Yakshagana

The literal meaning of the word ‘Yakshagana’ means the song of the Yakshas. The closest thing to Yaksha in English could be spirits. I got the following definition from google which is quite appropriate description for Yaksha. “Yaksha (Sanskrit यक्ष yakṣa, Pali yakkha) is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts.” But the ‘Yakshagana’ has a broader meaning than this. Now coming to the actual use of the word in art forms - Yakshagana is used to describe a dance drama i.e., a story, usually of hindu mythology, narrated through a series of songs, enacted by the artists of the play. The artists could do this not only through dance sequences and acting accompanied by a song like in Kuchipudi Yakshagana, or accompanied by dialogues also like in Yakshagana bayalatta and also conversing the dialogues of the characters in the plot only as in Yakshagana Talamaddale. The word was used by Dr. Shivarm Karanth to name the popular folk theatre of bayalatta which is very popular in the Souther districts of Karanataka and northern Kerala for better recognition worldwide. You could refer to the book ‘Yakshagana’ by Dr. Shivaram Karanth for more insights of Yakshagana which is in English.