bodia through the union of the daughter of a dragon king
and the Indian Brahmin Kaudinya. Th e Mahabharata and es-
pecially the Ramayana also proved popular in Java (in mod-
ern-day Indonesia). Th e Javanese variations to the story can
still be seen in Bali, though the most popular theater there
has long been connected with the mythological Barong, the
“king of the spirits.” In Southeast Asia, Vietnam was an ex-
ception because it drew more heavily from Chinese stories.
Japan had similar traditions of extensive formalized perfor-
mances for the court and wandering teams giving theatrical
performances in towns and villages throughout the country.
Th e earliest surviving Japanese theatrical scripts date to the
300s c.e.
Th roughout the Pacifi c, Polynesian theater and drama
oft en had the same themes as some of those in Asia but
tended to focus more on long sea voyages, fl oods, the com-
ing of “strange” peoples, and other related historical themes.
In most cases these stories have come down to the present
day in oral tradition. Unlike the tales of the great cultures
of Asia those of the Aborigines of Australia essentially focus
on the environment and geography instead of history. Th e
Aboriginal “dreamtime” stories, which have been passed
down in tribes over 40,000 years, tend to relate to providing
explanations for land features. Th ey explain how particular
mountains or rivers formed, the color of natural features, and
the seasons. As the oldest surviving culture in the world, the
Aboriginals, with their nonhierarchical society, seem to show
that the origins of drama and theater lie in something like
their corroborees, festivities at which they gather, sometimes
from considerable distances, to celebrate important occa-
sions with (usually nocturnal) songs and dancing, both oft en
having complex geographical themes.
EUROPE
BY MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
For a number of reasons very little is known about drama,
theater, and performance arts in ancient Europe. One reason
is the low rate of literacy among the ancient Europeans. In
contrast to ancient Greece, Rome, China, and other cultures,
the civilizations of ancient Europe produced few people who
could read and write, with the result that literature was trans-
mitted orally rather than in written form.
Another problem was the social disruption caused by
war, conquest, and migrations. Th e ancient Celts, for exam-
ple, migrated westward, probably from western Russia, and
became the dominant culture of central Europe. Th e Celts,
though, were conquered by the Germanic and Scandinavian
peoples from the north while at the same time feeling pres-
sure on the south from the Roman Empire, which used its
power to eradicate cultures and customs in the conquered
territories. (Much of what little drama and theater is known
from ancient Europe existed only because of the Romans.)
Under these conditions, it would be surprising if much in the
way of an indigenous dramatic literature survived.
Much of what historians know, or theorize, is based on
fragmentary evidence, hints, and inferences, but it is likely
that performance art in ancient Europe paralleled that in
other parts of the world, where the record is more complete.
For example, a good deal of performance art was probably
conducted as part of ritual religious observances. Among the
Druids, the religion of the ancient Celts, priests and shamans
controlled the ritual observances of the people and were oft en
regarded as having magical powers. Th ey also functioned as
teachers for the community. Th ese priests conducted ritual
observances, oft en in conjunction with such events as the
equinoxes and solstices. Like most northern cultures, the
Celts saw the arrival of spring or of the shortest days of winter
as important events, recognized in communal ritual celebra-
tions (celebrations that gave rise to many modern traditions
surrounding such holidays as Christmas and Halloween). It is
likely that these communal celebrations took on features of a
dramatic performance.
One form of performance art that probably was widely
practiced was the reading or recitation of myths, legends, and
epic poems. Historians know that a considerable number of
such works of literature existed, though how many were writ-
ten down is anybody’s guess, for few texts survive and even
those are mostly fragments. It is known, however, that many
later European epics—from Scandinavia, the Germanic peo-
ples, and the Celts—preserved literary traditions, characters,
and story lines from centuries before. Most of these works
were transmitted orally, passed down from one generation of
storytellers to another. Th us it is likely that some medieval
narratives were developments of narratives from the ancient
world. A good example is the Edda, a group of medieval folk-
tales from Old Norse mythology whose origins no doubt ex-
tend into the mists of the ancient past.
Th e role of the bard, or oral storyteller, was not acquired
in a haphazard fashion. Th e performance of these tales,
myths, and legends was conducted for the aristocracy, and
the bards constituted the libraries and museums of the time,
guarding the culture. Most bards underwent intensive train-
ing for their role, and over time they acquired a repertoire of
tales, including tales about feasts, deaths, adventures, cattle
raids, battles, and visions.
One example of a relatively complete text that may have
served as the script for a dramatic performance is the Skírn-
ismál, a Scandinavian love poem of uncertain date but gen-
erally believed to have been written in pre-Christian times.
Th e poem is set in dramatic form, with dialogue between the
characters. Th e basic plot is simple: Freyr dispatches his ser-
vant Skírnir to court for him the maiden Gerdr, the daughter
of Gymir, a giant. Skírnir promises gift s, but to no avail, so
he fi nally uses threats to persuade Gerdr to meet Freyr in the
grove called Barri, where the two will be married.
Some scholars believe that the Skírnismál is a surviv-
ing example of a fl ourishing tradition of ritual Scandinavian
drama from pre-Christian days. It is believed that performers
created effi gies of gods and goddesses for use in these pro-drama and theater: Europe 333