A single drumbeat and tinkling bells heralded the beginning of Ratan Thiyam’s Chorus Repertory Theatre in “Nine Hills One Valley” Wednesday night at the Lied Center. What followed was a fascinating allegorical play without conventional plot exploring the consequences of cultural loss, violence, disharmony and suffering in the isolated Indian state of Manipur.

Writer and director Ratan Thiyam founded the Chorus Repertory Theatre in his native Manipur in 1976, and the company uses cultural metaphors in a “quest for enlightenment, reconciliation and peace … examining the human condition through explorations of war and power.”

Founded 50 years ago, the small state of Manipur and its people suffer from many familiar 21st-century horrors, including ethnic violence, disease and drug addiction. However, “Nine Hills One Valley” reflects the rich cultural heritage of this troubled country, whose geographical beauty inspires its artists. Located in northeast India, Manipur and its social and political strife act as a metaphor for the trials of humanity at large.

The performance begins with seven old women invoking the evil spirits that have caused the suffering and violence in their land. Bewailing their suffering, they call for the seven sleeping wise men to return to protect the children and banish the evil.

The wise men awaken from a troubled sleep of centuries, disturbed by nightmares. In one of the most beautiful sequences, the wise men observe a performance of the sacred dance the “‘Bhangi Pareng’ of the Rass Lila,” in which the beauty and rich cultural traditions of the people are revealed. However, the demon “Time” destroys the dance, maiming the dancers, appropriating and consuming every beautiful thing.

Determined to help their people, the wise men abandon the coded book of prophecies they had left behind many centuries before, determined to create a new book of knowledge to guide the people through the perils of modern life.

Thiyam’s composition relies on a mixture of dance, music and martial arts traditions, and almost percussive language. Spoken entirely in Manipuri – the ethnic language of Manipur – the text is “translated” into English surtitles. Very shortly, however, the audience discovers that the text above their heads provides only a sense of the meaning. Embedded in the staccato, repetitious phrasing is the allegorical power of the piece. Language – words upon words upon words – is everything and nothing in the face of the meaningless, heartless cruelty imposed by the modern world.

However, words also provide hope. The seven wise men rewrite the book of knowledge, drawing on the cultural traditions of their people – the “art forms that are intricately woven into the social fabric, lifestyle, culture and history of the Nine Hills One Valley.” The book of knowledge now contains the “knowledge of freedom, peace, religion, politics, human rights and duties of man,” and might lead the lost people of Manipur – and the world – toward ultimate wisdom.