dwelling huts for domestic purposes from matches. The men who came
to be operated on with my measuring instruments had no hesitation in
asking for a match, and lighting the cheroots which were distributed
amongst them, before they left the Paikara bungalow dining-room. Within
the precincts of the dairy temple the use of matches is forbidden, and
fire is kindled with the aid of two dry sticks of Litsæa Wightiana. Of
these one, terminating in a blunt convex extremity, is about 2' 3''
long; the other, with a hemispherical cavity scooped out close to
one end, about 2 1/2'' in length. A little nick or slot is cut on the
edge of the shorter stick, and connected with the hole in which the
spindle stick is made to revolve. "In this slot the dust collects, and,
remaining in an undisturbed heap, seemingly acts as a muffle to retain
the friction-heat until it reaches a sufficiently high temperature,
when the wood-powder becomes incandescent." [39] Into the cavity in the
short stick the end of the longer stick fits, so as to allow of easy
play. The smaller stick is placed on the ground, and held tight by
firm pressure of the great toe, applied to the end furthest from the
cavity, into which a little finely powdered charcoal is inserted. The
larger stick is then twisted vigorously, "like a chocolate muller"
(Tylor) between the palms of the hands by two men, turn and turn
about, until the charcoal begins to glow. Fire, thus made, is said
to be used at the sacred dairy (ti), the dairy houses of ordinary
mands, and at the cremation of males. In an account of a Toda green
funeral, [40] Mr. Walhouse notes that "when the pile was completed,
fire was obtained by rubbing two dry sticks together. This was done
mysteriously and apart, for such a mode of obtaining fire is looked
upon as something secret and sacred." At the funeral of a female,
I provided a box of tändstickors for lighting the pyre. A fire-stick,
which was in current use in a dairy, was polluted and rendered useless
by the touch of my Brahman assistant! It is recorded by Harkness
[41] that a Brahman was not only refused admission to a Toda dairy,
but actually driven away by some boys, who rushed out of it when
they heard him approach. It is noted by Dr. Rivers that "several
kinds of wood are used for the fire-sticks, the Toda names of these
being kiaz or keadj (Litsæa Wightiana), mors (Michelia Nilagirica),
parskuti (Elæagnus latifolia), and main (Cinnamomum Wightii)." He
states further that, "whenever fire is made for a sacred purpose, the
fire-sticks must be of the wood which the Todas call kiaz or keadj,
except in the tesherot ceremony (qualifying ceremony for the office
of palol) in which the wood of muli is used. At the niroditi ceremony
(ordination ceremony of a dairyman), "the assistant makes fire by
friction, and lights a fire of mulli wood, at which the candidate
warms himself." It is also recorded by Dr. Rivers that "in some Toda
villages, a stone is kept, called tutmûkal, which was used at one
time for making fire by striking it with a piece of iron."
The abode of the Todas is called a mad or mand (village or hamlet),
which is composed of huts, dairy temple, and cattle-pen, and has been
so well described by Dr. Shortt, [42] that I cannot do better than
quote his account. "Each mand," he says, "usually comprises about
five buildings or huts, three of which are used as dwellings, one
as a dairy, and the other for sheltering the calves at night. These
huts form a peculiar kind of oval pent-shaped [half-barrel-shaped]
construction, usually 10 feet high, 18 feet long, and 9 feet
broad. The entrance or doorway measures 32 inches in height and 18
inches in width, and is not provided with any door or gate; but
the entrance is closed by means of a solid slab or plank of wood
from 4 to 6 inches thick, and of sufficient dimensions to entirely
block up the entrance. This sliding door is inside the hut, and so
arranged and fixed on two stout stakes buried in the earth, and
standing to the height of 2 1/2 to 3 feet, as to be easily moved
to and fro. There are no other openings or outlets of any kind,
either for the escape of smoke, or for the free ingress and egress
of atmospheric air. The doorway itself is of such small dimensions
that, to effect an entrance, one has to go down on all fours, and even
then much wriggling is necessary before an entrance is effected. The
houses are neat in appearance, and are built of bamboos closely laid
together, fastened with rattan, and covered with thatch, which renders
them water-tight. Each building has an end walling before and behind,
composed of solid blocks of wood, and the sides are covered in by
the pent-roofing, which slopes down to the ground. The front wall or
planking contains the entrance or doorway. The inside of a hut is from
8 to 15 feet square, and is sufficiently high in the middle to admit
of a tall man moving about with comfort. On one side there is a raised
platform or pial formed of clay, about two feet high, and covered with
sambar (deer) or buffalo skins, or sometimes with a mat. This platform
is used as a sleeping place. On the opposite side is a fire place,
and a slight elevation, on which the cooking utensils are placed. In
this part of the building, faggots of firewood are seen piled up from
floor to roof, and secured in their place by loops of rattan. Here
also the rice-pounder or pestle is fixed. The mortar is formed by a
hole dug in the ground, 7 to 9 inches deep, and hardened by constant
use. The other household goods consist of three or four brass dishes or
plates, several bamboo measures, and sometimes a hatchet. Each hut or
dwelling is surrounded by an enclosure or wall formed of loose stones
piled up two or three feet high [with openings too narrow to permit
of a buffalo entering through it]. The dairy is sometimes a building
slightly larger than the others, and usually contains two compartments
separated by a centre planking. One part of the dairy is a store-house
for ghee, milk and curds, contained in separate vessels. The outer
apartment forms the dwelling place of the dairy priest. The doorways
of the dairy are smaller than those of the dwelling huts. The flooring
of the dairy is level, and at one end there is a fire-place. Two or
three milk pails or pots are all that it usually contains. The dairy
is usually situated at some little distance from the habitations. The
huts where the calves are kept are simple buildings, somewhat like
the dwelling huts. In the vicinity of the mands are the cattle-pens or
tuels[tu], which are circular enclosures surrounded by a loose stone
wall, with a single entrance guarded by powerful stakes. In these,
the herds of buffaloes are kept at night. Each mand possesses a herd
of these animals." It is noted by Dr. Rivers that "in the immediate
neighbourhood of a village there are usually well-worn paths, by which
the village is approached, and some of these paths or kalvol receive
special names. Some may not be traversed by women. Within the village
there are also certain recognised paths, of which two are specially
important. One, the punetkalvol, is the path by which the dairy man
goes from his dairy to milk or tend the buffaloes; the other is the
majvatitthkalvol, the path which the women must use when going to
the dairy to receive butter-milk (maj) from the dairy man. Women are
not allowed to go to the dairy or to other places connected with it,
except at appointed times, when they receive buttermilk."
In addition to the dairies which in form resemble the dwelling-huts,
the Todas keep up as dairy-temples certain curious conical edifices,
of which there are said to be four on the Nilgiri plateau, viz., at the
Muttanad mand, near Kotagiri, near Sholur, and at Mudimand. The last
was out of repair a few years ago, but was, I was informed, going to be
rebuilt shortly. It is suggested by Dr. Rivers as probable that in many
cases a dairy, originally of the conical form, has been rebuilt in the
same form as the dwelling-hut, owing to the difficulty and extra labour
of reconstruction in the older shape. The edifice at the Muttanad mand
(or Nodrs), at the top of the Sigur ghat, is known to members of the
Ootacamund Hunt as the Toda cathedral. It has a circular stone base
and a tall conical thatched roof crowned with a large flat stone, and
is surrounded by a circular stone wall. To penetrate within the sacred
edifice was forbidden, but we were informed that it contained milking
vessels, dairy apparatus, and a swami in the guise of a copper bell
(mani). The dairyman is known as the varzhal or wursol. In front of
the cattle-pen of the neighbouring mand, I noticed a grass-covered
mound, which, I was told, is sacred. The mound contains nothing
buried within it, but the bodies of the dead are placed near it, and
earth from the mound is placed on the corpse before it is removed to
the burning-ground. At "dry funerals" the buffalo is said to be slain
near the mound. It has been suggested by Colonel Marshall [43] that the
"boa or boath [poh.] is not a true Toda building, but may be the bethel
of some tribe contemporaneous with, and cognate to the Todas, which,
taking refuge, like them, on these hills, died out in their presence."
Despite the hypothesis of Dr. Rivers that the Todas are derived from
one or more of the races of Malabar, their origin is buried among the
secrets of the past. So too is the history of the ancient builders
of cairns and barrows on the Nilgiri plateau, which were explored
by Mr. Breeks when Commissioner of the Nilgiris. [44] The bulk of
the Breeks' collection is now preserved in the Madras Museum, and
includes a large series of articles in pottery, quite unlike anything
known from other parts of Southern India. Concerning this series,
Mr. R. Bruce Foote writes as follows. [45] "The most striking objects
are tall jars, many-storied cylinders, of varying diameter with round
or conical bases, fashioned to rest upon pottery ring-stands, or to be
stuck into soft soil, like the amphoræ of classical times. These jars
were surmounted by domed lids. On these lids stood or sat figures
of the most varied kind of men, or animals, much more rarely of
inanimate objects, but all modelled in the rudest and most grotesque
style. Grotesque and downright ugly as are these figures, yet those
representing men and women are extremely interesting from the light
they throw upon the stage of civilization their makers had attained
to, for they illustrate the fashion of the garments as also of the
ornaments they wore, and of the arms or implements carried by them. The
animals they had domesticated, those they chased, and others that
they probably worshipped, are all indicated. Many figures of their
domestic animals, especially their buffaloes and sheep, are decorated
with garlands and bells, and show much ornamentation, which seems to
indicate that they were painted over, a custom which yet prevails in
many parts." Among the most interesting figures are those of heavily
bearded men riding on horses, and big-horned buffaloes which might
have been modelled from the Toda buffaloes of to-day, and, like these,
at funerals and migration ceremonies, bear a bell round the neck.
Two forms of Toda dairy have so far been noticed. But there remains
a third kind, called the ti mand, concerning which Dr. Rivers writes
as follows. "The ti is the name of an institution, which comprises
a herd of buffaloes, with a number of dairies and grazing districts,
tended by a dairy-man priest called palol, with an assistant called
kaltmokh. Each dairy, with its accompanying buildings and pasturage,
is called a ti mad, or ti village. The buffaloes belonging to a ti
are of two kinds, distinguished as persiner and punir. The former are
the sacred buffaloes, and the elaborate ceremonial of the ti dairy
is concerned with their milk. The punir correspond in some respects
to the putiir of the ordinary village dairy, and their milk and its
products are largely for the personal use and profit of the palol, and
are not treated with any special ceremony. During the whole time he
holds office, the palol may not visit his home or any other ordinary
village, though he may visit another ti village. Any business with
the outside world is done either through the kaltmokh, or with people
who come to visit him at the ti. If the palol has to cross a river,
he may not pass by a bridge, but must use a ford, and it appears that
he may only use certain fords. The palol must be celibate, and, if
married, he must leave his wife, who is in most cases also the wife
of his brother or brothers." I visited the ti mand near Paikara by
appointment, and, on arrival near the mand, found the two palols,
well-built men aged about thirty and fifty, clad in black cloths,
and two kaltmokhs, youths aged about eight and ten, naked save for a
loin-cloth, seated on the ground, awaiting our arrival. As a mark of
respect to the palols, the three Todas who accompanied me arranged
their putkulis so that the right arm was laid bare, and one of
them, who was wearing a turban, removed it. A long palaver ensued in
consequence of the palols demanding ten rupees to cover the expenses of
the purificatory ceremonies, which, they maintained, would be necessary
if I desecrated the mand by photographing it. Eventually, however,
under promise of a far smaller sum, the dwelling-hut was photographed,
with palols, kaltmokhs, and a domestic cat seated in front of it.
In connection with the palol being forbidden to cross a river by a
bridge, it may be noted that the river which flows past the Paikara
bungalow is regarded as sacred by the Todas, and, for fear of mishap
from arousing the wrath of the river god, a pregnant Toda woman
will not venture to cross it. The Todas will not use the river water
for any purpose, and they do not touch it unless they have to ford
it. They then walk through it, and, on reaching the opposite bank,
bow their heads. Even when they walk over the Paikara bridge, they
take their hand out of the putkuli as a mark of respect. Concerning
the origin of the Paikara river, a grotesque legend was narrated to
us. Many years ago, the story goes, two Todas, uncle and nephew, went
out to gather honey. After walking for a few miles they separated,
and proceeded in different directions. The uncle was unsuccessful in
the search, but the more fortunate nephew secured two kandis (bamboo
measures) of honey. This, with a view to keeping it all for himself,
he secreted in a crevice among the rocks, with the exception of a
very small quantity, which he made his uncle believe was the entire
product of his search. On the following day, the nephew went alone to
the spot where the honey was hidden, and found, to his disappointment,
that the honey was leaking through the bottom of the bamboo measures,
which were transformed into two snakes. Terrified at the sight thereof,
he ran away, but the snakes pursued him (may be they were hamadryads,
which have the reputation of pursuing human beings). After running
a few minutes, he espied a hare (Lepus nigricollis) running across
his course, and, by a skilful manoeuvre, threw his body-cloth over
it. Mistaking it for a man, the snakes followed in pursuit of the hare,
which, being very fleet of foot, managed to reach the sun, which
became obscured by the hoods of the reptiles. This fully accounts
for the solar eclipse. The honey, which leaked out of the vessels,
became converted into the Paikara river.
In connection with the migrations of the herds of buffaloes, Dr. Rivers
writes as follows. "At certain seasons of the year, it is customary
that the buffaloes both of the village and the ti should migrate from
one place to another. Sometimes the village buffaloes are accompanied
by all the inhabitants of the village; sometimes the buffaloes are only
accompanied by their dairy-man and one or more male assistants. There
are two chief reasons for these movements of the buffaloes, of which
the most urgent is the necessity for new grazing-places.... The other
chief reason for the migrations is that certain villages and dairies,
formerly important and still sacred, are visited for ceremonial
purposes, or out of respect to ancient custom." For the following
note on a buffalo migration which he came across, I am indebted to
Mr. H. C. Wilson. "During the annual migration of buffaloes to the
Kundahs, and when they were approaching the bridle-path leading from
Avalanche to Sispara, I witnessed an interesting custom. The Toda
family had come to a halt on the far side of the path; the females
seated themselves on the grass, and awaited the passing of the sacred
herd. This herd, which had travelled by a recognised route across
country, has to cross the bridle-path some two or three hundred yards
above the Avalanche-Sispara sign-post. Both the ordinary and sacred
herd were on the move together. The former passed up the Sispara path,
while the latter crossed in a line, and proceeded slightly down the
hill, eventually crossing the stream and up through the sholas over
the steep hills on the opposite side of the valley. As soon as the
sacred herd had crossed the bridle-path, the Toda men, having put
down all their household utensils, went to where the women and girls
were sitting, and carried them, one by one, over the place where the
buffaloes had passed, depositing them on the path above. One of the
men told me that the females are not allowed to walk over the track
covered by the sacred herd, and have to be carried whenever it is
necessary to cross it. This herd has a recognised tract when migrating,
and is led by the old buffaloes, who appear to know the exact way."
The tenure under which lands are held by the Todas is summed up as
follows by Mr. R. S. Benson in his report on the revenue settlement of
the Nilgiris, 1885. "The earliest settlers, and notably Mr. Sullivan,
strongly advocated the claim of the Todas to the absolute proprietary
right to the plateau [as lords of the soil]; but another school, led
by Mr. Lushington, has strongly combated these views, and apparently
regarded the Todas as merely occupiers under the ryotwari system in
force generally in the Presidency. From the earliest times the Todas
have received from the cultivating Badagas an offering or tribute,
called gudu or basket of grain, partly in compensation for the land
taken up by the latter for cultivation, and so rendered unfit for
grazing purposes, but chiefly as an offering to secure the favour,
or avert the displeasure of the Todas, who, like the Kurumbas (q.v.),
are believed by the Badagas to have necromantic powers over their
health and that of their herds. The European settlers also bought land
in Ootacamund from them, and to this day the Government pays them the
sum of Rs. 150 per mensem, as compensation for interference with the
enjoyment of their pastoral rights in and about Ootacamund. Their
position was, however, always a matter of dispute, until it was
finally laid down in the despatch of the Court of Directors, dated 21st
January, 1843. It was then decided that the Todas possessed nothing
more than a prescriptive right to enjoy the privilege of pasturing
their herds, on payment of a small tax, on the State lands. The Court
desired that they should be secured from interference by settlers
in the enjoyment of their mands, and of their spots appropriated to
religious rites. Accordingly pattas were issued, granting to each
mand three bullahs (11.46 acres) of land. In 1863 Mr. Grant obtained
permission to make a fresh allotment of nine bullahs (34.38 acres)
to each mand on the express condition that the land should be used for
pasturage only, and that no right to sell the land or the wood on it
should be thereby conveyed. It may be added that the so-called Toda
lands are now regarded as the inalienable common property of the Toda
community, and unauthorised alienation is checked by the imposition of
a penal rate of assessment (G.O., 18th April 1882). Up to the date of
this order, however, alienations by sale or lease were of frequent
occurrence. It remains to be seen whether the present orders and
subordinate staff will be more adequate than those that went before
to check the practices referred to." With the view of protecting
the Toda lands, Government took up the management of these lands in
1893, and framed rules, under the Forest Act, for their management,
the rights of the Todas over them being in no way affected by the
rules of which the following is an abstract:--
1. No person shall fell, girdle, mark, lop, uproot, or burn, or strip
off the bark or leaves from, or otherwise damage any tree growing on
the said lands, or remove the timber, or collect the natural produce of
such trees or lands, or quarry or collect stone, lime, gravel, earth
or manure upon such lands, or break up such lands for cultivation,
or erect buildings of any description, or cattle kraals; and no person
or persons, other than the Todas named in the patta concerned, shall
graze cattle, sheep, or goats upon such lands, unless he is authorised
so to do by the Collector of Nilgiris, or some person empowered by him.
2. The Collector may select any of the said lands to be placed under
special fire protection.
3. No person shall hunt, beat for game, or shoot in such lands without
a license from the Collector.
4. No person shall at any time set nets, traps, or snares for game
on such lands.
5. All Todas in the Nilgiri district shall, in respect of their
own patta lands, be exempt from the operation of the above rules,
and shall be at liberty to graze their own buffaloes, to remove fuel
and grass for their domestic requirements, and to collect honey or
wax upon such lands. They shall likewise be entitled to, and shall
receive free permits for building or repairing their mands and temples.
6. The Collector shall have power to issue annual permits for the
cultivation of grass land only in Toda pattas by Todas themselves,
free of charge, or otherwise as Government may, from time to time,
direct; but no Toda shall be at liberty to permit any person, except
a Toda, to cultivate, or assist in the cultivation of such lands.
In 1905, the Todas petitioned Government against the prohibition by the
local Forest authorities of the burning of grass on the downs, issued
on the ground of danger to the sholas (wooded ravines or groves). This
yearly burning of the grass was claimed by the Todas to improve it, and
they maintained that their cattle were deteriorating for want of good
fodder. Government ruled that the grass on the plateau has been burnt
by the inhabitants at pleasure for many years without any appreciable
damage to forest growth, and the practice should not be disturbed.
Concerning the social organisation of the Todas, Mr. Breeks states
that they are "divided into two classes, which cannot intermarry,
viz., Dêvalyâl and Tarserzhâl. The first class consists of Peiki
class, corresponding in some respects to Brahmans; the second of the
four remaining classes the Pekkan, Kuttan, Kenna, and Todi. A Peiki
woman may not go to the village of the Tarserzhâl, although the women
of the latter may visit Peikis." The class names given by Mr. Breeks
were readily recognised by the Todas whom I interviewed, but they gave
Terthal (comprising superior Peikis) and Tarthal as the names of the
divisions. They told me that, when a Terthal woman visits her friends
at a Tarthal mand, she is not allowed to enter the mand, but must stop
at a distance from it. Todas as a rule cook their rice in butter-milk,
but, when a Terthal woman pays a visit to Tarthal mand, rice is cooked
for her in water. When a Tarthal woman visits at a Terthal mand, she
is permitted to enter into the mand, and food is cooked for her in
buttermilk. The restrictions which are imposed on Terthal women are
said to be due to the fact that on one occasion a Terthal woman, on
a visit at a Tarthal mand, folded up a cloth, and placed it under her
putkuli as if it was a baby. When food was served, she asked for some
for the child, and on receiving it, exhibited the cloth. The Tarthals,
not appreciating the mild joke, accordingly agreed to degrade all
Terthal women. According to Dr. Rivers, "the fundamental feature of
the social organisation is the division of the community into two
perfectly distinct groups, the Tartharol and the Teivaliol [=Dêvalyâl
of Breeks]. There is a certain amount of specialisation of function,
certain grades of the priesthood being filled only by members of the
Teivaliol. The Tartharol and Teivaliol are two endogamous divisions of
the Toda people. Each of these primary divisions is sub-divided into a
number of secondary divisions [clans]. These are exogamous. Each class
possesses a group of villages, and takes its name from the chief of
these villages, Etudmad. The Tartharol are divided into twelve clans,
the Teivaliol into six clans or madol."
When a girl has reached the age of puberty, she goes through an
initiatory ceremony, in which a Toda man of strong physique takes
part. One of these splendid specimens of human muscularity was
introduced to me on the occasion of a phonograph recital at the
Paikara bungalow.