Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/140

124 umpires is declared. A commencement is made by one party sending out ten boys to challenge ten boys from the other side. These display their strength and agility of limb by acrobatic feats, and then challenge the boys from the other party. The latter accepts the challenge by sending out ten boys to meet them. Both the sides return to their respective seats. The umpires then call out by name one boy from one party and ask him whether he would fight so and so, on the other side. Sometimes the boy accepts, sometimes he sneeringly says that it would be a disgrace on his part to be matched against such a poor and weak opponent. The doubts are decided by the umpires and the fight takes place. Certain conditions are agreed upon and woe betide him who disregards them. The conditions are whether the blows to be struck shall be all on the back (odaram), on the sides (kadakam), on the back of the neck (pedani), on the cheek (chekadatta), etc. The youngsters then set to, two at a time, and an account is carefully kept by the umpires of successes and defeats. Then in gradation of age, dexterity and skill, others, still two and two ata time, one from each party, appear