Horn-blowers (Kommulavāru)

M. Nagabhushana Sarma 1995.
Folk Performing Arts of Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad: Telugu University.

©  Telugu University 1995

[pp 37-8]                                            

Kommu Gollalu are minstrels belonging to the Madiga community of Harijans and narrate the ballad of Katamaraju katha to Gollas or Yadavas. They are, according to the tradition, the only ballad singers authorised to sing the Katamaraju stories.  They worship Ganga, called by a local name, Donakonda Ganga, whom they treat as an incarnation of Shakti. They also tell the clan histories of the Yadavas, especially on the eleventh day of a dead person and sing a particular story of the ballad cycle, Reddiraju katha.

Katamaraju katha is the second oldest historical ballad cycle of the Andhras (the oldest being Palnati Veera Charitra). The katha describes the events and incidents connected with the Panchalinga Konda and Erragaddapadu battles fought between the Yadava headed by Katamaraju on one side and Nelluru Cholas headed by Nallasiddhi on the other, sometime between 1280 and 1297 AD. On the Yadava side fought warriors like Birnidu and Chennappa belonging to the Harijan community. Bhaktiranna, the eldest son of Polaraju, who survived the battle, ordained the offspring of Birnidu to sing the glory and maintain the family records of the Yadava heroes. The Kommulavaru are said to be the descendants of Bhaktiranna and are thus hereditary custodians of the tradition. That is why these minstrels are patronised by all the Yadavas throughout Andhra Pradesh, especially in the southern parts of coastal Andhra.

As these singer-narrators use a kommu, a hollow horn, at the beginning of their story-telling, they are called Kommulavaru. The ‘Kommu' is called by several names - kāle, boora, gavuru, etc. It is usually the horn of a bull or a pottelu (ram) and it is polished and covered at both ends with brass or silver or even gold. It is like a conch and gives a thunderous noise. Today the horns are completely made of brass, or iron or other metals.

The ballad singing contains a team of four people - the narrator and three assistants. The narrator wears a long red coloured gown, a dhoti, a head cloth, a waist cloth and will have kerchief in his right hand and bells to his ankles. One of the assistants helps the narrator in singing by catching the line half way and also providing the refrain. Another member plays on a veeranam, also called Pamba jōḍu - a pair of pambas - the upper one smaller than the lower one. To the left side of the narrator is sruti, provided by a titti. The pamba man stands to the right of the narrator. There is also tāḷam [small cymbals], providing the basic rhythm. The narration is mostly recitative - prose being read as a song. However, there is not much of singing rāgas. The rāga chāya is certainly there, but many of the narrators cannot identify the rāga. The narrator, in between the narration, dances a little. Unlike in other, more vibrant forms like Burra katha and Oggu katha, the ‘chindu' is neither mood-creating nor rhythmic. But narrations of war are certainly emotive. As one leader explains, when war scene were being narrated, there used to be inevitable fights between the Yadavas and their opponents.

In Guntur and Prakasam districts the Kommu people are called ‘gudarulu' because they erect a tent in which they perform and narrate their stories. There are six essential prerequisites for such a Kommu narrative: a tent (guḍāram), kommu (horn), veeranam (drum), bollāvu (the image of a white cow), veera taadu (a twined rope) and Basava Devudu (the image of Basava). In the tent are hung large paintings of Gangamma, the clan deity, and Katamaraju, the hero of the Yadavas. These hangings are called ‘tera cheerelu'. It is because of these painted hangings, the Kommus are called ‘Tera Cheerelu Bhaktulu' - the devotees of hung paintings. The white cow which has a single horn is made of wood or brass. This also forms an important item of their possessions. Basava Deva is the messenger who brought the news of the Yadava leaders death at Erragaddapadu to Donakonda.

When items like ‘Ganga tarkam' (the reasoning of Ganga) are narrated one of the team members is made up as Ganga and another as Katamaraju. They argue, with swords in hands (with a nimma [lime] fruit at the tip of each sword), and dance to the tune of the veeranam and continue their argument.

The Kommus sing the story of Katamaraju with great devotion and fervour. They can be seen in Guntur, Prakasam and in parts of Nellore district. In Rayalaseema they are called ‘Bhattu Vallu', the eulogists (of the Yadava community).