Academic study of Kohomba Yakkama and its musical use based on Bharatamuni Natyasastra

Abstract

Kohomba Yakkama is the main performance of the upland dance tradition and it is spreading mainly in Sat Korala, Satara Korala and Kandy. It is followed by many elaborate dramas, and music plays a prominent role in the performance of those dramas. Bharatamuni's Natyasastra contains a complete scholarly analysis of music and its practice, as well as the principles of applied science in drama. Accordingly, does the music used in Kohomba Yakkama reflect the inspiration of Bharatamuni's exquisite drama? The qualitative research examined Kohomba Yakkama's original music, using library use, field research, and interviews, analyzing results from Natyasastra's Shastra rules. In it, Kohomba Yakkama and its music were also compared with Natyasastra. According to that, it was confirmed that the features such as setting up the theater hall, worshiping theater deities, pre-theatrical effects, rasa siddhantas, drama professions and gestures are based on the Natyasastra. Kohomba Yakkama features instrumental music, with the gatabera being the main string instrument, influenced by stem size, leather choice, and drum weaving, the Shastra terms associated with the basic sound production, the use of the light instrument in the accentuation, the art effects to be played in the song and the gati pracharas. Similarly, the characteristics of an instrumentalist are also well aligned with the terms of dramaturgy. Therefore, it was confirmed in this research that the Kohomba Yakkama, the music used there and the creation of the gatabera as well as the instrumental effects contained in it are performed in accordance with the rules of drama.