Burra Katha

Understand

Where Burra Katha comes from

Burra Katha (also Burrakatha) is an oral storytelling technique of the Jangam Katha tradition of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The form originated as the devotional songs of nomadic Jingar/Jangam people who worshipped Lord Shiva and sang of his legends while wandering through the countryside. In the early 1940s — during the Telangana Rebellion (1946-1951) — the modern form of Burra Katha was developed in the Guntur region, with the player Shaik Nazar publishing the form with contemporary political content. The form became a powerful medium for the political-education of the village masses, with its troupe-of-three model (the main storyteller, the rajakiya the politician, and the hasyaka the joker) easily adapted to both epics and contemporary issues. The form is regularly performed on All India Radio and on Doordarshan in the state and has been documented as one of the most widespread folk-narrative traditions of Andhra Pradesh.

How it's practiced

Burra Katha is performed by a troupe of three — the main storyteller (kathakudu) who narrates the story, plays the tambura and dances in time to the music; the rajakiya (politician) who plays the worldly commentating role and discusses politics and social issues; and the hasyaka (joker) who adds jokes and satirical commentary. The storyteller wears a metal ring called andelu on the right thumb and strikes it against a ring held in the other hand to make percussion. The co-performers play the gummeta (an earthen drum with two heads). Music is the tambura (with its characteristic andelu rings) and the double-headed drum. Costume is the everyday Telugu/Andhra dress — the dhoti-kurta for the men. The dance is performed at village grounds, at temple festivals and at the cultural programmes of the state.