FAHREL INKAN



The so-called 'FAHREL INKAN' by the Darlong is one among the many cultural treasures that the people have been carrying from time antiquity. Concerning the genesis of the dance, the tribe supposed to have originated in the form of game among the youth usually played after a monotonous tiresome work. The word ‘Fahrel’ is nothing but a wooden piece cut into a structure like bamboo with which the Darlong and other ‘Zo’ tribes grind paddy grain. According to C.Thuamdinga Darlong, “the first pioneers among the many remembered name was nunghak Zakungi. She initially start dancing placing the fahrels on the ground in parallel and leaping them. The parallel fahrels are placed horizontally and perpendicularly one on top of the other. Hereafter, gradually the dance went through many inclusions and exclusions politics of the dance style till it reached the present style”. It displays the picture of the Darlong admiration for ‘spirit of sporting’ right from the very early time. It also worth mentioning that despite of her valuable effort for the community, neither her linage nor her proper identity profile could be trace today. In Mr. Darlong’s word, “this period was supposed to be during the community’s stay in Darlong Tlang located in present Mizoram”. However, there are also claim that the dance had been invented much earlier than the Darlong came to settle at Darlong Tlȃng. In the early phase, the originality, beauty, moves and other tactics were not payed any attention to for the dance was merely considered as game. It was developed and designed to entertain the young boys and girls at a time thereby bringing about a mass amusement among the community's men and women. However, with the passage of time the game increasingly underwent an improvisation after which the present form of ‘FAHREL INKAN’ came into being. Today, it is one of the most popular. However, in the present Darlong community the Zakungi style of dance no longer prevails except for the off the cuff. In modern time, the other ethnic group popularly knows it as bamboo dance. However, if we are to make a complete assessment of the dance, one has to look into the virtual face of the tribe where the dance until today is being practice. As such, tribe like Darlong and Lushai has a major role to play. No doubt, the name of the dance varies in accordance to the community concern. The question now where in lies the boundary between the Darlong ‘Fahrel Inkan’ and Lushai’s ‘Cheraw’ (which are popularly called bamboo dance)? To further complicated the matter, the Lushai community has has been enrolled in the Genius World Record Book for Bamboo dance.
             Audience can hardly make the divergence and the convergence of the two dances, in recent time. Besides, the tribe that popularise the dance in significant platforms is likely to gain the ownership of it. Understanding the cultural politics, the Darlong have come up with a significant measure to keep up the difference between the two dances. Firstly, the Darlong Fahrel Inkan was and is dance with the help of Fahrel where as Cheraw is dance with the help of bamboo. Secondly, the bamboo in Cheraw are placed in parallel where as the Fahrel Inkan Fahrel are placed in a crisscross manner. Often, both the tribes tend to make a silly error in recognizing their respective dance, which is a result of cultural mingling and close association. However, one cannot deny the many claims held and the proposition every tribesmen and women make. In the recently concluded DARLONG YOUNTH FESTIVAL 2017, the administrative decision of dance the FAHREL INKAN with the original Fahrel was an important step. Nonetheless, the 2017 festival in term of cultural output ended in a failure. In the previous year, the same administrative body made a huge progress in term culture by organizing the FOLK DANCE COMPETITION that displayed an unimaginable amount of costume (both the original and improvised) and dance that the tribe had from the past.  
Minutes of the meeting;
                Cultural and Literature Department, CYDA Inbum Minutes
                     Date: 15th August 2017. Zan dar 10:00
                  A hmun: Pu. Roben Zaithangvela In, Deora

Kum 2017, 15th August han Cultural and Literature Department CYDA inbumna nei achang. mataka chun, DYF 2017 hun cultural lam inhmang dan ding hrang hrang ngaituahna nei achang.
Minutes.1. Kum 2017-ah DYF hun chun Darsinger la om lak loiin, hnamlam intisiakna nei nawk chang rise kinti. Ma dungzui chun, nikuma lawmhmnan hei (champion nih runners) chu cheng 1000kan ibawk chang rise kinti. Lam kalhmang, dan te te nih thil tul hrang hrang chu branch tina i thonsuak chang rise kinti- registration form, endik dan, inhruai dan nih a dang.
Minutes.2. Judges sawmna chun an hman thei angka chema insua chang rise kinti. Changrochu, judges rihming vantlang hnianga inpuang lawkna om no ni (ei loi thaw thin nai angkan). A sanchu, rihming tarlong hnungin sawma om hei hom ha, hun tawtepa intopna leiin mo, tulna hrang hrang leiin hong kal thiam loiin an om hunin intakna om ding leia rihming chu inhril lawk phal chang no rise kinti.
Minutes.3. Tun tuma ding chun, lam intisiakna-a ding inthlang pek thak chang rise kinti. Mahei chu, fahrel inkan, vathu indi, riki fachawi nih a sialin mo a ki azar chang anti. Ma baka hin khatka mani thiam salam insei sa chang siala tha kinti. Rawtna hom branch tin hnianga pe chang rise kinti.
Minutes.4. Fahrel Inkan chungchanga tamka ngaidan nih ni kuma vantlang rawl insutna nei a chang hnungin, FAHREL INKAN chu fahrel tak nole mo thingtuai tal in inkan chang rise kinti. Rua ei hmang hin, ei hmanlam Fahrel Inkan’ ti ha omzia anei no angkan hmu a chang lei nih kor nih vai, miluk milai hei homin bamboo dance ti mai angkan inngaina a om thin leia ma thil hi i ruat achang.
            Thil tul dang chu inhawi intawn tir chang ati.

                                                                                                      _S/d_
                                                                                          (Benjamin, Saibual)
                                                                                                 Co-ordinator
                                                                                 Cultural and Literature Dept. CYDA  

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