Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c23.s26: 4.23 Sport: cockfight

c23.s26.1

Two Early Vaṭṭeluttu inscriptions at Arasalapuram (No. *112*, ca. 5th century a.d.) and Indalur (No. *113*, ca. 6th century a.d.) refer to the sport of cockfight which has been, next only to bull-baiting, the most popular sport in the Tamil country from ancient times. We learn from literary references that the larger villages having two hamlets, *mēṟcēri* 'the western quarter' (referred to in No. *112*) and *kīḻ-c-cēri* 'the eastern quarter' (referred to in No. *113*) had fighting cocks bred and specially trained to take part in the organised sport of cockfight. The two unique memorial stelae featuring engraved images of the fighting cocks, one of which was given the pet name *poṟkoṟṟi* (No. *113*), provide remarkable confirmation of the Tamil literary tradition relating to the popular sport of cockfight.