CHAPTER X
PRAYER
In the chapters in which the ritual of the dairies has been described, one of the most important features of the ceremonial has been passed over which must now be fully described. This feature is the prayer which is always offered at certain stages of the dairy operations. In the village dairies, of whatever kind they may be, no prayer is offered at the morning ceremonial. In the evening the prayer of the dairy is recited twice—once when lighting the lamp, and once when shutting the buffaloes in their enclosure for the night, the prayer on this occasion being said in front of the entrance to the pen.
At the ti dairy the palol prays both morning and evening. In the morning he prays when lighting the lamp and after he has finished milking; in the evening prayer is offered on both these occasions, and also when shutting up the buffaloes for the night. The palol also repeats a few clauses when going out to milk. Prayers are said on certain other ceremonial occasions, and clauses from the prayers are frequently uttered during the many ceremonies of the dairy.
At the evening ceremonial of the village dairy the prayer is said when the lamp is lighted, while during the morning ceremonial, at which the lamp is usually not lighted, there is no prayer. This suggests that the prayer is especially related to the lamp-lighting, and that some idea of worship of the light is involved, but occasionally for some special reason, such as unusual darkness, the lamp may be lighted in the morning, and on these occasions the prayer is not used. Nevertheless, the relation between lamp-lighting and prayer both at the village and ti dairies has probably some significance, and, taken in conjunction with the undoubted salutation of the sun, it points to some degree of worship of light and its sources which may at one time have formed a more marked feature of the Toda religion than seems at present to be the case.
The prayer when shutting up the buffaloes for the night is common to both ti and village dairies. The night is the dangerous time for Toda buffaloes, which are not infrequently killed by tigers, and the prayer on the occasion of closing the pen is probably designed to promote their safety.
At the prayer uttered at the close of the milking at the ti dairy the palol adopts a special attitude which is shown in Fig. 28. He prays leaning on his wand, the pohvet, with his hands crossed over one another. This attitude is not employed in the village dairy, and only on this occasion at the ti dairy.
In all cases the prayer is uttered “in the throat,” so that the words cannot be distinguished by any one who may hear them. Whenever I listened to the recital of a prayer as it was being offered by a dairyman within the dairy, I heard only a gurgling noise in which no words could be distinguished. On one occasion I was allowed to approach the ti dairy at Mòdr while the first prayer was being offered by the palol. I heard the beating on the persin (see p. 92) which accompanies this prayer, and at intervals in the monotonous sound produced by the voice of the palol there were pauses. As we shall see, the prayer of the ti has certain sections which are distinguished from one another, and it seemed possible that these pauses marked off the different portions of the prayer, but it was clear that this was not the case, the palol only stopping when the necessity for taking a new breath became imperative.
Each village has its own prayer, and so far as I could ascertain this prayer is used in all the dairies of the village; thus I believe that at Taradr the same prayer would be used in both kugvali and tarvali. This is not, however, a point on which I can speak positively, for there was much reluctance to talk about this subject and many of the Todas absolutely refused to discuss it. One point seemed quite clear, at any rate among the Teivaliol, viz., that the different villages of a clan had different prayers, though often with many clauses in common.
In general, the prayer of the ti is longer and more elaborate than that of the village dairy. Different prayers are used at different dairies of the same ti, though here again they may have many clauses in common.
In all cases the prayer consists of two distinct parts: a preliminary portion consisting chiefly of names known as kwarzam, followed by a portion which may be regarded as the prayer proper.
The prayer proper should be the same in every dairy, but it seemed to me that there was a good deal of laxity as regards this portion, and there is no doubt that it is often slurred over hastily and is less strictly regulated than the preliminary portion of the prayer.
The following is the most generally accepted form:
Tânenmâ; târmâmâ; may it be well or may be blessed; may it be well or may be merciful;
îr kark tânenmâ; nûv ârk mâ; with the buffaloes and calves may it be well; may there be no disease;
kazun ârk mâ; may there be no destroyer;
nudri ârk mâ; may there be no poisonous animals (snakes and insects);
kâvel ârk mâ; may there be no wild beasts (tigers, &c.);
per kârt pâ mâ; pustht kârt pâ mâ; may be kept from (falling down) steep hills; may be kept from floods;
tüt ârk mâ; mâ un mâ; maj eu mâ; may there be no fire; may rain fall; may clouds rise;
pul pûv mâ; nîr ûr mâ. may grass flourish; may water spring.
The prayer then concludes with the names of two of the most important gods or objects of reverence, followed by the words:
âtham idith emk tânenmâ. them for the sake of for (or to) us may it be well.
There does not seem to be any strict regulation as to the clauses of the prayer, and in different versions some of the given above were omitted, while others were added, especially requests for protection against special animals, as pob ârk mâ, “may there be no snakes,” and pîrzi ârk mâ, “may there be no tigers.” One man concluded with the words erdâdrsink erdâdri ini, “I know half to pray, I know not half to pray,” [77] but I do not know whether this was an individual peculiarity or a special feature of the prayer of his dairy.
It seemed clear that the whole prayer referred to the buffaloes. It may be summarised as follows:
“May it be well with the buffaloes, may they not suffer from disease or die, may they be kept from poisonous animals and from wild beasts and from injury by flood or fire, may there be water and grass in plenty.”
The first part of the prayer contains a number of clauses each of which usually consists of the name of an object of reverence followed by the word idith (often contracted into ith). This word is said to mean “for the sake of,” so that the prayer as a whole seems to consist of clauses mentioning a number of objects of reverence for the sake of which the prayer is said, followed by the prayer consisting of clauses directed to avert evils or bring blessings on the buffaloes of the dairy. The word idith is used in the sense of “for the sake of” in ordinary language. Thus, “for my sake, leave him,” would be “en idith, an pidr” (me for the sake of, him leave).
The objects of more or less sanctity thus mentioned in the prayer are not called by their usual names, but are referred to by means of special names to which the general term of kwarzam is given. In some cases the kwarzam differs little from the ordinary name, while in other cases it bears no resemblance to it.
The kwarzam mentioned in the prayer fall into several groups: there are the kwarzam of the gods, of the buffaloes, of the villages, of the dairy and of its various parts, vessels and implements. In some cases, especially in the case of the ti, we shall find that different dairies differ in the prominence given to each kind of kwarzam; that the prayer of one place consists chiefly of kwarzam of the dairy, while in the prayer of another the kwarzam of the gods or of the buffaloes predominate.
In some prayers there occur kwarzam of a special kind containing references to incidents in legend—incidents which occurred in the life of some deity especially connected with the dairy at which the prayer is used, or other kwarzam may refer to incidents in the history of the dairy or of the village in which the dairy is situated.
I had great difficulty in obtaining examples of the prayers, or rather of those portions consisting of the kwarzam of the sacred objects. There was little objection to giving the prayer proper; it was only when the kwarzam were approached that the difficulty arose. It was evident that it was this portion of the prayer which was regarded as especially sacred and mysterious, and this was doubtless due to the mention of sacred beings and objects by their sacred names.
With much difficulty I succeeded in obtaining the prayers of four village dairies, three belonging to the Kuudrol, while the fourth was the prayer, or part of the prayer, of the Kanòdrs poh. I was also successful in obtaining two ti prayers and fragments of others.
THE VILLAGE PRAYER
The following are the kwarzam of the prayer used in the dairy of the village of Kuudr, the etudmad of the Kuudr clan. On the left-hand side of the page are given the kwarzam, each of which is followed by the word idith when the prayer is uttered. On the right-hand side of the page are given the objects, beings or incidents to which the kwarzam refer.
PRAYER OF KUUDR
Atthkâr Kuudr village and probably also the Kuudr clan or Kuudro. òners Kuudr village. palitûdrpali large dairy at Kuudr (tûdrpali). palikidpali small dairy at Kuudr (kidpali). tûdrpalshpelk lamp (pelk) of large dairy. kidpalshpep all the sacred objects of small dairy. tûtòdrtho large buffalo-pen (tû) at Kuudr. tûkidtû small buffalo-pen (tû) at Kuudr. kadrtorikkadr calf enclosure (kadr) at Kuudr. keishkvet sacred buffaloes (pasthîr) of Kuudr. tarskivan ordinary buffaloes (putiîr). känpep portion of buttermilk (pep) originally given by Teikirzi for pasthîr. âtthpep portion of pep for putiîr. mutchudkars stone in buffalo-pen at Kuudr where the vessels of the large dairy are purified. tarskikars stone in pen where the vessels of the small dairy are purified. nîrkiznîr sacred dairy spring of Kuudr. Eikisiov a buffalo whose milk was the origin of the spring. Pülmâlpül a hill near Kuudr. Emalpûv a buffalo which once lived at Kuudr. Kakathûmûk a hill near Kuudr. Karstum a buffalo which once died on this hill. teikhkwadiki a tree by which the dairy vessel called mu is buried (see p. 170). manikiars the kiars tree by which the sacred bell (mani) is laid when the dairy things are being purified. Keikars a hill near Kuudr. keitnòdi hill near which the erkumptthiti ceremony is performed (see Chap. XIII). petüt pati pethût ir chief buffaloes given when Teikirzi divided the buffaloes with wand in hand (see p. 186). Literally, “wand with divide chief buffaloes.” pûthion nâkh tarzâr calf which was the ancestor of the Kuudr maj putiîr.
Thus, the prayer would run, “Atthkâr idith; òners idith; palitûdrpali idith; .....” and the translation would run, “For the sake of the village and clan of Kuudr; for the sake of the village of Kuudr; for the sake of the large dairy of Kuudr;....” as far as the end of the kwarzam given above, and then would follow the prayer proper, “tanenma, tarmama,....”
This prayer begins with two kwarzam of the village or clan, followed by others referring to the dairies and dairy vessels, buffalo pens and buffaloes. Then follow certain kwarzam of the pep or buttermilk which is of so much importance in the dairy ritual, and those of stones which play a part in the ceremonies attending purification of the dairy vessels. After the kwarzam of the dairy spring, there follow a number of kwarzam referring to certain incidents in the history of the dairy. Eikisiov is the kwarzam of a buffalo which was one day being milked at Kuudr when some of the milk was spilt on the ground. From that day the ground became swampy, and on digging, a spring of water was found which has ever since been used as the dairy spring and is called kiznîr. The two following kwarzam refer to incidents of which I have no record. Karstum is the kwarzam of a buffalo which was one day grazing on the hill Kakathûmûk when it began to bellow and could not be induced to stop; the people tried to take it back to the pen, but it would not go and died on the hill, and has ever since been remembered in the prayer. These kwarzam are followed by two referring to trees of ceremonial importance—one the tree by which is buried the mu on the integrity of which the continuity of the dairy procedure depends, while the other is connected with the sacred bell.
Then follow the kwarzam of a hill on which there are cairns and that of the sacrificial place of the village. The prayer concludes with two kwarzam of a different kind. The first refers to the act of the goddess Teikirzi, who portioned the buffaloes and assigned to each clan its share. In so doing we have seen that she touched each buffalo on the back with her wand, saying in each case to whom the buffalo should belong, and this act is commemorated in the prayer in the form, “for the sake of the dividing of the chief buffaloes with the wand.” The last kwarzam is that of the calf, from which the ordinary buffaloes or putiîr of Kuudr are descended, but I was unable to ascertain the meaning of the words, except nakh, which is the name of a three-year-old buffalo.
In the Kuudr prayer several of the kwarzam refer to incidents of a more or less miraculous nature which are believed to have happened at the village where the prayer is used, while the last kwarzam but one refers to one of the chief events of Toda mythology.
It will be noticed that many of the kwarzam used in this prayer correspond very closely to the names in ordinary use. Some, such as keitnòdi and teikhkwadiki, are the same words as those in general use, while others differ from the ordinary words in the reduplication of part of the name, tûdrpali becoming palitûdrpali and kiznîr becoming nîrkiznîr.
PRAYER OF KIUDR
The following are the kwarzam of the prayer used at Kiudr, which is one of the most sacred of Toda villages.
Kwarzam of Kîlvòh the dairy at Kiudr. kerâni one of the patatmani of Kiudr. mêdrâni the other patatmani. pongg one of the ertatmani. nongg another ertatmani. pelteirzi the lamp of the dairy. îrtîrzi also the lamp. känmûv the way by which the dairyman goes from the dairy to milk; the punetkalvol. nîrtâkh the dairy stream. nîrtîrshki also the dairy stream. keitu the buffalo-pen. tülivaners the posts at the entrance of the buffalo-pen. tashtpâlûv the bars of the entrance of the pen. kadrtûlikkadr the calf enclosure. arkatchar the household stream. inerti also the household stream. ârsvitchkârs the house (ars) at Kiudr. eivitchâv also the house. nersâdrvel the milking place. keikûdr the stream which runs between the house and the dairy (see 307). kwoteiners } kwelthipushol } etamûdri } all of Kiudr village. eraikin } kârmus } pârvakûdr } arspem slope of hill (pem) near Kiudr.
The special features of the Kiudr prayer are the large number of kwarzam of the village and the inclusion of the kwarzam of the house and household stream. The prayer of Kiudr is the only Toda prayer in which either the house or household stream is mentioned, and this fact is in accordance with the high degree of sanctity which has become attached to this village. It will be noticed also that the buffaloes are not mentioned, and that nearly all the clauses of the prayer apply to the buildings and their contents or to other parts of the village or to the village itself. Only the last kwarzam of the prayer applies to a place not actually in the village itself, and I could not ascertain why this place was so favoured. With this exception, the Kiudr prayer is one in which the kwarzam are entirely limited to those of the village and the dairy.
It will be remembered that when the buffaloes of the Nòdrs ti migrate from Mòdr to Anto they pass by the village of Kiudr, and that the occasion is observed in various ways by the people of the village (see p. 135). I was told that certain kwarzam referring to this occasion are used in the Kiudr prayer. According to one man, these kwarzam are always recited in the prayer before those which have been already given, but others denied that they were so used. It is possible that these kwarzam are only said on special occasions, such as the day of migration, or it may be that they were formerly used, but are now being forgotten.
These kwarzam are as follow:
uner pâgit nòdr ti buffaloes, come near country. unkeu pâgit nòdr bell of wars dairy, come near country. eupalol pâgit nòdr god palol, come near country. eutuni pâgit nòdr god tuni, come near country. eitût pâgit nòdr hair done up, come near country (this has reference to the practice of tying the hair which is followed by the palol when engaged at his sacred work (p. 92). Teigun ürpit nòdr horn (of warsir) blow country. Kiudkudr ürpit nòdr horn (of liir) blow country.
Then follow the kwarzam already given.
These kwarzam are of a different form from those used in the general form of prayer, and the various persons or objects mentioned are referred to either by their usual names or by slight modifications of them, as in eupalol or euvalol and eutuni. There seemed to be no doubt that these words were abbreviations of teupalol and teutuni, the omission of an initial t being not uncommon in the Toda language. Thus in this prayer the dairyman is called “god palol,” and his garment “god tuni.”
PRAYER OF KWIRG
Kwirg is one of the villages of the Kuudrol and is the place to which their buffaloes go when it is necessary to make new pep for the whole clan.
Kwatakwirg Kwirg village. kûlpudshol Kwirg village. palikeithiolv the dairy. tûmadshû the pen. kadrkeiri the kadr (calf enclosure). nîrtiûdsh the dairy stream. pinpunûv a hill. pilkârs a hill. âtthpep } känpep } mutchudpep } keishkvet } see Kuudr prayer. tarskivan } petüt pati pethût îr } pûthion nâkh tarzâr maj }
It will be seen that many of the clauses are common to this prayer and that of Kuudr.
The three kwarzam of pep were said to be used in every dairy of the Kuudrol, but it did not appear that they were used at Kiudr. The third, mutchudpep, is not included in the Kuudr prayer, but mutchudkars appears in its place. Two hills are mentioned in the Kwirg prayer, but there are none of the references to special events connected with the village such as exist in the prayer of Kuudr.
THE PRAYER OF THE KANÒDRS DAIRY
When I was staying at Pishkwosht and visited the conical dairy at Kanòdrs with Neratkutan, he told me that the prayer of this dairy had forty kwarzam referring to the gods, as well as many of other kinds, but on going into detail I could only obtain the following:—
Pâr nûr teu the 1600 gods. pût nûr teu the 1800 gods. Kwoto Kwoto or Meilitars (see p. 203). Atioto Atioto (see p. 210). Kurindei teu Kurindo (see p. 192). Konteu Konteu or Konto (see p. 211). Anteu Anto (see p. 188). Pòrzo Pòrzo } Kòdrtho Kòdrtho } see p. 211. Kârzo Karzo } Teikhunteu Teikhun mänpóh Kanòdrs village. mutîrshpóh ditto. tûnertû the pen. kânêr the sun ? (see p. 206). kuteikurs the stone chain used by Kwoto (see p. 207). aners Kuzhu village. tûtashki Pishkwosht village.
This prayer is quite unlike those of the other village dairies and was much more like that of a ti dairy. As we have seen, the poh of Kanòdrs resembles a ti dairy both in the elaborateness of its ritual and in the high degree of sanctity of its dairyman, and this resemblance is now seen to extend to the prayer used in the dairy ritual.
Other dairies of the Tartharol which have an especial degree of sanctity are the kugvali of Taradr and the conical dairy of Nòdrs. I made great endeavours to obtain the prayers used in these places, but without success.
THE TI PRAYER
The prayers offered at the ti dairies are as a general rule longer and more complex than those of the ordinary village dairy. The latter portion of the prayer, or the prayer proper, does not seem to differ from that of the ordinary dairy, the differences being in the kwarzam recited at the beginning. The different dairies of the same ti may have different prayers; thus, at the Nòdrs ti there is a special prayer for the dairy at Anto which is longer and more complicated than that used at Mòdr, but it is probable that this is exceptional and is owing to the great antiquity and sanctity of Anto. The other dairies of this ti probably use much the same prayer as at Mòdr, though there may be certain slight modifications at each.
THE ANTO PRAYER
This prayer is characterised by a very large number of kwarzam referring to the dairy, its contents and surroundings. On ordinary days a shortened form of the prayer is used which consists wholly of kwarzam of this kind. On special days, such as the occasions of ponup and irnödrthiti, other kwarzam are said, including those of gods and buffaloes.
The following kwarzam are those in daily use, each being followed by the word idith as in the village prayer:—
Kwarzam of Anto the ti. eithipôh ditto. mêdrpôh the ti poh. pôhtîrzh the wars poh. ûv the milking place (pepkarmus). pero the special pen used on the night before the ponup ceremony. keirv the pen used on the night before the migration of the buffaloes. kâtû the ordinary pen. Teirz a hill near the dairy on which Anto lives. tîlkav the back of the dairy (pohpalikef). îrbâr the way by which the kaltmokh goes to and from the dairy. Pîthipôh the cave where the Pithi was born (see p. 184). nersâvul sacred path to the dairy by which the mani, pep, &c., are taken. karkadr path by which ordinary people approach the dairy. tadipül ditto. einpül path by which the palol goes to draw water. panpül path by which the palol returns from drawing water. Kiûln a hill near the dairy. Keini another hill. titkîn stream at which the palol bathes and washes his garments. tîtòr stone by this stream marking the spot by which the palol bathes, &c. teirpül spot at which the palol halts and prays for the third time during the procession to Anto (see p. 135). teirpôh ditto. nîrkûli place at which palol and kaltmokh defæcate. Katthvai hill near Anto (see p. 188). Kubul ditto. Ködrs place near Anto (see p. 188). Tudrs ditto. teibithikars stone rolled by Anto. teibithival lower part of the hill Katthvai (see above).
On ordinary days these kwarzam are followed by the prayer tanenma tarmama, &c. On special occasions the following kwarzam are inserted between those already given and the prayer proper:—
Kwarzam of Ekîrzam meidjam Teikirzi, Tirshti. Kûdreij Kudreiil dairy. tîdj ditto. Kûlâdrtho Kuladrtho dairy. Perithi ti vaners ti dairy at Perithi in the Wainad. Kòti One of the hills at which fire is lighted by the palol at the teutütusthchi ceremony (see p. 291). pagvôh ditto. Pûthi another hill at which fire is lighted. ânul ditto. Kûlinkârs Kulinkars (see p. 188). Nòtîtrzivan Nòtirzi (see p. 189). Kuzkârv Korateu (see p. 190). unir one group of tiir (see p. 112). unkeu mani of wars dairy. Persin mani of ti dairy. kûdrs mani bells of punir. tadsth axe which came from Amnòdr with the buffaloes. tâpâr an iron bar. âter the second group of tiir (see p. 112). teiter the third group of tiir. Keirz the buffalo which has the mani called Keu put on its neck. pîlti buffaloes (unir). persv ditto. Keirv buffalo which drinks pep on day of migration (see p. 135). Kîthi buffalo which wears the kudrs mani. kudûvòrs the path at Mòdr by which ordinary people approach the dairy. tadrpòrs place near Mòdr at which the palol and kaltmokh defæcate. tarikipül place near Mòdr where the erkumptthpimi ceremony is performed. kidkadr calves’ hut (karenpoh) at Mòdr. ponpôh ti dairy at Mòdr. kidpôh wars dairy at Mòdr. Òdrtho ti dairy at Òdrtho. Kûdreiil wars dairy at Kudreiil. munârten a ti dairy.
The following is all I was able to obtain of the prayer used at Mòdr:—“Ekîrzam meidjam idith, Anto eithipôh idith, Kûlinkârs idith, Nòtîrzivan idith, Kûlâdrvan idith, Teukuteithi idith, Kûdreij tîdj idith, Kuzkârv idith, Alvoi Kalvoi idith, tanenma tarmama,” &c. Two of these kwarzam, “Teukuteithi idith” and “Alvoi Kalvoi idith” are not mentioned in the Anto prayer. I have no doubt that the list of kwarzam is very incomplete.
THE PRAYER OF MAKARS
The following is the prayer used at Makars, the chief dairy of the Kars ti. The kwarzam of the dairy are here comparatively few in number, but the prayer is especially rich in the kwarzam of gods and buffaloes, and it furnishes a very good example of the relation of the prayer formulæ to the Toda legends.
The kwarzam of the prayer run as follow:—
Anto The god Anto. Nòtîrzivan Nòtirzi. Kûlinkârs Kulinkars or Teikhars. Kuzkârv Korateu. Onkonm Onkonm who lives on a hill in the Kundahs. Ekîrzam meidjam Teikirzi and Tirshti. Azo } Azo and Mazo. Mazo } Katadrvanpoh place near Kûlinkars. Peigwa god living on hill near Makurti Peak. Karmunteu Karmunteu. Kotzgârth the Paikara river (Teipakh). Kondilteu Kondilteu, a god opposite the hill of Kòti. Mûndilteu a god on a hill near the last. Onûlvpoh place near Majòdr. Kûlâdrazenteu god on a hill near Kuladrtho. kaban adi arten teu “iron door shut god.” kaban kûl eiten teu “iron stick held god.” mòrs ver arten teu “mòrs tree under event god.” kûghîr kùdr kwaten teu “crooked horned buffalo horn cut god.” tebkúter at, tan mun “imitation buffalo horns took, his madrik teu mother’s brother’s lap god.” mâvel kâritan teu “sambhar from calved god.” (The last six kwarzam refer to the story of Kuzkarv (see p. 190). pülnerkûrz buffaloes of tî called pürsîr. tetnîrkan ditto. pirsk muneki potitth îr “sun to facing that came buffalo.” nerk muneki potitth îr “bell to facing that came buffalo.” putûḍr mun kekitth îr “tûḍr tree back (face?) rubbed buffalo.” Kitheri kûtk ethkitth îr “Kitheri stream to jumped buffalo.” pâtûsh kattith îr “desolate pen from made buffalo.” Warwark ethkitth îr “Warwar (stream) to jumped buffalo.” ö khuberam kitj erditth “seven heaps buffalo-dung fire set êram buffaloes.” pêrnêr bell (mani) or pürs dairy. unêr ditto. persagun mani of pars dairy. talg ditto. nârvtüls lamp. poikar pürs dairy. pârsvôh pars dairy. tînnudri pen. kakûnnudri ditto. nîrkar dairy spring. tülinîr ditto. pünpôh dairy at Enòdr. kâtû pen at Enòdr. pünnîr spring at Enòdr. Enòdr Enòdr ti mad. mêdrpôh dairy at Pars. peiltû pen at Pars. tülinîr spring at Pars. Pars Pars ti mad. âtârnudri dairy at Neradr. nêrieners pen at Neradr. Neradr Neradr ti mad. pülvôh dairy at Kòn. aners ditto. tedrvâs pen at Kòn. pûvârsnîr spring at Kòn. Kòn Kòn ti mad.
Then follow “tanenma tarmama,” &c.
The kwarzam of the prayer given above are arranged in a definite order. First come the kwarzam of sixteen gods or of hills or places closely connected with gods, then follow six kwarzam referring to various incidents in the life of the god Korateu. These are followed by two kwarzam of buffaloes, and then follow six referring to various features of the founding of Makars, of which an account has been given on p. 116. Then follows a kwarzam relating to an incident which is probably recent. The palol of this ti used to make seven heaps of the dung of the buffaloes. There is a law that the dung should not be sold, which the palol disobeyed, and soon after a fire broke out suddenly from the seven heaps, and this event is commemorated in the prayer by means of the kwarzam meaning “seven heaps of buffalo-dung, fire set buffaloes,” and is included among the kwarzam relating to buffaloes, probably because there was a belief that the anger of the buffaloes was the cause of the fire.
The buffalo kwarzam are followed by eleven referring to the bells of the ti and to the dairy, pen and spring of Makars, and these are followed by kwarzam referring to the other places of the ti—viz., Enòdr, Pars, Neradr, and Kòn. In each case there are said the kwarzam of the dairy, pen, spring, and place except in the case of Neradr, where for some reason the kwarzam of the spring is omitted.
The feature of the Makars prayer which is especially interesting is the reference to legend in the kwarzam. This reference occurs in the Kuudr prayer and in those of Kanòdrs and Anto, but the references are far more elaborate in the Makars prayer. These references were very useful in providing incidental confirmation of the details of legends previously obtained, while in other cases they put me on the track of stories which I might otherwise have failed to obtain. One point of interest connected with them is that, in the absence of the legends, they might easily be supposed to be meaningless sentences. We have seen that there is reason to believe that the Todas are forgetting much of their mythology, and if the legends referred to in the Makars prayer should be forgotten, these kwarzam would become meaningless formulæ. This appears to have happened already in some cases; there were certain kwarzam of which I could obtain no translation; thus, all the kwarzam of the clans and villages were of this nature and could not be explained, though they almost certainly had a definite origin. A good instance of a kwarzam which is on its way towards a similar fate is that at the end of the Kuudr prayer. The meaning of only one word was clear—viz. nâkh—while maj was probably the word for cloud, and the kwarzam appears to refer to some incident of legend in which a three-year-old calf and a cloud were concerned, but I could obtain no record of the incident, nor of the legend of which the incident was a feature.
I have treated these formulæ of the dairy as prayers, and I think there can be very little doubt that they are of the nature of supplications, and are believed to invoke the aid of the gods in protecting the sacred buffaloes. It must be confessed, however, that there is no actual evidence in the formulæ of direct invocation of the gods. The name of no god is mentioned in the vocative form. In some prayers there is barely mention of a god at all, if the term ‘god’ be limited to the anthropomorphic beings of the hill-tops.
The exact relation between the formula and the gods largely depends on the exact meaning of the word idith, which is not quite clear. But, whatever the meaning of this word, it is evident that it is used in exactly the same way in the case of a god as in the case of a buffalo, a place, a dairy vessel, or other even meaner object.
Perhaps the nearest approach to an appeal to gods in the prayer is in the words at the end, in which the names of certain gods are mentioned, followed by the words âtham idith emk tânenmâ, “for their sake may it be well for us.”
There is little doubt that the Todas offer prayers to their gods in their ordinary daily life, altogether apart from the dairy ritual. I was told by one man that when anyone leaves an etudmad he should pray that he may return safely, and in this case my informant said that he prayed to Teikirzi. Unfortunately I did not ask the exact form of the prayer, and do not know whether the goddess was invoked by name or whether kwarzam were uttered of the same form as in the prayer of the dairy. We may, however, be confident that the idea of supplication to the gods is not foreign to the Toda mind.
We shall see later that in the formulæ used in Toda sorcery, the names of gods are mentioned, followed by the same word idith which is used in the dairy formulæ. In the magical formulæ the evidence of appeal to deities is somewhat stronger than in the case of the dairy formulæ, which are certainly of a religious character. It seems most likely that the word idith was at one time used especially in connexion with the names of gods, and carried with it some idea of supplication. Gradually other sacred objects were included in the prayer, the same form being used for them as for the gods, this inclusion being prompted by the belief that the mention of any sacred object might help to promote the efficacy of the prayer. Later, when any mysterious and seemingly miraculous incident occurred at a village, it seems to have become the custom to commemorate it in the prayer.
It is quite clear that at the present time the earlier portion of the prayer, consisting of the kwarzam, is regarded as more important than the latter portion, which reads like the actual prayer. I suspect even that in practice the prayer proper is often omitted, or that only the first two words, tanenma, tarmama, are said. There certainly seemed to be no very rigorous laws as to the exact number or order of the clauses of this part of the prayer. The earlier portion, on the other hand, is very strictly regulated, and the order in which the kwarzam are to be uttered is definitely prescribed. Certainly there is far more reticence in connexion with the kwarzam, and this may safely be taken to indicate that a higher degree of sanctity attaches to them than to the words of the prayer proper.
It is probable that the alteration in the relative importance attached to the two parts of the prayer would have to go little further in order to produce a state of things in which the Toda dairyman would use the first parts of the formulæ only, and an anthropologist visiting the Todas at this stage would find them using formulæ which would not be recognisable as prayer.
If, at the same time, the process of forgetting their mythology should also have advanced, the Todas would then provide an excellent example of a people using in their religious ritual meaningless forms of words, and the Toda kwarzam seem to furnish one way in which people may come to use such meaningless forms.
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