B??ta (Tulu for ‘spirit’, ‘deity’; in turn derived from Sanskrit ????????? meaning ‘spirit’) and k??la (Tulu for ‘play, performance, festival’). The 2000-yr old ritual involves music, dance, recital, and elaborate costumes. Recitals in Old Tulu recount the origins of the deity and tell the story of how it came to the present location. These epics are known as p?????danas. B??tas are deities and spirits worshipped widely in South Kanara, the coastal areas of Karnataka. They are generally considered deities, such as apotheosized local heroes or heroines or the spirits of wild animals dwelling in forests. The b??tas are closely related to and also embody the wild, dangerous, and fertile aspects of divine power.