Folk arts of

Karnataka

Karnataka has a variety of traditional arts, including folk dance and puppetry.

Yakshagana performers in action.

Mysore region

Kunitha: a ritual dance

The ritual dances of Karnataka are known as Kunitha. One such dance is the Dollu Kunitha, a
popular dance form accompanied by singing and the beats of decorated drums. This dance
is primarily performed by men from the Kuruba Gowda caste. The Dollu Kunitha is
characterized by vigorous drum beats, quick movements and synchronized group formations.

Bharatnatyam / Bharata Natya

Bharatanatyam is classical dance of Karnataka too. It is referred to as Bharata Natya in

Kannada. This Indian classical dance form was mentioned in the Kannada text Manasollasa
written by Someshwara lll.

Dollu Kunitha

Various styles of traditional

drums are used in folk music,
dance and theater of
Karnataka
 Dollu Kunitha is also danced
by women.

This is a group dance named after the dollu used in its performance, and performed by the
men of the Kuruba Gowda community. The group consists of 16 dancers, each wearing a
drum and playing different rhythms while dancing. The beat is directed by a leader with
cymbals in the center. Slow and fast rhythms alternate, and the group weaves a varied
pattern. Costumes are simple; the upper part of the body is usually left bare, while a black
sheet is tied on the lower body over the dhoti. A troupe led by K. S. Haridas Bhat toured the
USSR in 1987, performing in Moscow, Leningrad, Vyborg, Archangelsk, Pskov, Murmansk,
Tashkent and Novograd.

Beesu kamsale and kamsale nritya

This is a group dance performed by village men in the Mysore, Nanjanagudu, Kollegala and
Bangalore regions. It is named after the kamsale, which is played and as a prop by the
dancers. The kamsale is a cymbal in one hand and a bronze disc in the other, producing a
rhythmic clang.

The kamsale nritya is connected to a tradition of worship of Male Mahadeshwara (Shiva) by

the Kuruba Gowda community, from which most of the dancers are drawn. The dance is
performed to rhythmic, melodious music sung in praise of Shiva. It is part of a diiksha(oath),
and is taught by a spiritual leader. This dance was showcased in Kannada films such as
Janumadha Jodi and Jogi, in which the protagonist is a kamsale dancer.
Somana Kunita
Somana Kunita (the Mask Dance) is a celebratory form of guardian spirit worship popular in
southern Karnataka, performed primarily in village shrines dedicated to the Mother Goddess
by the Gangemata community. The dance is characterised by elaborate masks (somas)
painted in a variety of colours, with each mask's colour indicating the god's nature. A
benevolent deity is represented by a red mask, while a yellow or black mask suggests the
opposite. There are many types of masks, differing from region to region.

Somana Kunitha is a ritualistic dance associated with worship of the Grama Devate [village
deity], and is primarily celebrated after Ugadi and before the onset of the monsoon at Maha
Shivaratri. It is most popular in the old Mysore region, in districts such as Hassan, Tumkur,
Bangalore, Mandya and Chitradurga.

On the ceremonial day, offerings are made to the spirits. The masks are made from the red
sandalwood tree. Other props include a cane (or stick) and peacock feathers. A small hat
with colourful flowers, neem leaves and colourful strips of cloth is also worn. Music is
provided by the doonu(percussion), mouri(pipe) and sadde(a pipe for the Śruti). The dancer
begins in the temple of the goddess, singing praise of the guardian spirit in a trance-like state.
An offering of the blood of a fowl is sometimes made to the goddess.

Bharata Natya classical dance

Suggi Kunitha
Suggi Kunita
Suggi Kunita (the Harvest Dance) is performed during the harvest time mostly by the farming
community. Artists in beautiful costumes and wooden headgear adorned with carved birds
and flowers dance to the tune of drums with sticks and peacock feathers. They enhance the
dance sometimes, by their own singing.[1]

North Karnataka

Traditional wooden Puppetry of

Karnataka.

Jaggahalige Kunita
This is a folk art of the Hubballi Dharwad region (particularly the village of Byahatti), which is
performed on occasions such as Ugadi and Holi. The jagghalige is a percussion instrument
made from a bullock cart wheel wrapped in buffalo hide. The villagers roll out the large
instruments and march in procession. The performance is directed by a choreographer
playing a much-smaller percussion instrument called the kanihaligi, made of clay and covered
with calf hide. The performance usually involves about 15 people.
Karadi majalu
This is popular group folk music in north Karnataka, performed during occasions and in
processions. The karadi or karade is the percussion instrument used by the group. It is a
palm-sized cymbal producing metallic sounds, and the shehnai produces the melody.

Krishna Parijatha
Krishna Parijatha is theatre popular in North Karnataka. It is a combination of Yakshagana
and Bayalata, portraying stories or scenes from the Mahabharata

Lavani
This folk dance of Maharashtra is also present in some parts karnataka
Dakshina Kannada

Jambavanta as depicted in
Yakshagana.

Bhootha Aradhane
This dance form is widely performed in coastal regions. The Bhootha Aradhane (Gana)
worship includes a procession of idols and is characterized by drums and firecrackers. At the
end of the procession, the idols are placed on a plinth. A dancer, personifying a bhoota (holy
spirit), dances around the plinth with sword and jingling bells. The dancer dances quickly and
then slows, signifying that he is now divine.

Yakshagana
Yakshagana is not folk art but a popular traditional theatre of India performed in coastal and
malenadu regions which is a blend of dance, music, songs, scholarly dialogue and colourful
costumes. The word means "celestial music", and the dance drama is performed during the
night (usually after the winter crop has been harvested).
Kodagu
The Huttari Dance and 'Contemporary theatre culture in Karnataka is one of the most vibrant
in India with organizations like Ninasam, Ranga Shankara and Rangayana active on
foundations laid down by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company Bolak-aata are dance forms in
Kodagu. The Kodavas are a unique group who differ in customs, traditions and religion from
the surrounding populace, and have an annual harvest dance. The men, dressed in traditional
Kodava costumes with decorative knives, perform this slow dance to background music. The
dance has different varieties:

Bolak-aat
Performed by Kodava men in back of an oil lamp in an open field. The men hold chavari(yak
fur) in one hand and the Kodava short sword (odi-kathi) in the other while performing this
dance. Regional varieties of this dance exist in which performers dance with the chavari and
not the short sword. When the odi-kathi is also used, the dance is known as kattiyaata. The
dudi, an hourglass-shaped drum, provides the rhythm.

Ummatt-aat
Performed by Kodava women, who wear traditional Kodava dress with jewelry, adorn their
foreheads with kumkuma and dance in a circle to a swinging rhythm, brass cymbals in hand.
A woman stands at the center holding a pot full of water to represent Kaveri Taayi (Mother
Kaveri), whom the Kodavas worship.

Komb-aat
While the Bolaak-aat and the Ummatt-aat are celebratory and festive, the Komb-aat is a
religious dance. It is traditionally performed in temples, but may also be performed in other
places. Performed by Kodava men, deer horns represent the horns of the krishnamruga (a
spotted deer in Kodava legend). The dance is performed to rhythmic tunes played on wind
instruments and percussion, and includes martial movements representing techniques used
by the Kodavas in warfare.
Arts common to most
regions

Hagalu veshagaararu

Folk artist applying character

makeup.

This is a group of itinerant actors in Karnataka who specialise in unscripted miming; no stage
or facility is used. The artists move from place to place, pitching tents and offering to
perform. They play a variety of mythological, legendary and real characters. Performances
draw from daily life, and sometimes full-length plays are staged. They perform vachana
sahityas by Sarvagna, Basavanna and others.

The harmonium, the tabla-dagga and a pair of cymbals provide melody and rhythm. For their
performances, staged in village squares and fairs, the actors receive food collected in a bag
by an assistant accompanying the troupe. Most hagalu veshagaararus belong to the
Veerashaiva tradition, while some are Muslims. Sometimes they are addressed as
jyaatigaararu ("belonging to the Muslim community"). They are also known as suDugaaDu
siddha ("monks of the cemetery") or bahuroopi ("having many disguises").

As their name suggests, they perform primarily during the day (hagalu) and only men take
part (including female roles). While entertainment is the main objective, the hagalu
veshagararu also educate villagers about mythology and social issues with their
performances.

Goravara kunita
Goravara kunita is a dance worshipping Shiva which is popular in the Mysore and North
Karnataka regions. In North Karnataka the Goravas worship Mylara Lingeshwara Temple
which belongs to the Halumatha(Kuruba gowda) community. In South Karnataka the Goravas
wear black-and-white woollen garments and a black-bear-fur cap (of black bear), and play the
damaru and the pillangoovi (flute). In North Karnataka the Goravas wear black woollen
garments and a leather shoulder bag; some wear a black coat and white dhoti. The dancers
rub crimson powder and vibhooti (sacred ash) on their foreheads. Traditional Gorava
devotees dance in a trance, sometimes barking like dogs. The dancers move in a clockwise
zigzag, with no fixed choreography. The North Karnataka Goravas wear yellow powder on
their foreheads and give Prasada to devotees. Damaru, venu, small bronze bells and cowbells
(paarigante) are played. The dance consists of trance-like movements with no fixed
choreography.

Nagamandala
This ritual dance is performed in south Karnataka to tranquilize the serpent spirit, and is an
extravagant night-long affair. The dancers (Vaidyas) dance all night around a huge figure,
drawn on the ground in natural colors, in a pandal in front of the shrine. The dance is
generally performed between December and April.
Karaga
The karaga, in a dance performed by the Thigalas, is a metal pot on which stands a tall, floral
pyramid and which is balanced on the carrier's head. The contents of the pot are secret. The
carrier's arrival is heralded by hundreds of bare-chested, dhoti-clad, turbaned Veerakumaras
with unsheathed swords.

Gaarudi Gombe
Gaarudi Gombe is a folk dance in which dancers dress in suits made of bamboo sticks.
Gaarudi-Gombe means "magical puppet" in Kannada. The dance is performed during major
festivals and in the procession held during the Mysore Dasara, and is known as Tattiraya in
the coastal regions. Tattiraya means "someone carrying a doll made of bamboo sticks".[2]

The dance features masks, puppets and colourful regional costumes. The puppets are made
from bamboo and papier mâché, painted with suitable makeup. During the fair and festival
procession to the temple, the giant dolls are the central attraction to spectators. The dolls are
hollow and permit a person to get inside, carry the structure on his shoulders and dance,
while being able to see. The dolls are used for fun and to ward off evil spirits, depicting
characters from Indian mythology and folklore. The dance is performed to the tamate and
dholu (a percussion instrument). Each doll weighs 10 to 12 kilograms (22 to 26 pounds), and
stand 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7 metres) tall. During the procession, some performers wear
character masks and interact with the dolls. Itinerant performers dressed as a tiger
(hulivesha) or bear (karadi-vesha) with dancing monkeys are common in South India.

Joodu Haligi
The Joodu Haligi is performed with two percussion instruments. The Haligi is round, made of
buffalo hide and played with a short stick. The dance is characterised by high energy and
exaggerated expressions by two or three performers.

Togalu Gombeyaata, is a traditional

form of shadow puppetry from
Karnataka.

Puppetry
Togalu Gombeyaata is a type of shadow puppetry which is unique to Karnataka. The name
meaning "a play with leather dolls" in Kannada.[3] The Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat has
researched this art form, and has an extensive collection of leather puppets.

Veeragaase dance
Veeragase, a vigorous dance based on Hindu mythology, is one of the dances performed at
the Mysore Dasara. It is primarily performed during the Hindu months of Shravana and
Karthika.

See also

Karnataka
Janapada Loka