Yakshagana
Yakshagana (yakṣagāna, [jəkʃəɡaːnə]) (kannada: ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ) is a folk theater form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. This folk theater style is mainly found in the coastal districts and the Malenadu region of Karnataka, India. Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.Etymology
Yakshagana literally means the song (gana) of the yaksha, (nature spirits). Yakshagana is the scholastic name (used for the last 200 years) for art forms formerly known as kēḷike, āṭa, bayalāṭa, and daśāvatāra (Kannada: ದಶಾವತಾರ). It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theater during the period of the Bhaktimovement. It is sometimes simply called "the play" (ಆಟ) in both Kannada and Tulu.
Music genre
Yakshagana is a separate genre of music, independent of Karnataka Sangeetha and the Hindustani music of India. It is believed to have survived as an indigenous phenomenon only in Karnataka.
A typical Yakshagana performance consists of background music played by a group of musicians (known as the himmela); and a dance and dialog group (known as the mummela), who together enact poetic epics onstage. The himmela is made up of a lead singer (bhagawata)—who also directs the production—and is referred to as the "first actor" (modalane vesha). Additional himmela members are players of traditional musical instruments, such as the maddale (hand drum), the pungi (pipe), the harmonium(organ), and the chande (loud drums). The music is based on ragas, which are characterized by rhythmic patterns called mattuand tala (or musical meter in Western music). Yakshagana talas are believed to be based on patterns which later evolved into the Carnatic talas.
A Yakshagana performance typically begins in the twilight hours, with an initial beating of the drums of several fixed compositions, called abbara or peetike. This may last for up to an hour before the actors finally arrive on the stage. The actors wear resplendent costumes, head-dresses, and face paints.
A performance usually depicts a story from the "Kavya" (epic poems) and the "Puranas" (ancient Hindu texts). It consists of a story teller (the bhagvatha) who narrates the story by singing (which includes prepared character dialogues) as the actors dance to the music, portraying elements of the story as it is being narrated. All components of Yakshagana—including the music, the dance, and the dialog—are improvised. Depending on the ability and scholarship of the actors, there will be variations in dances as well as the amount of dialog. It is not uncommon for actors to get into philosophical debates or arguments without falling out of character. The acting in Yakshagana can be best categorized as method acting. The performances have drawn comparison to the Western tradition of opera. Traditionally, Yakshagana will run all night.
Yakshagana is popular in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Shimoga and Kasaragod. Yakshagana has become popular in Bangalore in recent years, particularly in the rainy season, when there are few other forms of entertainment possible in the coastal districts.
History
Main article: List of Yakshagana plays in the Kannada language
Origins
Yakshagana can refer to a style of writing, as well as the written material itself. There are questions on whether this writing system originated in Telugu literature. It was probably used for poems enacted in bayalaata (or open theater drama), such as the ballads of Koti and Chennayya." Yakshagana in its present form is believed to have been strongly influenced by the Vaishnava Bhakti movement.Yakshagana was first introduced in Udupi by Madhvacharya's disciple Narahari Tirtha. Narahari Tirtha was the minister in the Kalinga Kingdom, he also was the founder of Kuchpudi.
The first written evidence regarding Yakshagana is found on an inscription at the Lakshminarayana Temple in Kurugodu, Somasamudra, Bellary District, and dated 1556 CE, a copy of which is available at the University of Madras. The inscription mentions a land donated to the performers of the art, so as to enable people to enjoy tala maddale programs at the temple. Another important piece of evidence is available in the form of a poem authored by Ajapura Vishnu, the Virata Parva, inscribed on a palm-leaf found at Ajapura (present day Brahmavara). Another historic palm-leaf manuscript, dated 1621 CE, describesSabhalakshana.
Yakshagana bears some resemblance to other members of the 'traditional theater family:' Ankhia Nata (found in Assam); Jathra(in Bengal); Chau (Bihar, Bengal); Prahlada Nata (Orissa); Veedhinatakam & Chindu (Andhra); Terukoothu Bhagawathamela(Tamil Nadu), and Kathakkali (Kerala). However, some researchers have argued that Yakshagana is markedly different from this group.
Experts have placed the origin of Yakshagana somewhere in the period of the 11th to 16th centuries CE. Yakshagana was an established performance art form by the time of the noted Yakshagana poet, Parthi Subba (c. 1600). His father, Venkata, is attributed by some to be the author of the great Hindu epic, Ramayana, although historian Shivarama Karantha counters these claims (made most notably by historians Muliya Thimmappa and Govinda Pai) and argues that it is Subba, who was in fact its author. Venkata is the probable founder of the tenkuthittu (southern) style of the art.
Troupe centers, such as Koodlu and Kumbala in the Kasaragod District, and Amritheshwari, Kota near Kundapura, claim to have had troupes three to four centuries ago, indicating that the art form almost certainly had begun to take shape by circa 1500.
The Yakshagana form of today is the result of a slow evolution, drawing its elements from ritual theater, temple arts, secular arts (such as Bahurupi), royal courts of the past, and the artists' imaginations—all interwoven over a period of several hundred years.
Early poets
Early Yakshagana poets included Ajapura Vishnu, Purandaradasa, Parthi Subba, and Nagire Subba. King Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II (1704–1714) authored 14 Yakshaganas in various languages in the Kannada script. Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1794–1868) also wrote several Yakshagana prasanga, including Sougandhika Parinaya. Noted poet, Muddana, composed several Yakshagana prasangasa, including the very popular Rathnavathi Kalyana.
