''Maruni'' is a Nepalese folk dance of the Magar community. Alongside Nepal, it is popular in Nepalese diasporic communities of India (

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

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 t ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. It is one of the oldest and most famous dance of the Nepalese community residing in these regions, originally danced as part of Dashain and Tihar festival.> Dressed colorfully with rich ornaments, the dancers dance to commemorate "the victory of good over evil", accompanied by the traditional Nepali Naumati Baja orchestra. ''Maruni Nach'' has been one of the significant identity of the Magar community since from the distant past until the present moment. In recent years, the dance has become in danger of extinction, due to lack of interest by young people in learning it. That fear has begun to mobilize some communities. Today, the community is pushing its young people to preserve the ''Maruni Nach''.

History

The dance originated with the Magar community, and later on, people from the various communities started adopting it. Maruni as danced in Western Nepal is different than in other places. Maruni and Sorathi dances were created in Western Nepal by the Magar community, and Magars who migrated to Eastern Nepal started to make small changes as they performed it there too. Nowadays other communities like

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha ...

Kirat The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

, and

Khas Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Histori ...

also dance the Maruni dance on various occasions. In the Balihang festival, Maruni, Sorathi, and Hurra (dances performed by the eastern Magars also known as Deusi Nach) are performed. It is believed to be originated from Magar Army during the 14th century on the behalf of sick King Balihang Rana Magar of Palpa, Pokhara Butwal. Balihang Rana Magar was a king during the 14th century (of Palpa, Pokhara, Baldeng, Butwal & Gorkhapur) during which the kingdom was extended from Palpa to

Butwal Butwal ( ne, बुटवल), officially Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City ( ne, बुटवल उपमहानगरपालिका), is a sub-metropolitan city and economic hub in Lumbini Province in West Nepal. Butwal has a city populatio ...

and

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...

. Deusi Re means "Priest-King" and Bahilo means "Let us help" which are related to the Balihang Rana Magar. With time, Maruni was performed even during many personal events, especially marriages. Maruni is performed by both men and women who dress in colorful clothes, shining ornaments, and nose rings. Maruni performed by the Eastern Magars goes through several parts, like "Jhyaure, Saran Maruni, Sorathi Garra, Khyali, Maruni performed for the welfare of the danced house and at the last Maruni performed for accomplishing the dance. The dancers are usually accompanied by a clown who is called 'Dhatu Waray' which means liar but acts as comedian/joker. In the many forms of Maruni, nine unique instruments are used with the dance and this is called the '' Naumati Baja''. The styles of this dance vary according to where it is danced. The dance has different categories and styles depending on the songs. The song lyrics have purely based on their life and culture.

References

Dance in Nepal Nepalese folk dances Culture of Gandaki Magar culture {{Nepal-dance-stub

History

See also

References