Mani Mekhala dance, Goddess of the Sea Options

[Dara]

More here: http://forum.nifty.com/fworld/mekong/photo/cb05.htm

Here's a link to a short clip of the dance...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AQSw2evsxg

This post has been edited by Dara: Jul 6 2006, 03:15 PM

[NitaKang]

That's really cute. Have you seen the Milky Way play?

[PervertBurger]

I can sleep easy tonight.

[Dara]

Nita, what's that? Nvr heard of it before.

Here's more:





from: http://homepage3.nifty.com/happyhappyhappy.../cambodia2.html

[eklypze]

Nice pictures.

[NitaKang]

Nita, what's that? Nvr heard of it before.

You see like a whole bunch of "soldiers" on stage, and some prince holding a vace floating around.

[abu]

Shouldn't the title of the topic be "Mani Makara"?

Mani Mekhala is probably the Japanese version because they can't pronounce Makara properly.

[PiNk MaFiA]

i absolutely love this dance...it's one of my favorites

[transtic]

Here's a little info I googled up on it.

Court meaning
Mani Mekhala court dance tells a story of gods and goddesses, appropriate for a ritual intended to secure the prosperity of the realm. The Royal Court, representing the King, maintained a dance troupe to carry out sacred responsibilities. An agricultural society depends upon rain for its prosperity. The Mani Mekhala dance calls upon the gods to produce rain. As recently as the 1970s, the Cambodian Royal Court dancers performed this dance in temples, pagodas, and other sacred places to ensure rain. In the court version, Mani Mekhala is Goddess of the Waters and Ream Eysaur, the Storm Spirit. Their encounter produces lightning and thunder and rain. Mani Mekhala rules the ocean and derives her power from the magic crystal, which eventually releases water in the form of rain.

Folk meaning
Instead of gods and goddesses, the folk myth of Mekhala recounts the eternal contest between a ghost and a witch, also on the theme of lightning and thunder. Once upon a time, there was a ghost named Ream Eysaur and a witch named Mekhala. Both had served a magical and powerful hermit to learn magic spells. Both were bright and talented and worked hard to please their teacher, who also loved his pupils equally. After he taught them all subjects, he wanted to test them to find who was smarter, saying, "Whichever of you can bring me the first glassful of morning dew, I will make that dew into a keo monorea (magic crystal ball) and with the possession of that ball, the owner can have everything he or she wishes."

Male-female roles
Early agricultural communities associated female with fertility of the soil. Mekhala's fertility derives from her power over life-giving waters. Mekhala is woman as guardian of the hearth, provider of fertility, and passive but persistent victor. Ream Eysaur's magic ax takes on a male role as destroyer of life, a doer and initiator, complementing the female role.

Social ideals
Mekhala portrays Cambodian ideals of behavior; she is calm, passive, fearless, undemanding, modest. Ream Eysaur shows undesirable Cambodian characteristics; he is greedy, treacherous, violent, and vengeful.

Sexual interpretation
Curt Sachs classified fertility dances as rain charms. In one example, women use a scooping motion to get water, which Sachs associates with "the conception of religious fertility powers in the chaste maiden." Ream Eysaur, the demon, pursues Mani Mekhala, the chaste maiden. Mekhala can be interpreted as a courtship dance which ends in sexual union, another kind of fertility. The male is exhausted and the female continues on her way.

source: http://research.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/anthro.htm

This post has been edited by transtic: Jul 18 2005, 12:22 PM

[Dara]

^Thanks for posting that Transitic. I guess Cambodia should be performing this dance more these days cos there's a really bad drought this season there.

Nita, must be a new dance?

Abu, Makara (pronounced Mah-kah-rah) is the name of a sea creature crocodile and dragon like who also happens to be the theme of another dance with the goddess Mani Mekhala.




Here's a Thai version:




This post has been edited by Dara: Jul 20 2005, 10:52 AM

[NitaKang]

Usually females acts in all the great graceful roles, while the males get the goofy ones like the monkey.

[bam]

love it...

This post has been edited by bam: Jul 19 2005, 12:15 AM

[Dara]

Nita, what's that? Nvr heard of it before.

You see like a whole bunch of "soldiers" on stage, and some prince holding a vace floating around.

I think you're meaning the dance about the Churning Sea of Milk? I've seen a pic of it before.
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From http://apsara2001.ifrance.com/apsara2001/c...mbodgiennes.htm
(Translated with Google from French so there are errors."Genius" should actually be "giant")

Ream Eyso and Moni Mekhala Moni Mékhala, Goddess of Water, are bored.  It is avoided to go to divert itself with Vorachhun, King of the celestial Gods, and some one of her partners.  Its magic crystal ball in hand it leaves its palate.  On its road, it meets Ream Eyso, Génie of the Storm, which since always wants to adapt the ball of hook of the goddess.  Supplications Moni Mékhala answers by the mockery.  Ream Eyso is annoyed and threatened the goddess of her magic axe, but of a flash of its ball of hook Moni Mékhala plugs its adversary.  According to a popular legend, the storm that the human ones know is not other than the celestial combat between Ream Eyso and Moni Mékhala.  The flash is the flutter of the magic crystal ball of the goddess and the thunder the noise of the axe held up by the genius in fury.  Song avoiding costume the flowered drawings of the gold belt which scintillates, of the tiara crimped of invaluable stones, it takes the magic ball in hand and flies away for a celestial walk.  (making fun of the genius) It makes feats of skill, threads in front of the giant, launches the magic ball and shows finger the face of the genius.

[jompa]

Nita, what's that? Nvr heard of it before.

You see like a whole bunch of "soldiers" on stage, and some prince holding a vace floating around.

I think you're meaning the dance about the Churning Sea of Milk? I've seen a pic of it before.
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That's what it sounds like to me too... I like that dance. Involves a lot of dancers.

[iuol16]

Mani Mekhala dance look nice

[digitt]

More here: http://forum.nifty.com/fworld/mekong/photo/cb05.htm

Here's a clip of it taken from Prei Prasith (a N. Sihanouk movie).
http://s24.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2H973PA...TI0432GXQ1THVIR

pretty picture

[Dara]

Found more images...

The Goddess and the Ogre
(a Cambodian legend)
女神與魔鬼 （柬埔寨神話故事）

Long ago in Cambodia, there lived a hermit who possessed magical powers. Moni Mekhala, the water goddess, asked the hermit to be her teacher. The hermit agreed.

The ogre Ream Eyso decided that he too wished to possess magical powers. The hermit agreed to teach him as well.

The two learned a great deal. As their lessons came to an end, the hermit gave each an empty glass, and said, "The first to return tomorrow morning with a glass full of dew will win a prize." Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso then departed.

The ogre went to sleep early, as he planned to wake up very early and collect dew from tree leaves. The resourceful goddess, however, laid a cloth upon the meadow, and went to asleep beside it.

The next day, before sunrise, Ream Eyso squeezed the leaves of trees, and dew slowly filled his glass.

When Moni Mekhala awoke, she squeezed the now-saturated cloth over the glass. In a matter of moments, her glass was full. She hurried to the hermit's hut.

The hermit gave her a magical glass ball as her prize. Overjoyed, she departed.

Arriving much later, Ream Eyso was furious when he learned of his defeat. The hermit gave Ream Eyso a gleaming gold ax as his prize.

But Ream Eyso coveted the magical ball. So, he went to the heavens, to look for Moni Mekhala. When he found her, he growled angrily.

"Give me that ball!" he demanded.

Moni Mekhala began to run away, and the ogre flung his ax at her. It narrowly missed her and, upon hitting the ground, filled the heavens with a thundering sound.

Moni Mekhala tossed her ball above her head. When she did, it radiated a streak so bright, it blinded the ogre, and Moni Mekhala escaped. Ream Eyso howled and rubbed his eyes, but by the time he could see again, Moni Mekhala was gone.

"I will find you," he cried. "I will chase you forever," and with that he too raced into the clouds.

This, the people of Cambodia say, was the origin of thunder and lightning. 

http://www.studentpost.com.tw/02062005/short_stories.htm


http://imageshack.us/

[AEROFORCE1]

^
Thai have d same legend and show
D angle and Thunder Asura

[Dara]

^Yeah, I posted a small pic of the Thai version already.

[khaviet]

Oh so great. I love that dance.