Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s3.t2.5.2

c48.s3.t2.5.2

In fact, the old Dutch travellers when introduced to these bevies, did not mince their words, but habitually refer to them under the title of "danshoer", an appellation even more applicable to the dancing castes of the north than to those in the south, since the former have no connection with religion beyond the dedication of the individual to the worship of a certain god, if she be of the Brāhmanic faith. It is worth noting that owing possibly to this connection with the popular pantheon or, as some think, to the more distant tradition of communistic marriage, the courtesan is not a degraded member of Indian society, but, like the Hetaira of Athens, is not only tolerated, but respected. There is, of course, every grade to be found amongst them, as in all countries where inequality of purse is the rule, from the ragged nomad in her filthy little reed-booth, whose musical and terpsichorean attainments are of the lowest, to the highly-trained singer of the great city, well versed in alike classical and popular poetry, whose diction is often quoted as the standard of Hindī or Urdū polite conversation. It may have been gathered from what has been stated above, that the two arts, dancing and singing, go together, and comparatively few and those only of the highest rank, sing without the plastic accompaniment.