ঔম নমো ভগৱতে বাসুদেৱায় ।।
Bhaona is a traditional form of entertainment with religious messages and mythological stories of various gods and goddesses to deliver a common message that is ‘truth always wins’. It is a traditional and cultural form from Assam and is a creation of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev back in the early 16th century. Most of the plays performed in bhaona are written by Srimanta Sankardev and his disciple Mahapurush Madhavdev. These plays are known as Ankiya Nats. They are generally performed in Satras and Namgarhs in Assam. Characteristics that help differentiate bhaona from other plays are it’s costume , makeup, ornaments, characters in the play, dialogues, language ,footwork,entry and exit, songs especially borgeets and orchestral music generally played with khol, tal, flute,etc.
Bhaonas are written in Assamese or brajawali language.
The first bhaona was “Chihna jatra” played in a namghar under the direction of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev when he planned to visit the namghar. That was just a beginning and bhaonas gained a lot of popularity in all over assam.
Majuli , the largest river island in the world also known as Satranagari(land of satras) is quite famous for bhaona culture where almost 70% of the population are trained or connected to bhaona including men,women, children and elderly people.
Who are the people involved in a Bhaona?
The actors of the bhaona are called bhaoriyas. Every bhaona includes a Sutradhar or Sutradhari who is the narrator of the bhaona. He/she narrates the bhaona through slokas in Sanskrit with the combination of satriya nritya.
The singers (gayan) and instrumentalists (bayan) are the choir of performers who sing and play till the bhaona ends.
Places where they are performed
Bhaonas are generally performed in namghars and satras. Nowadays bhaonas are performed in stages or big halls in the cities or places out of assam.
Ethics and rules
There are some ethics and customs while performing bhaonas.
The Guru asana should always be placed in the Eastern direction and the bhaoriyas are always allowed to enter from the western direction. Women are not allowed to perform in bhaonas after first menstruation or marriage whereas girls under the age of puberty are allowed. Both men and women are not allowed to perform bhaona together like in ras. In satras bhaona is only performed by male bhakats (purush) and is known as mota/purush bhaona. Even in namghars bhaonas are mostly performed by males where they take over the characters of female also. There are bhaonas performed by small children (shishu nat) where both boys and girls participate. Nowadays female participation is also seen where bhaonas are performed by females and women together.
Types of bhaonas
1) mukha bhaona- mukhas(masks) are the symbols of various characters expressing rasa and bhava(emotion and expressions). They are handmade my bamboo, straws,wood and mud. Samoguri satra is famous for mask making industry worldwide. They are widely used in bhaonas and ras festival during the plays to depict demons and gods.
2) buka bhaona- a special bhaona held in conjunction with the Nandotsav on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami. The event was held at Puronigudam in Nagaon district and Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district respectively.
3) baresahariya bhaona- this is held after every 5-6 years. Typically the Bhaona is a dramatization of stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas. However, in this style created by the Mahapurush Sankardev, a Vaishnavite saint is depicted with Bhakti Rasa in the form of different Raga & Tala. This is famous in jamogurighat ,sonitpur district.
Bhaona is not only an art but lies as an emotion in our hearts as an Assamese. We all need to provide these to our future generation by preserving it and displaying it in the correct way.
Written by
Krishangi Das
Class 10, Holy Child School