Studies in Cola History and Administration c14.9

c14.9

and followed other vocations of a more or less hereditary nature. There was a fair amount of inland trade, and larger opportunities for the speculative and the venturesome to make fortunes in foreign trade which was largely concentrated in seaport towns. Then, as now, the bulk of the people lived in villages which, in various ways and with many differences, were on the whole free to look after their own affairs. Religious festivals and fairs, dance, song and the drama were among the amusements of the people. Caste and merchant guilds, religious and secular associations of various kinds shared with the king's government the great task of upholding social order by the promotion of learning and the arts, and the detection and punishment of crime. A mis-appropriation of common funds, a theft of temple jewels, an exhorbitant demand of the tax-gatherer, some breach of caste rules or conventions, such were the occasions that added spice to life in the villages, and sometimes roused the people to an unwonted display of energy.