One of the most striking features of Indian classical dance and dances of Thailand,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

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 C. Wells, Joh ...

and the Malay world and is the use of hand gestures. Speaking in dance via gestures in order to convey outer events or things visually is what mudras do. To convey inner feelings, two classifications of mudras (hand/finger gesture) are used in Indian classical dance, Thai dances, Cambodian dances, Lao dances, Burmese dances and Malay dances, and are indeed a prominent part of the dancer's vocabulary.

Background

The ''Abhinaya Darpa'' (a descriptive primer for dancers) mentions that the dancer should sing the song by the throat, express the meaning of the song through hand gestures, show the state of feelings in the song by eyes, and express the rhythm with his or her feet. From the Natya Shastra, a text on the arts, this beautiful quotation and translation is often quoted by Indian classical dance instructors: ::"Yato hastastato drishtihi"..."Where the hand is, the eyes follow" ::"Yato drishtistato manaha"..."Where the eyes go, the mind follows" ::"Yato manastato bhavaha"..."Where the mind is, there is the feeling" ::"Yato bhavastato rasaha"..."Where there is feeling, there is mood/flavour, sweetness (i.e., appreciation of art; aesthetic bliss)" So vast are the subtleties expressed in the hand gestures of hasta that the vastness of what being human entails, and perhaps even what the entire universe contains, might be expressed by the dancer. Hence as 'hasta' form a distinct coded language which brings a unique poetic element while performing, so too when abhinaya (traditional facial expressions), pose (attitude), and rhythm complete the language, the dancer may express practically anything and everything to an attentive audience.

Gestures

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

, the Classical Dance of India performed by Lord

Nataraja Nataraja () also known as Adalvallaan () is a depiction of the Hindu deities, Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2015) The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts ...

, approximately fifty-five root mudras (hand/finger gestures) are used to clearly communicate specific ideas, events, actions, or creatures in which thirty-two require only one hand, and are classified as `Asamyuktanamasa Hasta', along with twenty-three other primary mudras which require both hands and are classified as 'Samyukta Hasta'; these fifty-five are the roots but the branches permit of many more mudra, some of which are used primarily as aesthetic or decorative.

References

* Indianartz.com.
Hasta Mudras - Gallery
'' * Ramm-Bonwitt, Ingrid (1987).
Mudras - As Maos Como Simbolo do Cosmos
'' * https://boardgamestips.com/wow/how-many-mudras-are-there-in-bharatanatyam/#How_many_mudras_are_there_in_Bharatanatyam {{DEFAULTSORT:List of mudras (dance) * Dance in India Dance in Thailand Dance in Cambodia Dance in Malaysia Dance in Brunei Dance in Singapore Dance in Indonesia India dance-related lists

Background

Gestures

See also

References