viRaliyar (Musicians in the Near East)

[N. Ganesan]

On devadasis and the Sangam Tamil relations, refer to Saskia
Kersenboom-Story's Utrecht PhD thesis under the direction of
K. Zvelebil.  Zvelebil has analysed the Nature of Sacred power
inherent in women in "The nature of Sacred power", Acta Orientalia,
40 (1980), p. 157-192.

Kersenboom develops a theory of Devadasi institution
as Converter systems of Uncontrolled/Inauspicious power into
Controlled/Auspicious energy through the means of dance and music.

S.C. Kersenboom-Story, "ViRali - Possible sources of the
Devadasi tradition in the Tamil bardic period",
J. of Tamil studies, No. 19, June 1981, p. 19-41.

In the recent reprint of his book as an OUP paperback edition,
Hart has a similar theory to Zvelebil as well. The book-title is
The Poems of Ancient Tamil: Their mileau and their Sanskrit
counterparts, 1999 (First edition: 1975).

Regards,
N. Ganesan

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