Malay dancers meet flying apsaras

Bhumi (goddess of the earth), sarongs, and flying celestial beings

In August of 2016 I went to see The Bhumi Collective, a ‘Singaporean-British traditional and contemporary’ dance performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Their performance captivated me. I went back to see it again the next day.

Soultari Amin Farid and Shai (sorry can’t find his full name anywhere on the whole internet), co-directors of The Bhumi Collective

The sarongs and moves of Malaysia invaded my dreams.

The dancers soon turned themselves into apsaras. Apsaras are celestial beings which appear in sculptures, dance, literature and paintings from Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea and India.

Originally female spirits of clouds and rain, apsaras are often portrayed either dancing or flying.

The apsaras are described to be beautiful, youthful and elegant, and are said to be able to change their shape at will; making anyone fall for their beauty. There are two types of apsaras—laukika (worldly) and daivika (divine). They are great in the art of dancing, and often wives of the gandharvas, the court musicians of Indra. The apsaras reside in the palaces of the gods and entertain them by dancing to the music made by the Gandharvas. The 26 apsaras of Indra's court are each said to symbolise a different facet of the performing arts, drawing comparisons to the Muses of ancient Greece. They are also renowned for seducing rishis in order to prevent them from attaining divine powers. ¹

Apsara, Japan, early 18th Century. Public domain.

Apsara from Yulin caves, near Dunhuang, China. Public domain.

Apsaras, Ankor Wat, Cambodia. By Allie Caulfield - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wm_archiv/3936434704/in/set-72157622415676886/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8635942

Apsara from Muwisa temple, Gangjin, Korea. Public domain.

Apsara, Borobodur, Central Java. Public domain.

Tennin (apsara), Japan. Public domain.

Apsara, Uttar Pradesh, India. 12th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain.

After the apsaras some funky Indian/Malay characters turned up, somewhat lacking in the delicacy of the beautiful apsaras.

The one below interested me. Balanced on one side by a pendulum, on the other by a curious stack of floating, ever-decreasing pebbles. The pendulum wrist is being held in place by a bracelet which moves upwards, the pebble hand is being stabilised downwards. Hair balances eye. Though not very well grounded on the earth, the figure is poised in a state of perfect dynamic equilibrium.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsara