Sattriya is the classical dance of Assam, originating in the 15th and 16th centuries within the monastic Vaishnav institutions (satras) founded by the saint-poet Srimanta Sankardev (1449–1568). The form was developed as a devotional component of his one-act dance-dramas (Ankiya Nat) performed as bhaona in satras across the Brahmaputra valley. Sangeet Natak Akademi recognised Sattriya as the eighth classical dance form of India on 15 November 2000. Sattriya is the only major classical dance whose continuous community of practice has remained within a single religious institutional system (the Mahapurushiya Ekasarana Dharma satras) for five centuries.
Sankardev and the Ankiya Nat
Srimanta Sankardev was a Vaishnav reformer, poet, dramatist and dancer who founded the Ekasarana Dharma movement in Assam. The movement preached an exclusive devotion to Krishna (called Eka Sarana, “single refuge”) and produced a body of texts in Brajavali (a Maithili-influenced literary Assamese), including the Kirtana Ghosa (devotional verses), Borgeets (devotional songs), and six Ankiya Nat plays. The Ankiya Nat plays (Cihna Yatra, Patni Prasad, Kali Damana, Keligopal, Rukmini Harana, Parijata Harana) were composed between roughly 1468 and 1568 and were performed as bhaona, a form combining dance, song and acted dialogue.
Sankardev’s principal disciple Madhavdev (1489–1596) continued the institutional development, founded additional satras, and composed Jhumura (a substream of bhaona). The institutional framework, the Mahapurushiya Sangha, runs the satras to this day; the principal satras (Barpeta, Auniati, Dakhinpat, Garhmur, Kuruabahi) are still active religious-residential institutions where Sattriya is part of the daily liturgical calendar.
The satra institutional system
A satra is a Vaishnav monastery; the Assamese satras are residential institutions where monks (bhakats, often initiated as young children) live, train and perform. Each satra maintains a kirtanghar (prayer hall) where the daily round of singing, dancing and recitation takes place. Sattriya was preserved inside this monastic system for several centuries before it migrated to the public stage in the 20th century. The first Sattriya dancers to perform outside the satra context were associated with Maniram Datta Muktiyar and later with Roseswar Saikia Barbayan in the early 20th century.
Female dancers entered Sattriya formally only in the late 20th century; the satra tradition was male-only (bhakats and balak/young trainees), and women presenting Sattriya in public spaces is a development of the post-1950 institutional opening.
The repertoire: paribahika, bhavana, jhumura
- Mati Akharas: the foundational floor exercises and basic step-units, taught in childhood inside the satra. There are 64 mati akharas, organised into pure-dance and expressive families.
- Krishna Bhangi and Bhanga Pratima: standing postures unique to Sattriya, with a slightly stooped torso and a distinctive arm carriage.
- Cali Nritya: the dance items performed as part of the bhaona character entrances.
- Jhumura: the female-character dance developed by Madhavdev.
- Bargit-set abhinaya: expressive items set to the devotional Borgeets composed by Sankardev and Madhavdev, in ragas like Asowari, Dhanasri, Suhai and Belowar (Sattriya ragas have their own catalogue, distinct from Hindustani and Carnatic).
Two specific items have become widely performed on the public stage: the Krishna Nritya (depicting Krishna’s pastoral lilas) and the Sutradhari dance (the narrator-master-of-ceremonies role from a bhaona, performed solo).
Costume and music
The Sattriya costume in its traditional male satra form is the paguri (turban), dhoti, chadar (upper-body cloth) and a waistband, all white or off-white. The performer wears minimal jewellery and small ankle bells. The female stage costume, developed for public performance in the 20th century, uses the Assamese muga silk mekhela chador with traditional Assamese gold jewellery (the kerumoni earring, the galpata neckpiece, the jonbiri moon pendant).
The musical ensemble is built around the khol, a distinctive asymmetric two-faced clay drum used only in Sattriya and Bengal Vaishnav kirtan. The khol is played with fingers (no sticks) and its two faces produce different pitches. Other instruments are the taal (cymbals, in three sizes: bhortal, manjira, khutital), flute, and vocalists singing Borgeets. The Borgeet vocal tradition is itself a distinct mode of devotional singing with its own raga grammar.
The bhaona performance and its annual calendar
A bhaona, the full Ankiya Nat performance, is the original context for Sattriya. The play opens with the Sutradhar’s introduction, proceeds through character entries (each with its own dance and song), enacts the chosen Krishna episode, and closes with a benediction. A full bhaona runs four to eight hours and is staged in the kirtanghar with the audience seated on the floor around three sides. Standard occasions for bhaona include Janmashtami, Phalguni festivals, and the death anniversaries (tithi) of Sankardev and Madhavdev.
For what it’s worth, on watching Sattriya in its native context
For what it’s worth, a Sattriya recital on an urban concert stage and a full bhaona at the Barpeta or Majuli satras are different experiences and one is not a substitute for the other. The concert solo extracts the dance items but loses the ritual frame: the Khol Prashanga (drum invocation), the Gayan-Bayan (collective singing and drumming by the bhakats), the audience response in unison, the slow build over several hours. If travel allows, the Majuli river-island in upper Assam holds several functioning satras (Auniati, Garhmur, Kamalabari, Dakhinpat) where bhaona is performed at festival cycles open to visitors.
Where to study and where to watch
- Sattriya Kendra, Guwahati: the Sangeet Natak Akademi institution dedicated to Sattriya training, opened in 2008.
- Majuli satras (Jorhat district): Auniati, Kamalabari, Dakhinpat and Garhmur each maintain active Sattriya training and seasonal bhaona.
- Barpeta Satra: the principal satra in central Assam, with a Sattriya programme and annual festival around Doul Utsav (Holi).
- Pragjyoti International Dance Festival, Guwahati: annual festival programming Sattriya alongside other classical and folk forms.
Common questions
Why did Sattriya get recognition only in 2000?
The earlier seven classical recognitions happened between the 1950s and 1958, by which time Sattriya was still substantially inside the satras and not present on the urban stage that the Akademi’s recognition framework expected. Through the 1980s and 1990s researchers including Sunil Kothari, the Assam-based scholars at the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and dancers like Indira P P Bora and Jatin Goswami compiled the case for classical recognition, which was granted in November 2000.
Is Sattriya only male?
The traditional satra practice is male-only; female bhakats are not part of the residential monastic system. Sattriya on the public concert stage is now performed by both men and women, with women dominating the urban solo scene. The two contexts (residential satra and concert stage) coexist with different gender norms.
How is Sattriya different from Manipuri?
Both are Vaishnav devotional dances of northeast India focused on Krishna, and both emerged in 15th to 18th century Vaishnav reform movements. Sattriya is monastic, male in origin, uses the khol drum, and is built on Sankardev’s Ankiya Nat plays. Manipuri is temple-centred, Krishna-Radha focused, uses the pung drum and the kumil costume, and was codified by Maharaja Bhagya Chandra in 1779. The musical, costume and choreographic grammars are entirely distinct.
A limitation worth noting
The Sattriya now visible on the urban concert stage is a 20th and 21st century selection from a much larger satra repertoire. Several items remain confined to specific satras and are not performed publicly; some items have ritual restrictions on who may perform them (initiated bhakats only). The “concert Sattriya” thus represents the form’s exportable surface; the deeper satra practice continues alongside.
For further reading, the Sattriya entry on Wikipedia covers the textual and institutional history, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi maintains the recognised classical dance forms overview at sangeetnatak.gov.in.
