Khamba Thoibi dance (Meitei: ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯢꯕꯤ ꯖꯒꯣꯢ, romanized: Khamba Thoibi jagoi), also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei dance performance that tells the tale of princess Thoibi and her love…
Khamba Thoibi dance (Meitei: ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯢꯕꯤ ꯖꯒꯣꯢ, romanized: Khamba Thoibi jagoi), also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei dance performance that tells the tale of princess Thoibi and her…
01 · What it is
Dance
Live movement, rhythm, costume, or staged dramatic performance passed between generations.
02 · Where & name
Geography awaiting source
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03 · How it is doing
□□□□ (Not yet assessed)
Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
04 · Proof & reuse
2 cited sources
Every claim links to a public record below. Free to quote, teach, and share under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chapter Takeaways
OriginIn the Kingdom of Moirang, King Koyamba asked Khuman Khamba and his rival Nongban to bring rare orchids the mountains for the Lai Haraoba festival, in honour of the god Thangching.
Modern dance dramaThe text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Khamba Thoibi Jagoi”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.
Common Questions Answered on Record
What is Khamba Thoibi Jagoi in plain words?
Khamba Thoibi dance (Meitei: ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯢꯕꯤ ꯖꯒꯣꯢ, romanized: Khamba Thoibi jagoi), also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei dance performance that tells the tale of princess Thoibi and her…
Where is Khamba Thoibi Jagoi practised or documented?
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What is the current condition of Khamba Thoibi Jagoi today?
□□□□ (Not yet assessed): Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
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Cite as: "Khamba Thoibi Jagoi." folkroom, https://folkroom.org/art-forms/khamba-thoibi-jagoi, text CC BY-SA, with attribution.
Khamba Thoibi dance (Meitei: ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯢꯕꯤ ꯖꯒꯣꯢ, romanized: Khamba Thoibi jagoi), also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei dance performance that tells the tale of princess Thoibi and her lover Khamba, and is dedicated to the god Thangching, the national deity of the medieval kingdom Keke Moirang. It is one of the elements that inspired the development of the Manipuri Raas Leela, a later form of Indian classical dance drama.
The dance is popularly believed to be first performed by Khuman Khamba and Moirang Thoibi, in the presence of Thangjing. 1
Origin
In the Kingdom of Moirang, King Koyamba asked Khuman Khamba and his rival Nongban to bring rare orchids the mountains for the Lai Haraoba festival, in honour of the god Thangching. Overcoming great difficulty and with great care, Khamba brought the finest flowers from the wilds; Nongban, encountering no difficulty at all, but brought flowers that were damaged due to his carelessness. Nongba offered the flowers first to the King and then to others; Khamba, being a humble man, took the advice of a priestess, and set flowers first before Thangching, and then offered them to the King, the Queen, and the high officers of kingdom. Pleased with Khamba's courtesy and decorum, the royals and nobles presented him with rare gifts, many times more than the customary presents which Kongyamba received.
After Nongban and his wives had danced, Khamba and his lover Thoibi danced and sang before Thangching, and the people gathered round and shouted with joy as they danced, whirling together till at last they knelt in salutation before the God. 1
Modern dance drama
In the 1960s, Mrs. Vimala Raina composed a new dance drama, based on the traditional story of Khamba and Thoibi. It was performed for the first time on 1 January 1960. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Khamba Thoibi Jagoi”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Khamba Thoibi Jagoi is traditional ancient classical dance form originated from Ancient Moirang province of Manipur (Kangleipak) realm, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
