THEATRICAL REPRESENTATIONS are common among the TamiLs, the Burmans, the Chinese and the Malayanesians, but aro of com pamtiveily rare occurrence amongst the Northern Hindus. In ancient Hindu tirnes, plays were written for representation on lunar holidays, royal coronations, at fairs and religious festivals, marriages, taking possession of a house. or town, and the birth of a son. Specimens of these dramatic writings were given iu the translation of Sakuntala, by Sir W. Jones ; iu that of Prabodha Chandrodaya, or Rise of the Moon of Intellect, by Dr. Taylor of Bombay ; in Professor Wilson's Hindu Theatre,and Professor Monier Williams' Nala and Damayanti. They seem to have been written for one performance, lasting for 4 or 6 hours, and, to have been represented only once. With the Burmese, a dramatic representation lasts a whole day or more, and with the Chinese, even for ten days. Amongst the Athenians a piece was never performed a second time, at least under the same form. The ancient Hindu drama is in Sanskrit. The Burmese representations are stated by /dr. Oldham to be indelicate, but Colonel Phayre's opinion is not in accordance with that. in India, a,mongst the Hindus, traces of an inferior order of the drama are to be found in the dramatized stories of the Bhand (Him) or professional buffoons ; in the Jatra of the Bengali people, and the Rasa of the Western Provinces. The Bhaur is
a representation of some ludicrous adventure by two or three persons, carried on in an extempore dialogue, usually of a very coarse kind, and enlivened by practical jokes not always very decent. The Jatra is generally the exhibition of some of the incidents in the youthful life of Krishna, maintained also in extempore dialogue, but inter spersed with popular songs. Radha, the mistress of Krishna, his father, mother, and the Gopi, are the ordinary dramatis personm, and Nareda acts as buffo. The Rasa partakes more of the ballet, but it is accoinpanicd also with songs ; whilst the adventures of Krishna or Rama are represented in appropriate costume by measured gesticulations. The most recent dramatic Hindu writings are of a inythological and sectarial character.
During the 7th decade of the 19th century, there were frequent revivals of the Tainil drama at Madras. In China, companies of actors travel about the country, and engage themselves to com mittees of temples or guilds, or to wealthy indi viduals, for a week or more at a time. Admission is. gratis ; the play is carried on night and day, with intermissions for food. The female parts are taken by men. These representations resemble the Pooay of Burma.— Wilson's Hindu Theatre. See Drarna_;__Literature.