that opens is prodigious; for the roots of this group are lost in the deep neolithic, while its branches, broadly proliferated, show their forms among the dancing tribesmen of Oceania no less than among the Basques of the western Pyrenees. VII. Music The place that instrumental and vocal music obtained in the ancient period has been studied in treatises which are mostly in Tamil. V. R. RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR here summarises the data available in classical literature concerning music and musical instruments, Studies in Tamil Literature and History, pages 296 to 300. THERE WAS NO dancing if there was no singing. In other words singing was an accompaniment of dancing, secular or religious. The popular name given to music in ancient literature is iśai. The traditional account of the three śangams contained in the commentary of the Iṛaiyanar Ahapporuḷ mentions the names of ancient treatises on music like Iśainuṇukkam, Siṛṛiśai, the Mudu-nārai, Mudu-kurugu, the Periśai which are now unfortunately lost to us. The mention of these ancient books is itself an evidence of the antiquity of the institution of music. Singing may be vocal or instrumental or both. A number of musical instruments are referred to in the śangam literature, īśaikkaruvi being the general term. Four kinds of instruments are distinguished -toṛkaruvi made of leather, tuḷaikkaruvi provided with holes, narambukkaruvi or stringed instruments and midaṛṛukkaruvi or throat-instruments.1 Kulal or the flute was the chief wind-instrument and was of various kinds. There were also different forms of trumpets of which the kombu was the most popular. Among the leather instruments forming the varieties of the drum are the paṛai, muasu, perikai and others. Of the stringed instruments the yāḷ occupies a prominent place and is of different kinds. There is a very good description of the yāl in the Porunarāṛṛuppaḍai2 and in another poem Peruṁpā–āuṛṛppaḍai.3 A variety of tunes paṇ, paṇṇiyaṛṛiṛam, tiram, tiṛattiṛam was developed perhaps after each region. Peculiar and special measures were beaten as befitted the different occasions, such as war-music, marriage-music, music connected with dances ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 See Pre-Aryan Tamil Culture, p. 40. 2 11. 4-18. 3 11. 4-16. |