Lai Haraoba
| Lai Haraoba (Meitei: ꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ) | |
|---|---|
A group of maibis (priestesses) performing a ritualistic dance in Lai Haraoba | |
| Nickname | Merrymaking of the gods; Pleasing of the deities |
| Status | active |
| Genre | festival |
| Date(s) | between February and May or June |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Location(s) | shrines of the Umang Lai deities |
| Country | |
| Founder |
|
| Participants | Maibas, Maibis and commoners |
| Activity | holy and ritualistic, sacred, theatrical dance and music festival |
| People | Meitei people |
| Lai Haraoba is also spelled as Lai Harauba, Lai Halaopa, Lai Halaupa, Lai Hoi Laoba, Lai Hoi Laopa, etc. | |
Lai Haraoba (Meitei: ꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ, Old Manipuri: ꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯂꯥꯎꯄ, lit. 'Merrymaking/Pleasing of the deities'), also known as Umang Lai Haraoba, is a classical, ritualistic, theatrical dance and music festival, annually celebrated by the Meitei people, to please the Umang Lai deities of the traditional Meitei religion (Sanamahism), predominantly in the Indian state of Manipur. It is a Meitei intangible cultural heritage. Outside Manipur, Lai Haraoba is also celebrated in places where the Meitei people live, such as Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
Lai Haraoba (under the name "Meitei Lai Haraoba") is recognised as one of the state holidays by the government of Tripura.
The government of Manipur puts effort in making Lai Haraoba to be recognised by the UNESCO as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), the highest academy of performing arts in India, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Lai Haraoba, along with the fusion of three other performing art forms, Huiyen Lallong, Meitei Nata Sankirtana and Raaslila, gave rise to the Sangeet Natak Akademi-recognised Indian classical dance form, popularly known as the "Manipuri dance".