Sarlamkai

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Sarlamkai
Native nameSarlamkai; Solakia (Mara); Rallu Lam (Lushai)
GenreFolk dance, war dance
Instrument(s)Gongs, cymbals, drums (khuang)
OriginSouthern Mizoram, India

Sarlamkai (Sarlamkai), also called Solakia by the Mara, Sawlakia by the Chin and historically Rallu Lam by the Lushai, is a traditional war and victory dance of the Chin, Pawi and Mara communities of southern Mizoram, India and Chin State, Myanmar.[1][2][3]

Dance

Originally performed during five-day ceremonies that followed a successful raid or war, the dance recapitulated the actions of the victorious warrior over the head of a defeated enemy, with five principal movements; men and women stand alternately in a circle or in profile while a single lead dancer, dressed and armed as a warrior with sword and shield, performs in the centre to the beat of gongs, cymbals and the khuang (drum).[2][3][4][1]

No song accompanies the dance.[4][1]

The Mara and Pawi remain its principal exponents, and in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries Sarlamkai has been taken up by schools and cultural troupes across Mizoram as a standard item of the Mizo folk repertoire, performed alongside the Cheraw, Khuallam and Chailam at the spring Chapchar Kut festival and at other public events.[2][5][6]

See also

References

  1. "About Mizoram: Dances". Government of Mizoram. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  2. "Miscellaneous Arts and Crafts in Mizoram". Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Government of India. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  3. "Dances of Mizoram". Tribal Tours in India. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  4. Joshi, Hargovind (2005). Mizoram: Past and Present. Mittal Publications. p. 90. ISBN 9788170999973.
  5. Lalhminghlui (2023). "Traditional Mizo Dance: An Ethnographic Exploration" (PDF). Senhri Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. 8 (2). Pachhunga University College: 35–44.
  6. "Music and Dance in Mizo Culture". Mizoram PSC Notes. Retrieved 21 June 2026.