Assam Higher Secondary Sattriya Dance study guide
Assam Higher Secondary Sattriya Dance · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Sattriya is one of India's eight classical dance forms, developed in the Vaishnava Sattras of Assam and codified from the tradition attributed to Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva. The Assam Higher Secondary Sattriya Dance course is a senior-secondary elective combining a written paper with practical performance and a viva-voce, so candidates are assessed both on knowledge and on the body itself. The Assam Higher Secondary Sattriya Dance study guide has 8 sections and about 2,535 words.
01Theory and Historical Background of Sattriya Dance
This domain tests chronology, the Sankaradeva–Madhavadeva canon, the two performance streams inside the sattra, and the date and meaning of Sattriya's classical status. Sattriya grew out of the neo-Vaishnava movement launched in Assam by Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449–1568) and carried forward by his principal disciple Madhavadeva.
344 words, about 2 min02Basic Technique: Mati Akhara, Ora and Body Positions
This domain tests the training grammar of Sattriya: the ground exercises, the stepping units, and the postural discipline that frames them. Mati means earth, and mati akhara is the grounded conditioning series performed to khol bols before a dancer is given repertoire.
363 words, about 2 min03Hand Gestures (Hasta) and Their Application
This domain tests hasta names, the single-hand and combined-hand classification, conventional meanings (viniyoga), and the difference between decorative and meaning-bearing gesture. Sattriya inherits the Abhinaya Darpana–Hastamuktavali tradition.
301 words, about 2 min04Rhythm (Tala), Tempo (Laya) and Rhythmic Composition
This domain tests the percussion ensemble, tala names, the laya categories, and how a dancer's footwork relates to the cycle. Khol is the two-faced barrel drum, played with fingers and palms; taal are the small cymbals.
327 words, about 2 min05Repertoire: Chali, Jhumura, Gopi Prabesh, Sutradhara and Other Items
This domain tests item identification: which number belongs to whom, at what tempo, and inside which frame. The narrator-conductor of Ankiya Bhaona opens with the nandi (benediction) and salutation, then introduces characters and plot through song and hasta.
295 words, about 1 min06Abhinaya and Expression in Sattriya
This domain tests the four abhinaya categories, the rasa framework of Vaishnava aesthetics, and the restrained style that distinguishes Sattriya expression. Angika (body), vachika (speech/song), aharya (costume, makeup, properties) and sattvika (inner emotional state) are the classical four.
273 words, about 1 min07Costume, Makeup and Stage Presentation
This domain tests what a Sattriya dancer wears, why, and where the form is performed - traditional namghar versus modern proscenium. Women wear the Assamese mekhela-chador, usually in pat silk, with the riha across the chest and a waist-band to hold the drape; white with a red or gold border is the classic combination.
333 words, about 2 min08Notable Exponents, Sattras and Institutions
This domain tests institutional geography, sattra offices, the four samhatis, and the people who carried Sattriya from monastery to stage. Majuli in the Brahmaputra is the sattra heartland, with Auniati, Kamalabari, Dakhinpat, Garmur and Bengenaati among the best known; Barpeta, Patbaushi and Madhupur are historically important elsewhere in Assam.
299 words, about 1 min