rope. A piece of wood, generally of a creeper called Odi, is cut into seven parts, which are called Chandu, i. e. balls. The man holding the rope puts six of these balls in a circle round the peg at a distance of the rope's length, the seventh is deposited close by the peg. The whole company now endeavours to pick off the balls without being touched by their guardian. The player in the centre, always keeping the rope's end in one hand, turns round and round, and tries to touch some one of the aggressors. If he succeed, the person touched must take his place and the play recommences. When six balls are abstracted, the seventh must be moved to the distance of one foot from the peg. When this also is lost, the man has to run through the whole crowd and escape, without being caught, to the Musicians' place. If he reach this asylum in safety, the play is won and finished. If he be caught on his way, he is brought before the Nettle-man, an officer of the play-court, who has been waiting all the time, a long Angare-stick-a large fierce nettle-in his hand, for the victim. His hands and feet are well touched and the play ends.

Now the assembly performs different kinds of plays and dances, which one generation learns from the other in the moon-light nights of the Huttari.

1. The company breaks up into two parties. They form in two lines standing opposite each other at á mọderate distance. Three times they move towards each other, taking three steps forward, and three times they take three steps backward. These moves are accompanied by a peculiar kind of shouting, which keeps time with the paces of the slow dance.

2. A wounded man is in the camp of one party. He is laid on the ground, surrounded by his friends. A stick is in his hand, with which he beats the ground. Consultation is held, and a deputation of two men is

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sent to the hostile Nàdu (represented by the opposite party) to fetch a famous doctor. The messengers set out on their journey. They arrive at the place of their enemies. They call, shout and play all manner of fun. They go round the enemy's district, telling numbers of stories, before they confess who they are, abuse their neighbour-clan, and are abused in turn. At last they carry off the renowned doctor in triumph upon a long pole to their own camp. The physician now in turn, plays the buffoon in his own style, and prescribes all sorts of remedies, but the poor wounded warrior does not seem to benefit by the treatment. The greatest master in badinage and obscenity is the hero of the hour.

3. The two lines form again as No. 1, and the slowpaced dance is resumed.

4. The other party has a wounded man, and sends a deputation of Coorgs to the opposite Nádu for their great physician. It is now their turn to retaliate all the abuse and to compete for the prize in fun, wit, harlequin's tricks, and immodest language.

5. Both parties seat themselves. One of the wounded has died. Two Holeyas (i. e. Coorgs acting the part of Holeyas, who have in cases of death to invite the fellow-villagers and the relatives of the afflicted family) are sent to the other Nádu to give notice of the death and funeral. Coorg-wit is now strained to the utmost, the language used, if possible, worse and more indecent, than before. The other party in the meantime sings, shouts and triumphs. The Holeya deputation arrives three times in the other camp, to call to the funeral. In vain. Now a scene of demoniacal possession is acted. Then follows a shouting as of the fiercest battle. This ceases suddenly, and act five is at an end.

6. On one side a funeral procession full of lamenta

E

tion, on the other side a joyful dance, enlivened by music and clapping of hands, keeping time with the steps of the dancers.

7. The whole party rejoins and goes through seven different kinds of traditionary dances.

8. The parties separate again and are seated. On each side two speakers rise, telling by turns incredible stories to the other party. "I saw the other day a little hare attacking a tiger, and breaking its neck, &c." Reply: "Did you? That is nothing: I saw a buffalo flying over the mountains," &c.

9. Invocation by three men, of Ayappa, Mahádéva and Bhagavati. This appears to be the conclusion of the ancient, traditionary performances.

10. Seven different dances accompanied by the beating of sticks, every man carrying one in each hand. The clatter of the sticks keeps time with the music performed by the band outside.

11. Gymnastic tournament. All kinds of feats of strength and agility.

12. Finalé like No. 9 and No. 1.

Seventh day of the Huttari. The great day. Fullmoon. Early in the morning, some time before the first dawn of the day, a quantity of Ashvatha-(ficus religiosa) Kumbali-(a wild tree growing all over Coorg) and Kéku-(also a Coorg jungle-tree) leaves, some hundred of each for great houses, a piece of a creeper, called Injadi, rather rare in Coorg, but common in the Malayálam (this circumstance may perhaps be an indication of the Malayalam origin of the Huttari festival) and some fibrous bark, called Achchi, are collected, and deposited in a shady place for the use of the evening. Sunrise.

During the day the house is cleansed, the vessels scoured, and every thing wears the appearance of a great holiday. Beggars come to the doors, and are dismissed with presents. The village-Méda brings the

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Huttari-basket (Huttari-pachya) and receives in return rice and plantains. The village-potter appears with the little Huttari-pot, and receives his holiday-gift, rice, plaintains, &c. The carpenter offers a new spoon, the Holeya a new mat. Each carries away his Huttariportion. The Astrologer follows, communicates the important news of the exact time of the full-moon, and claims his share of the Huttari-bounty. The cattle are well washed and scrubbed. The slaves have an extraallowance of rice-in-the-husk. Breakfast and dinner are served to the family as usual.

At sunset the whole house prepares for a hot bath. The precedence in bathing is given to the person, whom the Astrologer may have chosen in the morning for the ceremony of cutting the first sheaves of the harvest. On his return from bathing, he repairs to the threshing-floor, spreads the new mat, which the Holeya has brought, seats himself upon it with the leaves gathered in the morning, and, while the rest are engaged in their ablutions, cuts the Injadi-creeper into very small pieces, rolls each piece into three leaves (one Ashvatha, one Kumbali, one Kéku-leaf) in the fashion of a native cheroot, and binds round the middle of the little bundle a bit of Achchi-fibre-string. The leaf-bundles are laid in the Méda's new basket.

Now the women, fresh from the bath, take a large brass or copper-dish and strew it with rice. A lamp is lighted and placed in the dish. This is done in the house.

After these preliminaries, the whole household sets out in procession towards the fields. The dish with the burning lamp is carried in front. The sheaf-cutter follows with basket and sickle in one hand, and a bamboo-bottle of fresh-drawn milk in the other. The whole company, as they proceed, shout: pôli ! i. e. increase! increase! Arrived at the chosen spot, the young man

binds one of the leaf-scrolls from his basket to a bush of rice (three or four plants are generally placed together, when the transplantation takes place, and they grow in good fields into great bushes filling a large hand in cutting) and pours milk into it. Having paid this honor to the bush of rice, he proceeds to cut an armfull in its neighbourhood. From this store he distributes two or three stalks to every one present, not forgetting to put some stalks into the bamboo-vessel, in which he has brought the milk. Care, however, is taken, lest any one touch the person of the cutter of the first-fruits. All return to the threshing-floor. A bundle of leaves is adorned with a stalk of rice, and fastened to the post in the centre of the threshing-floor. The company moves from the threshing-floor to the door of the house. Here the mistress of the house meets the festive party, washes the feet of the cutter of the first-fruits of the season, and presents to him, and after him to all the rest, a brass vessel filled with a mixture of milk, honey and sugar, from which each takes a draught. Now the company proceeds into the kitchen. The Huttari-mat is spread; upon it the brass-dish, the rice-sheaf and the basket with the leafbundles are placed. Each bundle is adorned with a stalk of rice, and the chosen (the priest I might almost say) distributes the bundles to the members of the family, who disperse to bind the festive token to every thing in house and garden, doors, stools, roofs, trees, &c. This done, he sits down to knead the Huttaridough, which consists of rice-meal, plantains, milk and honey, well mixed. To this mass seven new ricecorns, seven small pebbles, seven pieces of dry ginger, seven cardamomum-seeds, and seven corns of sesamum are added. Each one receives a little of this dough upon an Arali-(Ashvatha) leaf and eats it. Thus the ceremony terminates and the chosen of the day is al