the burning of white mustard. Soldiers wounded in battle were said to be particularly liable to attack by evil spirits, and references in the Puranaanuuru speak of the leaves, the smoke of burnt mustard and the Kuriñci music on the Yaal, that kept away the evil spirits from wounded soldiers.³²

The trees, or rather the gods that were supposed to dwell within them, were worshipped according to customary ritual. Offerings of balls of rice and flesh were made on the altar that would be sometimes erected at the foot of the tree. The crows would preferably congregate their nests in the vicinity and feed themselves on these offerings, and at night the hoot of the owls provoked fear in the hearts of the neighbourhood.³³ A peacock which has eaten the millet soaked in liquor offered to Murukan, is said to dance like the priest of Murukan his ritual dance.

The maraam tree or sea-side Indian oak Barringtonia racemosa was said to be the habitat of a deity adored with great awe and reverence, because it was believed to chastise evildoers. Probably it was this idea of chastising the wicked that made the ancients plant the memorial stones of heroes fallen in battle or frontier fray preferably beneath the shade of these trees.³⁴ The god would continue to chastise their enemies as their heroes had done while alive. That these gods were not merely terrifying deities, but were also believed to assist and help those who had recourse to them is apparent from such lines as these in Kalittokai, where the men worship them before engaging in the bull-fights peculiar to the Tamil country.³⁵

Omens were sought in trees, birds and sounds. Kings who set their armies on the march for purposes of invasion or battle sought an omen in the Unnam tree. If its leaves were green and flourishing, the moment was considered propitious, but if its leaves showed signs of withering or the leaves were shrivelled, the moment was inauspicious for starting on such a campaign.³⁶

Birds were the commonest objects of Nature by which good and bad omens were discerned, so that “to discern birds”

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