Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/198

and pillars. Small heaps, consisting of boiled rice, paddy, a tender cocoanut, a sprig of areca flowers, and betel were placed on plantain leaves in seven definite spots. The officiating Kānikar, after formally getting the permission of the assembled spectators, and especially of one who subsequently appeared on the scene as the chief dancer, began a monotonous chant in what appeared to be a mixed language. It was understood to be a history of the beginning of earthly kings, a record of the life and doings of departed souls, whose protection was prayed for, and a prayer for the souls of those persons for whose benefit the ceremony of propitiation was in progress. Now and again the feelings of the narrator or singer would overcome him, and he would indulge in a shout or in emphatic gesticulations. This went on for about three or four hours, punctuated at intervals by the firing of petards or old smooth-bore guns, and the shrill cries of the women. Before the chanting terminated, a large heap of the red flowers of Ixora coccinea (thetti pu), about a yard square at the base, had been raised in the centre of the pandal, and it was prettily picked out with areca flowers in artistic designs. The horrible sound of a human voice roaring like a wild beast aroused every one to a sense of activity. From behind the hut came the man already mentioned, very primitively clothed, his hair hanging loose, his eyes staring, and what appeared like foam at his mouth. He would stand, run short distances, leap, sit, agitate his body, and dance, keeping step to the rhythmic and muffled beating of the drum. This he did for ten minutes or so. Suddenly, with a shout, he dived into the hut specially set apart as the feeding place of the god Mādan, and presently appeared with two long sticks adorned at their ends with bells,