01420nas a2200193   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653001600043653001600059653001100075653001100086653002400097100001400121245008700135300001200222490000700234520097100241022001401212                                       d10aChavang Kut10aPerformance10aThadou10adances10aharvesting festival1 aH Sitlhou00aThe shifting  stages  of performance: a study of  Chavang Kut  festival in Manipur  a468-4880 v193 aChavang Kut, a post-harvesting festival in Manipur, represents an important cultural expression of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of people. The article looks at the participation of the Thadou community in the celebration by tracing their performative historiography. In the past, the celebration was primarily important in the religio-cultural sense. The rhythmic movements of the dances in the festival were inspired by animals, agricultural techniques and showed their relationship with ecology. Today, the celebration witnesses the shifting of stages and is revamped to suit new contexts and interpretations. The traditional dances which forms the core of the festival is now performed in the out-of-village settings and are staged in a secular public sphere. While used by the state as a political project to bring unity amongst the different communities of Manipur, recent sociopolitical occasions showed how it is used as a site of contestations against the state.  a1463-1369