Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, north India, gayan-bayan (''gāyan-bāyan'') is a religious dance performed by disciples of

Sankardev Srimanta Sankardev( শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ )(; ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of im ...

in ''satra''s. The phrase ''gāyan-bāyan'' comes from ''gāyan'' (‘singer’) and ''bāyan'' (‘drummer’). The drums used by the ''bayan'' are mainly

khol The khol is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (''bhakti''). It is also known as a mridanga (<

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s are used. The Gayan bayan may differ according to the different

Satras Satras are institutional centers associated with the Ekasarana tradition of Vaishnavism, largely found in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions. Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and ...

and sects.

References

Bhakti movement Cultural history of Assam Vaishnavism {{hinduism-stub

See also

References