literature as would satisfy that hankering after immortality which is inherent in the human breast.'

V. The Ritual Dance

There is abundant evidence in Tamil classical literature for the ritualistic origin of some of the Fine Arts. The dance which originated with shamanistic rites culminates in the solo performance described in the Epic of the Anklet. The following reading mainly about ritual dances is from V. R. RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR'S Studies in Tamil Literature and History, University of Madras, 1930, pages 290-294.

THAT DANCING WHICH went by different names, āṭṭam, kūttu, kunippu, was a recognized mode of amusement among the ancient Tamils is evident. In fact dancing was a marked feature of every incident in the life of the ancient people. It was a sure accompaniment of every joy of life and a means of efficacy in prayer. From the earliest available literature, the Tolkāppiyam, we can gather that dancing was a primitive institution indulged in by all classes of people. From the sūtras (60 and 76) it is obvious that there were two kinds of dancing named Vaḷḷikkūttu and Kalanilaikkūttu. Vaḷḷikkūttu is perhaps in honour of Vaḷḷi, the consort of God Murugan, the War-God. This kūttu was popular among the lower classes of society. Kalanilaikkuttu was of a higher order. This kūttu was arranged in honour of a young soldier who stood boldly in the front rank of the army and offered stout fight while others retreated. On his victorious return, it was usual that his friends presented him with what is known as virakkalal an anklet, and indulged in a dance. Besides these two kūttus there was one other which was known as āṭal. The sūtra (60) of the Puṛattiṇaiyiyal refers to Velanveṛiyāṭal. The chief feature of this dance was to offer bali or animal sacrifice to the God Muruga, and in the course of such worship, one got possessed with the spirit of the God and began to dance. Others in the crowd responded by joining in it. Generally it was held with a view to find out the nature of the trouble which a certain person was ailing from and also to get at some remedy for the same. There was another kind of āṭal which forms one of the twelve tuṛais under the sub-division of tum-baittiṇai in the section on the Puṛattiṇaiyiyal of the Tolkāppiyam. It points to one method of celebrating a fellow-king who has fallen dead heroically in the field of action. It was a custom then that when once the king who led the host fell in battle, to whatever side he might belong, other kings stopped the fight, surrounded the dead