They pile up mud onto the main performer's face, cover it with a cloth, and then block up his ears with cotton wool as well. Then with their feet, they tighten the cloth around his head!
He then proceeds to dance around the co-performers for a length of time, swords in both hands, oblivious to any sense of vision. Two performers stand by with cucumbers in their hands. The main performer then homes in on the cucumber and slices it with the sword while it sits in the hand of the co-performers, without unduly hurting them!
Thang Ta - "The Art of the Sword and Spear" - is the traditional martial art exclusive to the Meitei people of Manipur in North East India. The proper name for Thang-Ta is Huyen Lalong meaning "Safeguard". The art is both a combination of rhythm and skill. Although it integrates various weapons like daggers and sticks, the sword and the spear are the two primary weapons of Thang Ta and can be practiced in three ways - ritual, demonstration and combat.
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