1921.) Three Tibetan Repartee Songs. 297 
reading of my paper it was evident that the brief notes I had 
collected with regard to Bengal and Orissa were neither com- 
plete nor free from liability tu be challenged in detail. From 
this same discussion it was further evident that most instruc- 
tive information might be gathered and brought forward bear- 
ing on the general question of the poetic dialogue, the poetic 
debate, or the poetic taunt-song in North-Eastern India, and 
I would like to express my hope that some one of those 
specially qualified should do so for the benefit of us. all. 
Subject to corrections and amplifications to be obtained in 
this way I now add the few notes gathered by me with regard 
to the subject, as a starting point for enquiry in this special 
direction, duly warning the reader that some points have been 
controverted. 
y information, then, is that in Bengal there seem to be 
two varieties of the poetic dialogue, the one secular or profane, 
the other religious. The secular kind has several variations of 
made of the Kabir Ladai #fa act? or poets’ battle; of the 
Kabir Gan, poets’ music; of Tarja sam, or a ain of the 
Haf-akhdai e1e-ayjayté, “< half” (svc) wrestling-ground or meet- 
ing-place. They all deal with Kavya. 
The religious kind deals chiefly with Pauranic subjects 
and is called Paficali, ste, ‘‘ by fives.” 
Other varieties for which no details have been given are 
Jari Gan aifa-stta, current music or, as some explain, declara- 
tion song; and Jhumur-gan q > 
It is said that the kind called Tarja is mainly prevalent 
amongst the lower classes and the origin of this form. is 
ascribed to Mohammedan influence, poetic ‘ prize-fights’ having 
been instituted at the Mohammedan courts. The term itself 
is said to be derived from Ar. tarji' @=,’, repetition, burden 
(of a song), echo. : 
In the term Haf-akhdai the syllable haf is the English 
“half,” and refers to the division of the meeting-place in two 
halves for the parties. : - 
1t was explained to me that paficali means © by fives 
and is so called because what the one leader sings 1S repeated 
by a chorus of four others. This statement, however, was 
controverted in the discussion at the Society’s meeting. I 
was also told that in the paficali there is only one party and 
that is all the other varieties given there are two parties. 
Jhumur is said to be the name of a kind of music and the 
Jhumur-gan, explained as tinkling song, from the accompani- 
ment of the music, is still practised amongst the lower classes 
in Chota Nagpur and its neighbouring tracts. . 
n discussing these matters with several of my Bengali 
friends I found no little vagueness, uncertainty and even 
