Sculptural hand gestures in dance
Subashini Pathmanathan
Dance vs sculpture
*Sculptures are the main source of Bharatha
Natyam
*Body positions resemble dance poses
*Sculptural hands differ from the dance hands
*Dance hand gestures are influenced by
sculpture
In Bharatha Natyam there are two categories of hand muthras. One is
Single Hand Muthras and the other is Joint Hand Muthras. Muthras are
generally called hand gestures. In Sanskrit, Muthras are often referred
as Hasthas.
There is altogether nearly 30 single hand Muthras, gestures or
hasthas. Similarly, there are altogether 23 joint hand muthras (gestures
or hasthas in Bharatha Natyam, but these two categories of hand muthras)
are further divided into two sub divisions. One is Beauty Hands (Elill
Hands) other is Working Hands (Tholill Hands) to explain the meaning of
the song. Elill hands are used in adavus to show the beauty of the
adavus.
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Sculptural hand gestures |
The other is Working Hands (Tholill hands) which are used in Abinaya.
In Abhinaya, these muthras are used to express or expound or interpret
the meaning of the songs.
There are altogether nearly 13 muthras (including Single and Joint
hands together) used in adavus. Therefore, these muthras are called
Nirtha Hasthas. But all the single and joint hand muthras are used in
abhinaya according to the need and necessity. Using muthras in abhinaya
is totally dependent on the imaginative creativity of the artistes.
Sculptures are the main source for Bharatha Natyam. The sculptural
hands specially seen in the Hindu temple worshipping sculptures, Hindu
temple pillar sculptures, Hindu temple tower sculptures, sculptures
carved at the art galleries, palaces, and temples. These sculptures
provide considerable source and means for the dance in general. The body
postures, leg positions, and hand gestures of the sculptures almost
resemble the dance poses and dance hand gestures; yet the foot positions
and the body positions in the sculptures in dance are almost same. But
the hand gestures resemble almost the same as the dance hand gestures,
but there are vast differences between the sculptural hands, and dance
hand gestures. According to the evidence, there are altogether twenty
eight sculptural hand gestures which are used in sculptures.
Even in the sculptural hands, the name of the hands are called or
mentioned by the same terminologies. For instance Gaja hastham, Damaru
hastham, Anjali hastham, Karthri Mugam, Dola hastham, Viakiyana hastham,
Artha Pathakam hastham, Susi hastham, Musti Pathakam, and Kadaka hastham,
bear the same meaning of the dance hand gestures. But the sculptural
hands differ from the dance hands to some extent. Despite of the
sculptors imaginative creativity and ideology differ from one sculptor
to another one. Still the style of the sculptors, under which the
particular era the sculptures made must be taken into account when do
the research.
The sculptors, when they carve the sculptures, give more room to
their imaginative creativity than to the natural real hand positions and
hand gestures. But in a dance, the dancer cannot do it much by a human
body as the same way of the sculptural poses, due to certain practical
causes and limitations. Hence in dance, the artistes are expected to
stick to the defined and selective hand gestures to portray the abinaya,
poses, and for particular adavu categories.
Hence for the dance and dance related works, the sculptures provide a
wealth of information, for the development of dance. The dance hand
gestures are very much influenced by the sculptural hands. |
