Burra Katha, also spelled Burrakatha, is an
oral storytelling
Oral storytelling is an ancient and intimate tradition between the storyteller and their audience. The storyteller and the listeners are physically close, often seated together in a circular fashion. The intimacy and connection is deepened by t ...
technique in the
Jangam Katha tradition, performed in villages of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
. The troupe consists of one main performer and two co-performers. It is a narrative entertainment that consists of prayers, solo drama, dance, songs, poems and jokes. The topic will be either a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
mythological story (
Jangam Katha) or a contemporary social issue. It became popular art form during the
Telangana Rebellion
The Telangana Rebellion popularly known as Telangana Sayuda Poratam (Telugu : తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం) of 1946–51 was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the r ...
in the early 1930-1950.
Origin
The modern form of Burra Katha was developed in Guntur district around 1942 with the aim of propagating political ideas among illiterate masses in villages.
Etymology
"Burra" is referred to
tambura, a musical string instrument with a hollow shell. "Katha" means story.
Burra means brain in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
. The shell resembles a
human skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
. It is made of baked clay or dried pumpkin, or of brass and copper. The instrument looks very similar to
veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
and the performer can pull and press strings to produce voices and get music.
History
Burrakatha started as devotional songs of nomadic people and became a popular art form. It is played on radio and TV regularly in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. It is a 20th-century name for the theater show known as
Jangam
The Jangam or Jangamaru (ಜಂಗಮರು) are a Shaiva order of religious monks. They are the priests or gurus of the Hindu Shaiva sect. Jangamas are also gurus of Veerashaiva' sect
Jangamas are disciples of Lord Shiva as mentioned in Bas ...
Katha. The
jangams lingayats were wandering minstrels who worshiped and sang of
Lord Siva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...
. Two performers participated in these plays: the storyteller and his wife. With societal and cultural changes, the secular aspect was incorporated into this form. The modern form has three performers of any gender.
Popular Hindu artists were Pendyala Venkateswarrao, Sunkara Sri Krishna Madhava Rao, Paruchuri Ramakotayya, Sirivisetti Subbarao, Kosuri Punnayya, Govardhana, Kakumanu Subbarao, Davuluru, Chintalal Suryanarayana, Budagajangala mote papaiah, Budagajangala mote kullayappa, Budagajangala mote ramalingam, etc. Women also formed groups, e.g., Moturi Udayam, Chintala Koteswaramma, Mahankali Lakshmi, Sridevi sisters, etc. Popular non-Hindu artists are Abraham Bhagavatar, Manohara Kavi, Khader Khan Sahib, Shaik Nazar etc.
Shaik Nazar popularized this by performing on various contemporary issues at that time and gained people's recognition. He is popularly known as "Father of Burrakatha."
Modern form
The main storyteller (kathakudu) narrates the story. He plays tambura and dances to music. He also wears a metal ring called an andelu on his right thumb, holds another ring in his other hand and adds more music by colliding them frequently. The co-performers plays gummeta (also called dakki or budike), earthen drums with two heads. All three or only the kathakadu wear anklets (also called as gajjelu), which add even more music when they dance.
The right side performer (hasyaka, meaning joker) acts as a joker and cracks satires and jokes. The left side performer (rajakiya, meaning politician) acts as someone who knows worldly ways and talks about politics and social issues. The main performer and co-performers constantly was address each other. The co-performers interrupt the kathakudu with doubts, and they sometimes add emphasis to the main events in the story with short words similar to "Wow!" "Aha!" and "That is it."
Whenever the main performer sings a song, he or she starts with "vinara veera kumara veera gadha vinara" followed by the co-performers singing "tandhana tane tandhana na." It is also called 'tandana katha.'
Significance
Burra katha was a pastime event in villages. It is seen even now during
Dussehra
Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...
or
Sankranti
Sankranti ( sa, संक्रान्ति ''saṁkrānti or saṅkramaṇa'') means transmigration of the Sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy.
Each Sankranti is marked as the beginning of a month in the sidereal solar calen ...
festival seasons to describe events in epics like
Ramayan and
Mahabharat
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
and also some of best and moral stories of kings like kambojaraju katha, chinnamma katha, muggurumoratila katha, etc.
Present
Burrakatha tellers are called as budagajangalu. Internet and movies play a major role in modern life.
That's why the burrakathas are not being seen and no one is there to develop this and improve the art.
In past these burrakatha tellers were important in the villages; now there is no response for their art.
So these burrakatha tellers left their traditional art and have become beggars or day labourers. Even in these modern times, there are no educated people in this tribe. They don't have caste certificates for developing their tribe.
Daroji Eramma
Daroji Eramma, popularly known as Burrakatha Eeramma, (1930–12 August 2014) was a folk singer and performer of the Burrakatha, a folk art form of epic storytelling from South India. She was awarded several awards including the Rajyotsava Prash ...
was a performer of Burra katha from
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
.
See also
*
Jangam
The Jangam or Jangamaru (ಜಂಗಮರು) are a Shaiva order of religious monks. They are the priests or gurus of the Hindu Shaiva sect. Jangamas are also gurus of Veerashaiva' sect
Jangamas are disciples of Lord Shiva as mentioned in Bas ...
*
Kirtan
Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts ...
*
Harikatha
''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu and Tamil (), is a form of Hindu tradition ...
*
Oggu Katha
Oggu Katha or Oggukatha is a traditional folklore singing, praising and narrating the stories of Hindu gods Mallana, Beerappa and Yellamma. It originated among the Kuruma ( Kuruba)and Yadava communities, who devoted themselves to the singing of ...
*
Pravachan
Pravachan, or Pravacana () is a term for any exposition of a doctrine or treatise, or to the recitation of a scripture or text in Jainism and Hinduism traditions.Monier Monier WilliamsSanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology Oxford University P ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* {{cite book, author=Molly Kaushal, title=Chanted narratives: the living "katha-vachana" tradition, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zf1jAAAAMAAJ, year=2001, publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, isbn=978-81-246-0182-2, pages=123–128
External links
*
Ancient Jangam KathaBurrakatha originsBurrakatha descriptionJangam Katha as art
Drama
Hindu music
Indian styles of music
Culture of Andhra Pradesh
Hindu traditions
Storytelling
Performing arts in India