At Jyotirmath which lies 44kms behind on the way to Badrinath Dham, soon after enshrining Atharvaveda, Shankaracharya is believed to have written brahmasutrabhashya and many other sacred texts, parallel to the propagation of advait principle of philosophy. AdiGuru also called upon the local folks to devote themselves to the Lilas of Lord Rama and Krishna. As a result, the local folks began to perform the mask dances of Lord Rama and Krishna in their villages.
Ramman is an offshoot of this devotional movement, which continues to be performed as an annual ritual ceremony, till date in Saloor-Dungra and Dungri-Baroshi villages and partially as a tableau in about 15 villages of the region. There are three historical layers in the performance — the mask dances (18 pious masks made of significant Bhojpatra scientifically known as Betula utilis wood) that date back to time immemorial, Ramkatha performance and worship of Bhumiyal Devta, which is the village deity of about 300 families of Saloor-Dungra villages.
Ramman festival has been in practice for hundreds of years, but after appraisal of its traditional historical, religious, social and legendary importance UNESCO ultimately declared Ramman as an intangible cultural heritage of the world in 2009.
Artist:
Kushal Bhandari
Duration: 90 min
Note: The end time is approximate and may vary slightly.
Kala Academy
