Table Of ContentTheSymbolic Significance of Yaksagana
GURURAOBAPAT
Yak~agiina is the traditional dance-dramaformofKamataka,andhasahis.
tory ofmore than400 years. Its area of popularity isconfined tothe two
coastal districts of Karnataka and the adjoining regions. It is the major
formofculturalexpressionofthisregionandisextremelypopularevennow.The
themes of Yaksagana are taken from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the
Puranas,In thepast. Yaksagana wasalwaysperfonned intheopen,withtheentire
village witnessing the performance,thoughnowcommerciallyorganizedtroupes
have also come into existence. Among the traditional performing arts of India,
Yaksagana is among the few that have continuedtobeliving,vibrantfonnseven
now. Even modem means of entertainment like cinema and television have not
affecteditspopularity. At presenttherearemorethantwentyprofessionaltroupes
giving one performance each every night, rightthrough the year(exceptduring
therainy season), operating in a relativelysmallpartofKarnataka.
Why is Yaksagana so popular? What messagesdoes it transmit? Whatcultur
al,psychological, social needs has it fulfilled? This paper is an attemptto find
answers to these questions and understand the significanceof Yaksaganatothe
community where it has survived.
CulturalFormsasSymbolicSystems . .
The study of any form ofculturalexpressionhas totacklethecrucialquestion
of what the fonn means to the performers and panicipants. In the study of
Yak~agiina too, we will have to tackle thisquestion:WhatdoesYaksaganamean
totheperformers and the spectators?At the apparentlevel,therearefactorslike
aestheticpleasure,ritualisticappeal,etc.,whichdrawthespectatorstotheperfor
mance. But apart from, or, to be more precise,along withthese reasons,.aform
expr~sSlon
like Yaksagana, which has survived as a major fonn of cultural for
severalcenturies musthave certaindeeper layersofmeaningwherebyrtreflects
, . . W·th t h
andcomments On the various tensionsand/orparadoxesIII society. I au sue
an immanent significance directly related to the life of the people, no cultural
fonn can survive for long.These meaningsare oftennotapparent-they arenot
onthe surface. This is especially true of forms and practices that have evolved
SIlngeerNatalNos. t21-122 July-December1996
4 Gt:RURAOBAPAT
over hundreds of years. These embedded meanings can be understood onlyby
viewingthe form as a symbolic system.
Our attemptatunderstandingthesedeeplyconnotativeandsymbolicmeanings
necessarilyinvolves thetaskofinterpretation,For this, the culturalformhastobe
viewedasatextor anassemblageoftexts. Thetask ofinterpretationofthesetexts
cannot be a closed exercise, where the meanings can be found within the texts
themselves; they have to be studied in relation to the "social semantics", inthe
words of the anthropologist Clifford Geertz.'
Folklorists, especially in the last few decades, have been concentrating more
and more on analysing cultural systems in terms oftheir symbolic significance.
Clifford Geertz's analysis ofthe BalinesecockfightorJames Peacock's studyof
Javanese drama may be mentioned as examples of such an interpreutive
approach. Victor Turner's studies of African folk rituals and practices also
emphasizethe symbolicnature ofthese systems.The growinginterestinthestudy
of symbolism is related to developments in other fields of knowledge such as
semiotics, psychoanalysis, communication studies, etc., which have been focus
ing on the symbolic process ofhuman expression. Raymond Firth, commenting
on the growing interest in symbolism, says that it is "in keeping with thegenetal
temperofour time tobe attractedto studiesthat concernthemselveswith theless
rational aspects of humanbehaviour, which tend to reject or criticise apositivist
approach, which makeplay with ideas ofambiguity, uncertaintyand mystery".'
Interpretationofa symbolicsystemdoes not mean imposing a meaningonthe
culturalform. The task ofinterpretation isin factto makeexplicithow themean
ings are related to the symbols. The relationship between the signified meaning
and the symbol should be established with a certain degree of reliability. The
interpretative mechanism is most often contained in the cultural text itself. As
Clifford Geertz says, "Societies, like lives,contain theirown interpretation.One
has only to learn how to gain access to them." This is because symbols donot
existin avaccum,Symbolsare part ofarepresentational process, wheremeaning
emerges, and is dependent upon a culturally defined social setting. That is why
symbols cannotbe interpreted withoutreference to the social context.
Yaksagana and itsSymbolic Significance
Yaksagana, like all otherforms oftraditional culturalexpression, functionsas
?sym~lic
system.ThesymbolicsignificanceofYaksaganahastobe understood
m.relalJo~to the social semanticsofthe societyofthe coastal and Malenod(,,:e~
rainy)regions ofKarnataka,where Yaksaganahas flourished.Thissociety, being
apartofthelargersouthlndiansociety,sharesitssocialstructureand cultwalpat-
cVoisbtuhmisheaanand(tlhefet)wfaiigshttoinrngaLmaevnat.m. Lava-KushaPrasanga,Udupi,
6 GURURAOBAPAT
terns with the entire region,as well aswith the Indian subcontinent. Atthe same
time,there arecertain featuresinthissocietythatareunique to theparticular area.
The common and the individual features of the society are equally importantin
interpreting the symbolicsignificanceof aform like Yaksagana,
In analysing the symbolic significance of Yaksagana, a distinction between
two typesof Yaksagana hastobe made.Thisdistinctionrelates both toorganiza
tional set-up and period. The first type is the Yaksagiina ofthe open-air troupes
thatperformharakeala(vow-performance).Suchperformances areusuallyspon
sored by a person who has taken a vowthat he would sponsora Yaksaganaper
formance ifhis wishis fulfilled.The performance, though sponsored by oneper
son, isopen to everyone.There isalso a strong ritualistic element here as spon
soring a performance is thought of as a religious activity. This is the wayall
Yaksagana performances were organized till about forty years ago, when some
troupes began to be organized on a commercial basis. The commercially orga
nized troupes are referred to as 'tent-troupes' as the performances take placein
temporarilyerected tentswith admission being charged.Both types oftroupeare
inexistence today.
Theneedtomakeadistinctionbetween thesetwotypesofYaksaganainunder
standing the symbolic significance of the art arises because the difference
betweenthe twodoesnotlie merely in organizational details.The immanentdis
course itself has undergone a change and so the symbolic significance hasnot
remained the same either.This change relates to factors like cbanges in theeco
nomicstructureofthesociety, thechanging political equations,etc. Thesametra
ditional form is now being used as a vehicle for a distinctly different message.
This is perhaps a fine example of the faci that symbolic systems do nOI remain
static,bUIoften undergochanges to express new (oftenopposed) meanings.
Thisdoes notmean that there has been a sudden and complete break between
thetwotypes mentioned above(exceptperhaps,inanextremeexample, likeTu!u
yak~agana)" One has clearly grown out oftheother, and many ofthe meanings
oftheopen-airperformancesthat are going tobe analysedlater arepresentinthe
commercialized forms as well(perhapsin asubdued form).At the same time,the
open-air performances of the present day show a clear influence of the tent
troupesandtheirperformance (perhapsbecauseofthepopularityandprestigethat
the tent-troupesenjoy today).As both these formsco-exist, this influence isonly
natural.
This paper studies the symbolic significance ofthe open-air performances of
yak~ag:ma. The analysis will concentrate on what Yaksagana has meant at the
symbohc level to thecommunity these pastcenturies.
SYMBOUCSIG~lF1CANCEOFYAK~AGANA 7
ThePerformative Context
Theopen-air performances.aswehavealreadyobserved.aresponsoredbyone
person(or agroup ofpersons). Inthepast,theperfonnative contextandthespon
sorship ofperformances themselves conveyed powerful messages regarding the
social structure and the position ofdifferent groupsinthatstructure.' Inorder10
understand this symbolic significance properly. wehavetounderstandthesocial
andeconomic structure of the society in which these performancestook place.
Yaksagana never had royal patronage;ithassurvivedlargelybythesupportithas
received from landlords and rich people in the villages. AsMarthaAshtonand
Bruce Christie say•.'The patron is most often a wealthy landlordor a prominenl
businessman who for various reasonscommissionsaperformance...Anyoneis
welcome to attend these patronised perfonnances and they are free to all."
Normally the entire village came 10 witness theperformance,butthepatron was
almost always the landlord or a rich person. or a religiousinstitution.This was
becausesponsorship involved agood deal ofmoneyandmostpeopleinavillage
didnot have the means to sponsor a performance. Boththepointsmentionedin
theabove quotation-thatthe performancesweresponsoredbyafewpeopleand
that they were witnessed by all-become very important in understanding the
social message that this system ofsponsorship conveyed.Inorder10understand
this significance properly. it is necessary to know the social structure of the
coastalregionsof Karnataka,
Theeconomyofthe villages wastotallyagriculture-oriented.Theownershipof
landwas always in the hands ofthe landlords andfeudalpotentates.Greatpres
tigewasattached to theownershipoflandandusuallysocialandpoliticalpowers
wereassociatedwith it.The other peopleinthevillageconsistedoftenantsofthe
landor landless labourers (other than a few artisanslike carpenters. ironsmiths,
thei~
etc.).These people were entirely dependent on the landlord for livelihood.
The total economic control exercised by the landowners over the villagersalso
extended to the social, political, and even the cultural sphere.This feudalstruc
turewas clearly unequaland exploitative.
ThePOsition of theSponsor .
The sponsorship of a Yaksagana performance brought to.tJ:1e patro?prestlge
and recognition. First of all. it was considered a sacred re!lglo.us aCIJ\1ty. The
patron was the host who affordedthe opportunity totheentire villagetopartake
intheritualisticperformance.The recognitiongiventothepatron.wasmadeovert
~artlcularpr~~ga
inthe performance itself. Hehad theauthoritytochoose the
(episode)tobeperformed.Inthepast,therewasalsothe?raclJceofthemu.s,c,ans
singing a few songs eitherin the houseofthepatronor10 thetempleof hisfam-
8 GURURAOBAPAT
ilydeity afew hours before the performance. At the end ofthe performance,the
sponsor would come on the stage and his name would be mentioned alongwith
thenameofthepresiding deityofthetroupe.Lookatthe following descriptionof
it byShivarama Karanth:
ThesponsorthenofferstheBhagavata the specifiedremunerationalongwithbetelnutandbetel
leavesonaplate.
Asheacceptsit,thefollowing wordsarespoken
Bhagavata:Ahhoho
Suivisa:Ahhoho
Bhagavata(mentionsthenameofthetroupeandthepresidingdeityandadds):Fromtheholypres
enceof...Strivisa:...thisSrimudiGandhaPrasada(holyoffering]offeredbysoandso[thename
ofthesponsor]intheholypresenceofsuchandsuchadeitypresidingoversuchandsuchatroupe
iswelcome.'
The above quotation shows how the sponsorgothis recognition as part ofthe
performance itself.Inthe seating arrangementalso, thepositionand powerofthe
patronwerehighlighted. A similar example of how the performance elevatesthe
positionof the patron can be found in Ramlila of Ramnagar. Richard Schechner
inhisanalysis ofthisformexplains how the performance also works to highlight
the power and position of the king of Benareswho is the patron of these perfor
mances,even ata time when his kingdom islost'
Theperformance wasthusanassertionofthepositionofthe patroninthesoci
ety.Aswehavealreadyobserved, thepatron wasalmostalways thelandlord him
self. Yaksagana thus provided him a sanction, as it were, for his position and
power.The themesofYaksaganawerealwaysaboutdivinepersonagesandsothe
sponsorshipofthe performance provided, symbolically, a divine sanctionforthe
landlord/rich person tocontinue hisexercise ofauthority over the rest ofthevil
lagers.The rest ofthe audience, having witnessed the performance by thecour
tesy of the landlord, would unconsciously imbibe the message regarding the
power and positionof thepatron.
The divisionof the village into alandowning classand landless labourers and
tenants was not merely a division of class. It also related to the caste hirearchy.
The landowners usuallybelonged tothe higher castes.The social structureofthe
village can be properly understood only in the context ofthis twin hierarchy.In
the Indian context itis impossibletounderstand the socialhierarchy withoutref
erence to caste. Coming to the coastal region, the landowning class (and so,the
patrons of Yaksagana) mostly belonged to the Bunt, Jain or Brahmin castes,
which occupied the upper rungs of the caste hierarchy. The sponsorship of
Yak~agiina also acted as an assertion of the superiorstatus ofthese castes inthe
caste hierarchy.The twinhierarchiesofcasteandclasswere nodoubtrelatedand
SYMBOUCSIGNIACANCEOFYAK$AGANA 9
both were highlighted in the act of sponsorship. This assertion wasnotmerely
restrietedtotheperformativecontext.It gotexpressedinthediscourseoftheper.
formanceitself.
The valuesystem and world-viewpresentedinYaksaganaalsoprojectedand
upheldtheunequaldivisionofsociety.ThethemesofYaksagana,drawnfromthe
epicsandPuranas, highlightedthestratifiedhierarchicalsocialstructureinwhich
eachpersonandhiscaste wasgivenadefiniteplaceinthehierarchy. Inthishier
archy,theBrahmins andthe Kshatriyasoccupiedthetoprung. (The social struc
turewasoneof ,'aT1Jaratherthanja/i.)Theothercommunitiesarerarelypresent
edinYaksaganaexcept ascastestereotypesorasservants,gatekeepers,soldiers,
etc., whosecastes arenever mentioned.(Theonlyexception tothisruleseemsto
hethecharacterofKiriita,thehunter).Thefunctionoftheseothergroupsappears
asonlysecondaryand complementary-to servethetwocommunitiesatthetop
of the hierarchy. When this grid of theprojected socialstructurewasapplied to
thegroundsituation of the village, wheretheperformancestookplace,itinvari
ably had theeffect of asserting andstrengthening thesocial structure-s-thelocal
landlordreplacing the king in theshiftofframefromtheepicworld tothereal
world of village life. Along with it, all the other values associated with this
unequalsocial structurewere alsohighlighted. Anyattempttobreakthishierar
chywas shown as having disastrous consequences.Thecaseof Kamaisa fine
example. Kama Parva dealing withthelastmomentsof Kama's lifeisalsoone
ofthemostpopularYaksaganaprasangas,Theclassesandcasteslowerdownthe
hierarchywere thus taught to have unquestioned obedience andrespect forthe
uppercastes/classes.
Yaksaganahas also been asymbolforthestabilityofthesocialstructure asit
upholds thestatusquo.The worldpresentedinYaksagana, aswehaveobsc~'ed,
wasessentiallyan unequal socialset-upwithhierarchical divisions".Th~ SOCIety
was (andlargely is,even now)hierarchicallydivided,withgreatsocialinequali
ties.But,atthesametime,insuchasocialsystem,eachcastehaditsownassured
un~u.al)
place in the hierarchy, andso thesystemled a stable(though social
(0
a~peal,
Structure.ByemphasizingthestatusquoYaksagana,throughusritualistic
providedwhat Clifford Geertzin hisstudyofBalireligion calls"thesanctifica
tionofsocialinequality".'
Officialand Unofficial/dealagits • .
Yak~gana
Itis not to be assumed thatthesymbolic significanceof functions
~f ~rfonnance.
onlyin highlighting the position of thepatron the Acomplex
medium such as Yaksagana does nothavea unidirectional message. In such a
medium, several messages functionsimultaneously. Sometimes, a second meso
10 GURURAOBAPAT
sagesubvertingthefirstmessagemay alsobecommunicatedat the sametime.Ian
Karp,elaborating on MikhailBakhtin'sconcept of ploysemy ofvoices says,".. .
utterancescan simultaneouslyconvey whathe[Bakhtin] called 'officialandunof
ficial' ideologies". He explains how, in a single cultural text, complex and often
conflicting messages manifestthemselves.Applyingthisconceptto performance,
hesays,"Performance canbe usedtoassertdifferingmessagesofauthenticityand
inauthenticity either in different phases of the same performance or even in per
formancesthat refer toone another ... It isalso possible, however, that theelab
oration ofunadorned meaning may assertcontradictory messages simultaneous
ly:'"
Inany Yaksagana performance, the message described earlier,ofassertingthe
socialhierarchy andtheassociated value system,maybe termedthe 'official' dis
course.This is the ideology that provides the prestige and approval ofsocietyto
the performance, especially from the powers of the authority. At the same time
other messages, sometimes contradictory to the official ideology, are also con
veyed.Such messages are symbolically transmitted along withthe officialonein
the course ofthe same performance.
As an example, we can take the question of the status of the artists. The
Yaksaganaartists are from differentcastes, manybelonging to the lowerrungsof
the hierarchy. Till recently, to be a Yaksagana performer was not considered
respectable. But the performance provided the artists what Victor Turner (after
Van Gennep) calls liminality," whereby they became 'superior' to everyoneelse
during the performance.These artists enact the roles ofthe gods, goddesses and
superhumanbeingsofthe epicsand Puranas, whoare held in very high esteemby
theentirepopulace. By 'becoming' thesecharactersintheperformance,theartists
gainapositionand prestigegreaterthan the patronsand the landlordsthemselves.
The entire audience, including the upper and dominant castes, pay obeisance to
these artists representingthegods and goddesses.Thus, evenwhileprojectingthe
official ideology, the performance at another level, through another voice, sub
verts the message by making the upper castes pay their respectsto artists belong
ing to the lowercastesand treating them assuperior."
A similar example can again be found in the Ramlila of Ramnagar. When
Rama returns triumphantly from Lanka to Ayodhya, he is honoured by the
Maharaja ofBenares himself. Richard Schechnerdescribes the scene thus:
An~finally.he[Rama] IswelcomedbytheMaharajaattheFort:onekingreceivinganother.There.
assistedbytheroyalfamily, Ramaandhisfamilyhavetheirfeetwashed,aregarlandedandfedI
sump!uousmeal...I musedthat!.heboyswhowereswarupas[thoseenactingtherol~o~JWn.a
3.n~ hISb~th~rsetc.]forthelasttimeduringlhisscenewereprolongingit.anddeeplyenJoylP~the
umque sttuanon where they were being honoured. worshipped and fed by the Maharaja of
Benares","
svsraoucSIGNIFICANCEOFYAK.\AGANA II
This shows how performance can invest the artist with a status and position
which he would never have got otherwise. This position and recognition is no
doubtshortlived,but during the performanceheattainsasuperiorstatusandwhat
VictorTurnercalls liminality.
Another instance ofthe subversionofthe officialideologycanbefoundinthe
waythe Brahmins are depicted inYaksagana,Brahmincharactersrepresentedin
Yaksagana can be divided into two clearly defined classes-i-nns and ordinary
Brahmins.Risis like Vasistha or Durvasa are played byactorsplaying themajor
roles.Thesecharactersarerepresentedashighlyrespectablefigures.Ontheother
hand, the characters ofordinary Brahmins are played bythehiisyagiira (clown).
Thesecharactersare almostalways thebuttofridiculeandlaughter.Theyarcpre
sentedaseverhungry,greedyandready tobreakanymoralcodeforpersonalben
efit.The Brahmincharacters inprasangaslikeBhisma Vijaya, Bhasmiisura, etc.,
may be taken as examples ofthis type.
In this picturization, we can see how double-faceted thepictureofa Brahmin
becomes in Yaksagana. The risis are presented as honourable personages. So
Brahminism,the abstractconcept, gets recognitionandrespect Atthesametime,
theBrahmins in the village come to resemble theordinaryBrahminsrepresented
by the hiisyagiira rather than the risis. So they are almost always the bull of
ridicule.This was perhapsone wayofreleasingthetensionandgellingevenwith
the Brahmin, who stood highestinthesocial hierarchy.
The above examplesindicatehowdifferent,oftenopposed.messagesaretrans
milled inacomplex mediumlike Yaksagana,Infact, Yek~aganafunctionsatsev
erallevels and so the symbolic meanings are also multiple.Two suchmeanings,
of the official and unofficial ideologies, have already been recognized. In
yaksagana, various other layers of meanings are alsoembedded.Someof these
are studied below.
AsanInstitution ofEducation . .
yaksagana, like many otherdance-drama formsofIndia,hasoverthecentunes
acted as a powerful instrument ofeducation. Inthiscontext,it shoul~berem~m·
bered that women and non-Brahmins were debarred from Sanskritic education
perfo.rmance~themsel~es
according10tradition.Forallofthem, Yaksagana acted
as a means ofeducation. The spectators becameacquaintedWIth thephilosophi
cal issues and ethical values that were represented in the performances. In
Yak~gana, form~
we find artists who are uneducated (in the sense).capable of
~ndlan
speaking on complex issues concerning various fields of ancient knowl
Yak~agana bee~
edge intheirimprovised dialogue.Fortheperformersalso, has a
h . Yak - h acted as a powerful educating
sc,001. Thus, over the centunes. sagana as
IZ GURURAOBAPAT
force, notonlyabouttheepicsand Puranasbutgenerally about the Indianwayof
life.
Bypresenting storiesfrom theepicsand Puranas, Yaksaganahasalso actedas
a strong force in shaping the moral concepts and the world-view of the people.
Theright way and the wrong wayoflifeas seen inthese performances providea
kind of object-lesson to the spectators.The stories provide examples of various
situationsin family life, political life,etc.. and show the 'right' way for the pe0
ple to follO'w.
Linguisticand Cultural Hegemony
The themesof Yaksagana,as we haveobserved, havealways been taken from
the epics and Puranas. Another important feature that we notice is that until
recently,Yaksaganahasalwaysbeen performed inKannada,even inTu!u-speak·
ingareas.Tulu is one of the Dravidian languages spoken by most people inthe
Dakshina Kannada district of Kamataka and in the extreme northern part of
Kerala.Tu]uhasarichoralliteraturethoughitdid nothave awrittenliteraturetill
recently. Tu]u culture shows certain marked differences from the rest of
Kamataka.Forcenturies,Yaksaganahasbeenperformed only inKannadainspite
ofthe fact that most Tu]uspeakers (especially in the villages) do not understand
Kannada. The question that naturally confronts us'is how a popular medium of
culturalexpressionlikeYaksaganacould survive for centuries in alanguagethat
is(partly atleast) alien to thepeople?"
Theanswer tothisliesinthelinguistichegemony of Kannada overTu]u.This
dominance was not merely one of language but also of culture and the religious
model that the language represented. In order to understand this phenomenon
properly, we have to view it from the perspective ofthe Bhakti movement and
what it meantto Yaksagana.
Ample work has already been done on the influence of the Bhakti movement
ontraditionaltheatreformslike Yaksagana.Oneofthefundamentalcanonsofthe
Bhakti movement was to spread the religious message through the spoken lan
guage of the people (like Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Hindi, etc.), which were
directlyaccessibletothepeople.Thisuseofregionallanguages wasinopposition
to the use of Sanskrit, which till then was the repository of all knowledge. This
knowledge in the hands of Brahmins became the source of their power (to use
Foucault'sterms), which they usedin the social,economic and political spheres.
The Bhaktimovementbroke thishegemony ofSanskrit,especiallyoverreligious
knowledge, by using the spoken languages ofthe people for religious leachings.
(II is thus not surprising that in most parts of India, the Bhakti movement also
became a powerful movementof socialchange.)
