Re: yakshagaanam (2)
Sahithi P.S. (P.S.Sahithi@csc.liv.ac.uk)
Fri, 23 May 1997 16:25:34 +0100 (BST)
HISTORY:
The antiquity of Yakshagana can not be traced with full certainity.
On Tue, 20 May 1997 PALANA gaaru wrote:
> Srinadha was the first one who used the
> correct words - Yaksha Gana (1381-1446). Srinadha's Bhimeswara Purana has
> the lines - "kIrtiMtu reddAni kIrti gaMdharvuDu gAmdharvamuna yaksha gAna
> saraNi".
Thanks PALANA gaaru. From the above reference, it can well be surmised
that Andhra Yakshagana is atleast 600 years old. Although, Karnataka
Yakshagana is considered several centuries old, first evidence of this
is the work 'Bharatesha Vaibhava', written in 1557 A.D. by the noted
poet 'Rantakara Varni'. The book carries a description, for what it
is worth, of a Yakshagana performance.
ORIGIN OF YAKSHAGANA:
(Based on personal discussion with Subbarayappa, Yakshagana
performer, Udipi, South Canera District, karnataka during 1990.)
During first millennium B.C, the Dravidian cult devotion stressed
the worship of images rather than abstract principles. Among the
Dravidian gods were innumerable place spirits, tutelary dieties and
powers of nature conceived as personal beings. First of these gods
are 'Yakshas', tree-spirits who were also worshipped as guardians
of the mineral treasures hidden in the earth and associated with the
idea of wealth and abundance. The female counterpart of the Yaksha
is yakshi, a sort of Indian dryad (a nymph living in a tree)
and the spirit of the fertility of the tree. These Yakshis are
considered as symbols of sap, the waters, and the fertility of the
whole vegetable and animal worlds. They were specifically invoked
by women desiring children. In Karnataka there are some age old
rituals concerning Yakshas and Yakshis. Yakshaganas are the heart
of these rituals. People offer prayers to Yakshas and Yakshis
through music and dance. The active season of Yakshaganas is from
December to May, that is, after Paddy is harvested.
A snapshot of Yakshaganam (http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~sahithi/gif/yaksha.gif).
Performers of Yakshagana are mostly village folk, such as farmers
who have received sound training in the art. During the season, after
each night's performance, the players pack up and travel to the next
halt where they rest a while in the afternoon before preparing again
for the next performance.
Formerly there were many Yakshagana groups in southern states of India.
Unfortunately, their number has now dwindled to under a dozen.
(Ref: Mohan Khokar, "Traditions of Indian Classical Dance", 1979)
Regards
Sahithi