Three Odisha Traditions Including Manabasa Gurubara Find Place in Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Bhubaneswar: Three famous Odisha traditions including Manabasa Gurubara found place in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list released by the Union Culture Ministry.

Chhau Dance and Rabana Chhaya Dance are two other traditions included in the list, which comprises 106 items across the country.

Manabasa Gurubara is a festival widely celebrated by Hindu families across the state to please the Goddess of Wealth Laxmi. It is held every Thursday in the auspicious month of ‘Margasira’ according to Hindu calendar.

Chhau Dance originated in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha and is widely performed in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts. It is based on the martial arts tradition where the dancers tell the tales of Hindu epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and other classical Indian literature in a dance form.

Ravana Chhaya can be considered a single dance style or a family of related dances. It generally performed by the dancers of Puri district.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage list has five broad categories such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, knowledge and practices related to nature and traditional craftsmanship.