History of Yakshagana and Yakshagana Bommayatta

The string puppetry tradition in north Kerala has a history that spans centuries. The traditional string puppetry is closely connected to the performance of Yakshagana, especially to the Southern style of the same which is called thenku thittu (performed in Dakshin Kannada up to Udupi). The northern style that is prevalent in the North Canara region is called badagutittu.

Kumble is the main centre of Thenku Thittu; Kumble has produced some eminent Yakshagana artists. The Yakshagana Academy in Karnataka performs all of these variations. Sheni Gopalakrishna Bhatt was a renowned Yakshagana artist from Kumble who excelled in both, Thenku Thittu and Badagutittu. His role as Bappa Beary earned him wide acclaim. Other well-known performers of Yakshagana include Subha Rao, Govinda Bhatt, and Padma Narayana Bhagavathar. Let us briefly trace the shared history of Yashagana and classical and folk performance art forms of South India before going into the Yakshagana string puppetry tradition.

It has been noticed that all the regional dance-drama forms from beyond the Western Ghats were called Yakshagana, like Kuravanchi and Bhagavata Mela Nataka from Tamil Nadu and Kuchipudi from Andhra. This performance also resonates with the agrarian life of the villages. Moreover, the Tamil Brahmin art form of Meenakshi Kalyanam and Kamsavadam Natakam in Chittur, Palakkad also have similarities to Yakshagana.

Yakshagana is traditionally performed in an open space from dusk to dawn; more recently though, the performances have lasted only one to three hours in order to accommodate the modern (mostly young) audience, which does not have sufficient interest in the art form or the time to spend entire nights watching shows. Like Kathakali, Yakshagana also has southern and northern styles of performance. From Chandragiri in Kasaragod to Kalyanapuram river in Udupi, the southern style is prevalent and from there up to Kundapuram the northern style is practiced. These diverse styles are attributed mostly to the influence Theyyam and Kathakali have had on the southern style or Thenku thittu. In turn, in the earlier forms of Kathakali, dialogues delivered by actors themselves were also part of the performance according to some scholars, which brings it closer to the current form of Yakshagana. Also, some of the rituals that precede the Kathakali performance like keli, vandana slokam, thodayam, purappad, thiranottam etc. have counterparts in Yakshagana also. In the final moments of the first part of Yakshagana two female characters come to the stage that reminds us of the manjuthara segment in Kathakali.

Related to the above discussion on the genealogy of Yakshagana in connection with other art forms of South India, we could mention another point raised by some scholars about the influence of the prasangas (verse-texts) of Yaskhagana written by Parthi Subba might have had on the Ramanattam Attakkatha by Kottarakkara Thampuran. As there were many scholars from northern Kerala (Tulunadu region) who were living in Kottarakkara and Thampuran could have learned about Yakshagana from them. This opinion is presented in Ulloor Parameswra Iyer’s work as well. However, later this proposition was refuted by some others like Siromani Krishnan Nair and the expert in Tulu language, and historian C. Raghavan. In another significant study on Yakshagana, Dr. Sivarama Karanth opines that it has roots in the folk traditions and primordial tribal aesthetic as found in the rituals of snake worship and spiritual worship of the region.[1] His work Yakshagana Bayalata (1957) won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, inspiring further interest in Yakshagana and more books on the subject.

In northern parts of Kasaragod and Karnataka Yakshagana is better known as Yakshagana Bayalatta. Kannada Kathakali or Karnataka Kathakali are also some of the names used to denote this art form. Some of the colloquial terms for this folk performance that came to be known as Yakshagana only in recent times, according to K S. Haridas Bhatt (1924-2000) were aatta, doddatta, sannatta, mela, etc., and these might have small differences in performance and costume according to the places of their origin and growth.

Yakshagana Bommayatta as an art form predates the conventional Yakshagana performed by artists. Well before the modern staging of Yakshagana in the theatres and fixed stages, when it was performed in the fields after the harvests, string puppetry (noolpavakkoothu) used to be performed in smaller stages and temples according to certain historical records. Initially, well-adorned puppets were used to portray the divine and mythical characters of these stories and this founded the Bommayatta tradition. At a later stage, actors began to dress up like puppets and Yakshagana acquired its present form. In Yakshagana, abhinaya and dialogue are important, even though the puppets themselves are not capable of facial expressions.

In ancient times, artists were reluctant to wear the costumes of gods and goddesses; instead, they dressed the puppets as gods. Also, suthradharan, a term that literally means ‘the person who holds/controls all the threads’ is commonly used in the context of classical theatre as well where the term signifies the narrator/manager of the stage etc. This etymological connection between ancient puppetry and theatre might enable us to establish the argument about puppetry preceding the human-actor-theatre in the history of theatre and performance in India. 

The general history of puppetry in India can be traced back to 2000-3000 years and it might also be considered as the first ‘theatre’. The themes of the performances used to comprise the stories of kings, gods, warriors, and heroes from various epics. It was also used to perform political satires until the Mughal period. The realisation that the Mughal rulers would not allow such critical performances, forced the puppeteers to confine their art to the stories of kings, and epic characters, points out Mehar R. Contractor.[2]

Shadow puppetry is also known as leather puppetry as the puppets are made of leather processed from the skin of deer, cows, bulls etc. These leather puppets are placed opposite an oil lamp, in order to produce their shadows on the white cloth hung on the front. The string puppetry that is popular in Karnataka (bombayatta/bommayatta) is carried out by rods and strings attached to them.

In Kerala, the shadow, glove, and string forms of puppetry have roots and popularity in different parts of the region. For instance, leather puppetry or shadow puppetry is performed mostly in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts, as part of rituals in the traditional koothu-madam (performance huts). There are only 80 such ritualistic performance spaces for shadow puppetry here though many artists claim that until recently around 108 sacred groves/ places of worship used to host such shows.

String puppetry on the other hand, is not associated with any temples or other ritualistic spaces, they are performed as part of celebrations including temple festivals. Bommayatta is believed to have originated in the family of Parthi Subba, who is believed to have lived around 1600 and is considered the father of Yakshagana. He composed around 18 Yakshagana prasangas (the text of verses). The collection of songs by Parthi Subba entitled ‘Sabhalakshana’ is used in the preliminary (Poorva Peethika) Yakshagana.

Parthi Subba belonged to the Sthanika Brahmin community, also known as Shiv Brahmins. They are believed to be the first Brahmins of South India and mainly worship Lord Shiva. However, Parthi Subba worshipped Kanipura Sri Gopalakrishna, whose temple is located in Kumble, in the Kasaragod district of Kerala. It was at Shedikavu near Kumble that Parthi Subba was born and raised. Adoor Subbayya, Kudlu Subraya, and Pulkoor Bacha of Mayipadi Palace were believed to have performed Bommayatta and Bacha’s puppets are still available at Badiyadukka Sri Poomani Kinnimani Temple.

K. Venkata Krishnayya, the founder of Sree Gopalakrishna Bommayatta Sangha was the son of Akkama, a descendant of the family of Parthi Subba. Krishnayya’s son, K.V. Ramesh, is the present director of the Sangha, maintaining Parthi Subba’s lineage in the art form. It is said that there were around 30 groups that performed string puppetry in Kasaragod. Nevertheless, now there is only a single group there led by K. V. Ramesh.

There are other communities also in Karnataka that traditionally carry out gombeyata like the Vishwa Karmi that consists of blacksmiths, carpenters and other craftspeople. Michael Schuster has carried out an ethnographical study of the gombeyata tradition of this community and wrote about it. He notices that the religious and spiritual experience associated with the making and practice of string-rod puppetry named gombeyata (bommayatta) plays a vital role in the perpetuation of this tradition. He also explores the tantric roots of this performance tradition. Borrowing from the argument of Rustom Bharucha (1992),[3] Shuster here argues that the divine element is present throughout the performance, the reverence shown to the puppets in making and performance, the priest-like apparition of the puppeteers, who mediate between the puppets and the spectator as if in darshan and the aspect of ‘potency’ in the show that could affect the real world.[4]

Though Yakshagana performances are carried out predominantly in Kannada there are eminent Malayalam Yakshagana performers also in Kasaragod. It has been noted that in early times, Tulu was also popularly used in Kasaragod. Yakshagana bommayatta/noolpavakkoothu is performed in the Kannada language. Though the dialogues and songs are all in Kannada the attractiveness of the art form has enabled its spread to other regions and even foreign countries breaking the language barriers.

Visual and Performative aspects of Bommmayatta
Even though puppetry has large audiences across the world, these Yakshagana puppets, dancing with their entire bodies, command unique awe among art connoisseurs from all over. Their movements are controlled from behind the stage through strings attached to the joints of the puppets. The level of control and dexterity needed for these finger movements that give life to puppets on stage, require careful practice and extraordinary skills. The war of Rama-Ravana, the playful tales of Sri Krishna, various moments from Mahabharata, killings of Asuras, and other stories from epics are beautifully portrayed in the Yakshagana puppetry.

Every performance begins with the auspicious setting of an idol of Ganesa being worshipped by a character on the stage where a moving snake and a mouse would be present. Devi Mahathmyam, Garudagarvabhangam, Panchavadi, Narakaasuravadham are some of the popular performances. Each performance of this puppetry is composed in such a way as to fit into the duration of three hours. In the traditional format, the Bommayattam needs 12 performers for a single play. But the performance was modernised with time and now five performers can perfectly manage the entire act. The fact that the dialogues and music are now played as recordings has made the performance smoother.

While Yakshagana is performed overnight, from dusk to dawn, in Bommayattam, the same story is compactly summarised into a three hours long performances. This way the epic stories were simplified and made equally popular among the common people and experts alike by the practitioners of Bommayattam.

The colourful stunning visual form separates the Yakshagana bommayatta from other puppetries. The puppets are decorated so beautifully as to attract the full attention of the viewer. The special stage built for both the small and big puppets and the lighting arrangement for them makes it even more attractive than the Yakshagana itself. Puppetry also makes use of certain visual gimmicks to this end. For instance, K. V. Ramesh manages to show sudden fire and lights on the stage during the performance.

The eminent group of performers at Sangha has a hectic schedule of practice and performance with very few breaks and K. V. Ramesh and all other artists are fully committed to this art form. Yet, unfortunately, this art form and the collective that keeps it alive has hardly received any support from the government or any other authorities or cultural institutions of Kerala.

Puppet Maker: K. V. Ramesh and His International Puppets
Puppets are made from the lighter wood of the Pala tree (Indian Devil tree, Alstonia scholaris). Since Ramesh has an inclination for painting and sculpting, he carves the puppets himself. All the joints in the human body are carved out and fixed in the string. Then the costumes will be made and attached to these. Puppet making requires extreme concentration and patience. Each puppet takes around two weeks to be completed and costs 20,000 rupees for its production. A puppet is generally two feet tall and they are given the same costume as Yakshagana.

Sri Gopalakrishna Sangha has held nearly 3,000 performances of Bommayatta and won several state, national and international awards. In a puppetry performance held in Prague, Ramesh received the ‘Best Traditional Puppet Performer’ award. In many international puppetry festivals, Ramesh and his team gained wide attention and most appreciation. At the International Folk Handicraft Fair held in China, in 2012, the artists and performers from the Sangha led by Ramesh, represented India and their performance was received with much admiration. The Sangha gets visitors from all over the world, including scholars, students, artists, and enthusiasts.

They have done much to promote this art form, including training students at their centre in Pulikkunnu. They also generate awareness among school students through demonstrations and training. There is a museum in Kasaragod—the first of its kind—which proudly displays around 100 puppets. Ramesh, who was instrumental in setting up the museum, welcomes many visitors from abroad who are curious about the art form. He has also bought a new machine for making puppets. All of them are characters from epics and they are worth many hundred thousand rupees. Many of the museums in the world now have puppets made by Ramesh in their collections.