
giant snakes. It is believed they were in the land from creative times, contributing their
share in shaping the natural and the human scene.
The Rainbow Serpent is the representative of the creative and destructive forces of
nature, more especially those evinced in rain and water. Sometimes the Rainbow Serpent
is credited with dual role power. Often represented as visually striking image of force and
vitality with power that sometimes becomes ambiguous in gender. The Dalabon people
see their All-Mother (female) as a Rainbow Serpent whereas the Murinbata refer to the
Rainbow Serpent as mother's father (male).
Most serpents, in relation to the cycle of seasons, spend the dry season in deep water
holes and the period of monsoonal rains in the thunder clouds, thus keeping the ongoing
fertility aspect alive.
Beena Sharma
189
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
Act 1
Scene 1
Awakening of the Serpent 45 mins.
Introduction
Narration in English and Hindi of the ‘Dreaming’ and ‘The Awakening of the serpent’ on
screen with Ravana’s tantric chants (encoded)
Entry on 6th beat, music of Pakhawaj (drum), and chanting of Om, / / / / / / / / / / / / / /.
Ending with drum.
You are sitting in a Yogic (contemplation) posture in your tradition.
Beena Sharma
190
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
My entry: Music of Om Surya Namah
Salutation to the Sun God and ancestor,
SPRING season
: OM SURYA A NAMAH
1. Salutation to the
totem
Spirit, left leg angled and resting on the right knee, hands raised above the head joined as
in
Namaskar
(greeting).
: OM SURYA A NAMAH
2. Salutation in Surya
mudra circle with
index finger, right
wrist in a circle
motion and facing the
earth, similarly with
the left wrist.
: OM SURYA A NAMAH
3. Salutation to the
inert
energies, Male (sun)
Female (earth).
Morning scene: Rainbow Spectrum,
Journey full of rainbow colours
Fast music: 15 chakkars (swirling motion)
SU BHAG
attractive
AK AL
calculated
PRA SHA
SA LILA
rainbow colours
SS R TRV
SURBI
closeness
morning
SURA LADHA ME MAGIN
VA GAH
fullness
NAVATH
newness
VASHA
Clean
full of
residing
PARENAM
Resulting
PAMAREYA
enjoyable closeness with dawn
love
One Tora
Sound of wind (Pavan) Chakra
SUMMER TO MONSOON season
Universe
During the monsoon period the sanyasis
fast and thus do not travel
Birds and animals, their followers,
do the same. They get attracted to their nests.
Beena Sharma
PAVAN
wind
CHAU
four sides
BHAVAN
gayatri mantra
MANAV
Believe
CHAKRA
circle
AUR
and
BHAVANI
leaving
ENKI
in their
PRACHAND CHLATA
strong
moving
CHAPAL GATI
violent
speed
TAJAT
GUM MA TA
swaying
MATI
opinion
SANYASE
yogis
EYK
One
KURUSAN
followers
BHAYA
They
EHE
this
LEPIYA
with
KAHI
says
ASARD
Wind
EHE
in this
ASSAN
posture
KE
what
PACHEHO
behind
SAMAYO
time
EHE
same
KASHAVDAS
Kashavdas
CHALLAT
blowing
MAS
HOOT
month
do
RASE
stay
KOHOHU KAHE
say about
them
NEWASEE
reside
SAJ
SOVANLEYO
be
sleeping
SATH
SRINATH
together
LakshmiVishnu
KAHATHE
that
NANYA
SUNIUYO
Siva’s in-law hearing
191
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
SOTAY
Narrated by
GATHI
Shiva to Parvati.
Act 2
Fast Music:
RAINY Season:
(uprising of emotional feelings in body and mind)
Music tempo changes:
AUTUMN Season.
VARSHA
RITU
SAJAL
SSSMALAY
rainy
season
full of water wind
KARITI
SHANTI
TAPAT
HRIDAY
Brings
peace
in heated
hearts
DAMANI
KA
GAUR
SUNI
Nightingale
resounding
sound
heard
MORINI
KE
SHOUR
SUNI
Peahen
screech’s
noise
heard
SUNI
SUNI
KASHAV ALAP
Heard
heard
poet kashav singing
ALIGANAKO DAMANI
DAMAKT
Developing into cuckoo
emotions
DEKHEYH KI
VIPITE
DEKHA
Seeing
physiological changes
seeing
SUMAN
KO
Garden
too
KOMAL
KOMALDAS
BHIN
KASAR KE
Poet
Komal Das
experiencing different
SUBHAS
BHAYA
Aromas
fragrances freshness
PULINI
KE BATH
MAN
Blooming
flower fragrance in mind
HASE HASE BOLE
DO
Laughing
talking
two
ANAE
MAN SS
MOHR
At random
in my mind
and her mind
CHUTI
GAYO
ATEYBAR
Left
behind in doubt uncertain
RADHIKA
RAMAN
KO
Radhika
Krishna’s
eternal love.
BARAKHA
Observing
PHULEY
expanding
JANEE
seeing new
PIE
a time of good
BUGAT
passing of rain
KA
joy
SARAD
winter season
SAMAY
season
SARAD
RITU AYE
winter
season come
SAKHA
MANA CHAT
in the universe
RITU
KHANHAN AYE
migratory birds
came
JIMMI
SUKHAD SUHAY
and feeling of drowsiness.
JAL
water
ANU
undesirable
AVINEE
climb
ASU
us
PHAL
earth
ROCHAK
laments
Act 3
Music changes:
WINTER Season:
Winter is not suitable.
It is trying to separate us.
Now the enjoyment is dispersing.
Music changes: finally,
SPRING Season: full circle.
The Gods are rejoicing.
Creation
Beena Sharma
SHEETAL
in winter
SHEETAL
Winter
AKASH
sky
SHEETAL
winter
VEHRITI
HAREHAR
strong Vishnu Shiva
NA TRATE VAUVATI
Resounding
JANANEE
SOMASAKHI
Creation
elixir drink
JANANI
SOMAWATE
and elixir
friend
SHRI JAIDEV PHARIT
192
VASAHU ASAN
residing difficult
KASHAVDAS
poet
MOCHIT
separating
SAHAS SS VASANT
universe
spring
NATARES OWATI
is
SAKHEE
MUDRA
MAHAMATI
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
Poet says Sri Jaidev
HARTI
CHARP
Calamity
weakness
SAMAY
MANUGAT
Time
Manu end
at the feet of The Lord
AMRITSS SARAS VASAT
all around
MADAM VEKASEE
by grace
Tora.
END.
Beena Sharma
193
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
APPENDIX E
The following list’s item choreographed by Beena Sharma over a period extending from
1993 through 1997. Video clippings of the actual performances accompany the list.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
YughaYugha - This was a cross cultural experimental performance
choreographed and set by Beena with students of varying backgrounds from the
University of Western Sydney in 1996. This brought out the Rangoli motif
through Dandia Raas
Kathak performance and stylized Rajasthani folk-dance at the Convention centre,
by young aspiring talents, as part of the “Vision of India”in 1995.
An inter-cultural shadow dance of RAMAYANA by Fijian and Indian ethnic
groups for The Folk Festivals of Cultures, Opera House1995.
Bhangra Dance, an outdoor performance for Festivals of Cultures in 1994.
Kashmiri “Morning Rituals” in every day life at the Q Theater, Blacktown. This
was part of a multicultural week organized by the Blacktown Migrant Resource
Centre1993.
Beena Sharma
194
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
APPENDIX F
This appendix highlights the various movement and gestures referred to within chapters
1, 2 and 3, during the performance of Awakening of the Serpent, on 15th and 16th August
1997. Clip 8 shows the interviews conducted after the first day’s performance. Clip 9
through 10 shows the complete introductions at the start of the performances.
Video Clip 1.
Reference to clouds, stamping of feet (page 13)
Video Clip 2.
Reference to snake fangs (page 18)
Video Clip 3.
Flowing of water as wavy movements for me, but for Brian
it also meant fire and smoke (page 12)
Video Clip 4.
Reference to raising of my feet (page 21)
Video Clip 5.
Reference to eye expression and hand gesture (page 27)
Video Clip 6.
Transformation, Soma ras – Jump (page 28)
Video Clip 7.
Karuna Ras (page 31)
Video Clip 8.
Somersault (page 32)
Video Clip 9.
Introduction by Imelda Wallis and Angela Martin
Video Clip 10.
Introduction on Aboriginal and Indian Traditional Cultures
Video Clip 11.
Interviews at the end of the first day’s performance
Video Clip 12.
Reviews
Beena Sharma
195
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
APPENDIX G
The following maps and figures show the shifting of land masses from about 600 million
years ago to the present. It shows that the Australian continent and the Indian subcontinent was a single land mass at one time.
Fig. 1a Cambrian Period (570-510 million years ago)
Fig. 1b. Devonian Period (408-362 million years ago).
Fig. 1c. Carboniferous Period (362-290 million years ago).
Beena Sharma
196
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
Fig. 1d. Triassic Period (245-208 million years ago).
Fig. 1e. Jurassic Period (208-145 million years ago).
Fig. 1f. Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago).
Fig. 1g. Tertiary Period (65-2 million years ago).
Fig. 1h. Movements of India
Figure 2 Continental Drift
Beena Sharma
197
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
APPENDIX H
List of illustrations and Figures
Figure #
Illustrations
Artist Author
Page #
Book
Fig.1
Transformation in
The Cosmic Order
and Cycle of Season
Aura reading
Unknown
5
Judith Collins
Fig. 3A.
Transformation of a
human into a rock
C.P.
Mountford
Appendi
xC
6
RTA. Ritu Exhibition
Indira Gandhi, National
Centre of Arts, N.Delhi
My personal Reading
Fig. 3B
The living lizard and
increase centre
Totemic creatures of
Ayers Rock
The walking tree
C.P Mountford
7
C. P.
Mountford
Lauraine
Diggins
C. P.
Mountford
Vidya Dehejia
7
Lauraine
Diggins
Unknown
20
Fig. 2
Fig. 3C
Fig. 3D
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Totemic map of
Ayers Rock
The Subtle Body
Fig. 8
Ngalyod, the
Rainbow Serpent
Shiva in His
androgynous form
Boomerang
Fig. 9
Mimi Spirits
Fig. 10a
Wanampi
Fig. 7
Fig. 10b.1
Fig. 10b.2
Lewis Burns
Talbragar,
Wiradjuri
Yirawala
Michael
Tjakamarra
Nelson
Rainbow Snake - rock Unknown
art
Borlung, Ngalyod
Mandarrk
Rainbow snake
7
8
17
21
Screenprinted
By Goose’s T-shirts 1995
48
Dreamings (Sutton, 1988,
p51)
A Myriad Of Dreamings
(L. Diggins, 1989, p71)
48
49
49
Julungal
Mitinari
50
Fig. 11
Two men dreaming
Tommy Lowry
Japaljarri
50
198
Ayers Rock (Mountford:
1965, p142)
1965, p34/35)
(L. Diggins, 1989, p30)
1965, p32)
Yogini Cult &Temples A
Tantric Tradition
(L. Diggins, 1989, p21)
Postcard
24
Fig. 10c
Beena Sharma
1965, p125)
p43)
p43)
A Myriad Dreaming
(Diggins, 1989, p37)
p63)
MA (Hons.) thesis
Appendices
Figure #
Illustrations
Artist Author
Page #
Book
Fig. 12
Serpent and woman rock art
Serpent entwining a
woman
Wondjina
Unknown
53
Lickie Nollier
53
Ray Meeks
55
Unknown
56
C.P.
Mountford
59
p43)
p44)
p20)
p194)
Ayers Rock (Mountford,
1965, p xiv, 1)
Ngalyod and Shiva
Shakti as serpent in
action
Symbolic elements
used in the
performance making
up the Indian and
Aboriginal worldview
A Cross cultural
calendar in my script
Self
67
Graph
Self
68
Graph adopted from
Aboriginal elements from
Mythscapes
Self
92
Graph adopted from
‘Seasonal Calendar of N.E
Arnhemland’ Morris 1978
Self
101
Self
128
Photograph 2.
Fish and lotus hand
gestures
A multidimensional
graph showing spiral
energy as compassion
in world view
Lord Vishnu and
The Star God
Playing Didgeridoo
Photograph 3.
Peahen and Emu
93
Photograph 4.
Emotions at Solar
Plexus
Building ‘campfire’
and ‘sleep’ symbols
of cold winter
Human and birds
are asleep
Wrist moving in
opposite direction
94
Fig. 12a
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Photograph 1.
Photograph 5.
Photograph 6.
Photograph 7.
Beena Sharma
Toas of the Lake
Eyre
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
88
92
94
95
101
199
MA (Hons.) thesis
Figure #
Illustrations
Photograph 8.
Showing continuity in
spiral movements,
angled positioning of
emu
Inner still listening
and quiet still
awareness
Yoga posture in
contemplation
Hand tilted from wrist
Photograph 9.
Photograph 10.
Photograph 11.
Photograph 12.
Photograph 13.
Photograph 14.
Photograph 15.
Photograph 16.
Photograph 17.
Photograph 18.
Photograph 19.
Photograph 20.
Photograph 21.
Photograph 22.
Photograph 23.
Photograph 24
Beena Sharma
Appendices
Artist Author
Page #
Book
102
102
103
104
Vishnu and creative
spirit
Praying at the snake
altar
Transformation of
‘OM’ into the
vibrations of the
clapstick
Using toes to cover
spaces
Covering spaces
105
106
106
107
107
Clapsticks replace
drums in music
Peahen and Emu in
similar movement
Paint on body.
Connecting to my
deity
Paint on my hands
108
108
110
110
Psychic space in
Contemplation.
Connecting with
audience and my
deity
Developing a form
111
114
Wide space, giving
room for
improvisation
Eyes active in
Karuna Rasa
symbolizing pain - as
115
117
200
MA (Hons.) thesis
Figure #
Illustrations
Appendices
Artist Author
Page #
Book
separation in winter
Photograph 25.
Communicating with
Brian
Spectators
119
Spectators
119
120
Photograph 35.
Fusion Poise.
Kathak pose in a
cross-cultural dance
Transcultural look
Kaftan and clapsticks
Kathak as a
traditional dance
Kathak in a
transcultural look
Kathak in changing
environment
History not dead,
But alive
Weaving of empty
Spaces
Weaving a tapestry
Around co-performer
Partners concept, as
in Dandia Ras
Imaginary graph in
The performance
Stillness in Codancer’s body
Stillness in my body
126
Appendix G
Continental Drift
154
Photograph
26a.
Photograph
26b.
Photograph 27.
Photograph 28.
Photograph
28a.
Photograph
28b.
Photograph
28c.
Photograph 29.
Photograph 30.
Photograph 31.
Photograph 32.
Photograph 33.
Photograph 34.
Beena Sharma
117
121
121
122
122
123
123
124
124
126
126
201
The World Atlas, a D.K.
Publication, NY, 1997
MA (Hons.) thesis

awakening of the serpent energy - UWS ResearchDirect

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