CHAPTER XV

FUNERAL CEREMONIES

The funeral ceremonies of a Toda may be prolonged over many months. Soon after death the body is burnt and the general name for the ceremony on this occasion is etvainolkedr, the first day funeral (literally, “first which day funeral”). After an interval which may vary greatly in length, a second ceremony is performed connected with certain relics of the deceased which have been preserved from the first occasion. The rites on this occasion are more elaborate than at the etvainolkedr. The Toda name for this second funeral ceremony is marvainolkedr, the second day funeral, or “again which day funeral.” The final scene, in which the relics are burnt and the ashes buried, takes place before daybreak on the morning following the marvainolkedr, and this part of the ceremony is known as azaramkedr, the name being derived from the azaram, or circle of stones within which the final cremation takes place.

The funeral ceremonies are open to all and visitors are often invited by the Todas. In consequence, the funeral rites are better known, and have been more frequently described than any other features of Toda ceremonial. Like nearly every institution of the Todas, however, they have become known to Europeans under their Badaga names. The first funeral is called by the Badagas hase kedu, the fresh or green funeral, and the term ‘green funeral’ has not only become the generally recognised name among the European inhabitants of the Nilgiri Hills, but has been widely adopted in anthropological literature. The second funeral is called by the Badagas bara kedu, the ‘dry funeral,’ and this term also has been generally adopted. I never heard these terms used by the Todas themselves, who always spoke of the etvainolkedr and the marvainolkedr, though it seemed that the first funeral might sometimes be called karchokedr, which probably means fresh or green funeral.

The funeral ceremonies have undergone some modification in recent times owing to the intervention of the Government. Formerly it was the custom to slaughter many buffaloes at every funeral. This impoverished the people and was prohibited by the Government about forty years ago, and since that time the number of buffaloes killed at each ceremony has been limited to two for each person. This has had most influence on the second funeral ceremonies, which, largely owing to this prohibition, are now much less elaborate and prolonged than in former times.

The funeral ceremonies are held at certain appointed places called kertnòdr, different for each clan. Sometimes these places are at, or close to, villages where the people are now living; sometimes they are at places which were formerly inhabited; while in other cases, again, there is no evidence that the funeral places have ever been inhabited. In every case, whether inhabited or not, the place where a funeral is held is called a mad, the same name as is used for a village.

Each clan has at least two funeral places, one for males and the other for females, and in several cases a clan has more than one funeral place for each sex. Some clans have different places for the two funeral ceremonies, and the Piedrol, who have one outlying branch of their clan at Kavidi in the Wainad, have special funeral places for the first funeral of members of this branch, the second funeral, or marvainolkedr, being held at the chief funeral place of the clan. Others, again, have a special place for boys who have not passed through the ear-piercing ceremony.

In general, a funeral hut (see Fig. 48) is specially built for the reception of the dead body, this hut being usually erected within a stone circle found at the funeral place. At the funeral of a male, this hut is called kertnòdrpali or neilpali. It is left standing after the funeral and may be used on a second occasion if it has not fallen into too great disorder.

Five clans of the Tartharol possess special dairies, each with three rooms which are used as funeral huts. These buildings are habitually or occasionally used as dairies; but when a man of the clan dies his body is laid in the outermost of the three rooms, either on the day of the funeral or for two or three days before it. While a dead body is lying in the dairy, women are allowed to enter the outermost room just as they may go into any other funeral hut, but they may not pass beyond. Men are allowed to enter the middle room, but the innermost room is only entered by the dairyman, who carries on his dairy work as usual.

The five villages at which these three-roomed dairies now exist are Nòdrs, Taradrkirsi (Kars), Keradr, Tim (Pan), and Akirsikòdri (Nidrsi). At Taradr a temporary funeral hut with three rooms is constructed within a circle of stones near the village. In the outermost room of this hut the corpse is placed, and women may only enter this room, while men may enter both outer and middle rooms as in the three-roomed dairies. In the innermost room the palikartmokh of the village places a vessel of the kind called mu, and he only is allowed to enter this room.

This temporary building is almost certainly the representative of a three-roomed dairy which at one time existed at this village; and it is probable that at other male Tarthar funeral places the funeral hut should be made with three rooms, though at present this is not done.

In every case the funeral hut which receives the body of a man is called pali, or dairy, and it is probable that at one time among the Tartharol it was the universal custom to place the body of a man in a dairy before the last rites. It is possible that the stone circle within which the funeral hut is built is the representative of the wall surrounding a dairy which formerly existed on the spot. Among the Teivaliol the funeral hut is also called pali, but there is no instance among them of an actual dairy being used to receive the dead.

At the funeral place of women a hut is specially built for the reception of the body, but it is always burnt down after each funeral. This hut is called ars, or house, and has a different name for each ceremony, being called nersars for the first funeral, and kursars for the second. Each kind of hut is constructed within a circle of stones, and the name seems to indicate that at one time the body of a woman was placed in the house of the village. Here again the stone circle may possibly be the representative of an actual house which once existed at the funeral place.

If, for any reason, the funeral of a person is not being held at the proper place, the funeral hut is not constructed within the circle of stones; thus at the funeral of a girl, Sinerani (see p. 392), the hut was placed by the side of the stone circle because her funeral was being held at the kertnòdr of her father and not at that of her husband.

At every funeral place there should be a second circle of stones forming a tu, or buffalo-pen. These pens are now rarely, if ever, used, and are a relic of the time when the ceremonies of the marvainolkedr were prolonged over two days, the buffaloes being caught and penned on the first day, and killed on the second. A third ring of stones is the azaram, at the opening of which the ashes are buried at the final scene of the funeral rites.

There are specially appointed days for the funeral ceremonies. These days differ to some extent for different clans and for the two sexes. Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday are the most general days for the funerals of males, only two clans having Saturday as a funeral day for men. For females Thursday and Saturday are most frequently chosen, two clans only holding the funerals of women on Tuesdays. In no case could I find that funerals are performed on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. These days are, on the other hand, the most usual days set apart as madnol or palinol, [133] and villages which have their madnol or palinol on Sunday or Tuesday do not appear to have their funerals on these days. The general rule is that a funeral must not take place on a madnol or palinol. In several cases I was told that if the mani, or sacred bell, were used, the funeral must be on one day of the week; thus for the Karsol, it must take place on Sunday; for the Kwòdrdoni people, on Tuesday. These obligatory days of the funeral ceremonies often involve the necessity of keeping the corpse for several days.

I did not make special inquiries into ceremonies of the deathbed, but Marshall states (p. 171) that a man who is not expected to recover is dressed in the ornaments and jewellery of his house, which he will wear till he dies or recovers; and Marshall mentions an instance of a man who had revived from what was thought to be his deathbed who paraded about, wearing the finery with which he had been bedecked. In this case, it was said that he would be permitted to carry the ornaments till his death. Marshall also states that the relatives give the dying man milk to drink when on the point of death.

After death the body should be wrapped in a dark cloth called än, which is of the same material as the tuni worn by the palol and other dairymen, and, like the tuni, is procured from the Badagas of Jakaneri. It is doubtful, however, whether this custom of enwrapping the body in the än is now kept up with any regularity. Outside the än should be an ornamented mantle (pukuruputkuli) and then a mantle of the ordinary kind.

The body of a woman is kept in the hut in which she has died till the day of the funeral, and, with special exceptions, this is also done with the bodies of men.

When a man dies at the village of Nòdrs, his body is taken into the three roomed tarvali and placed on the right-hand bed (meitün) of the outermost room. While the body is lying here, the building is still used as a dairy, but women are allowed to enter the outermost room except when the palikartmokh is actually engaged in the business of the dairy. It is only when it is being used as a funeral hut that women are ever allowed to enter a dairy, and then they may only sit on the left-hand bed—the kitün.

On the day appointed for the elvainolkedr, the body is carried to the funeral place. In some cases certain ceremonies are performed at the village at which the death has taken place; thus, at Kars, the body of a man is first laid in front of the kudrpali and then on one of the two eminences called imudrikars (see Fig. 21), which stand near the dairy, and from this it is taken to the other imudrikars, and after lying here for a while it is borne to the special funeral village of Taradrkirsi. At Kuzhu, another village of the Karsol, the body is taken from the hut and laid by the side of the stone called menkars; then it is taken to a stone called imudrikars in front of the kudrpali, and laid with the head at the stone and the feet towards the dairy. A buffalo of the ordinary kind (putiir) is then milked; the milk is put into a vessel and from this poured into a leaf cup of kakud leaves, and from this cup milk is poured three times into the mouth of the dead man.

In other villages at which there is no imudrikars, the body is laid in front of the dairy and fed with milk in the same way.

The body is borne from the village to the funeral place on a wooden bier, called mänpedrkudr (wood bier). It is taken by a specially appointed route, and in some cases certain ceremonies are performed by the way. Thus, when the body of a man is taken from Kars to Taradrkirsi, earth is thrown at two places. We shall see shortly that one of the most important features of the funeral of a man is that earth is dug at the entrance of a buffalo pen at the funeral place and thrown on the corpse and into the pen. On the way to Taradrkirsi this is also done at two places, which are probably the situations of the old buffalo pens of villages which have now disappeared. I did not hear of any similar practices for any other clan, but Kars is probably not exceptional in this respect.

Before the body arrives at the funeral place the people will have begun to assemble, and when the funeral procession reaches its destination all those present go one by one to the corpse, bow down by the side of the bier, and touch the body with their foreheads. Those older than the deceased and those related in certain ways (see Chap. XXI) bow down at the head of the corpse. Those younger and those related in certain other ways bow down at the foot. When all those present have saluted, the body is placed in the funeral hut, or in the dairy if the funeral is being held at one of the places where funeral dairies still exist, and late-comers enter the hut or dairy to perform their salutations. As soon as the body is placed in the hut or dairy, the female relatives and friends of the dead person collect round the hut and lament together in the characteristic Toda manner, arranging themselves in pairs and pressing their foreheads together while they wail and weep (Fig. 48).

While this is going on the men are busied in making preparations for the cremation. A place is cleared in a wood near the funeral place—the methkudi—and here a pyre is built of wood, some of which has been brought by the funeral party, while the rest is found near the burning ground. The wood used on this occasion must be of the kind called kers [134] and the pyre is built of an oblong shape, rising about three feet above the ground.

The first of the funeral ceremonies is different for the two sexes. At the funeral of a male the ceremony of puzhutpimi, “earth we throw,” or kedrpuzhutpimi, “funeral earth we throw,” is performed, while the corresponding ceremony for a woman is to place certain leaves in the armlet on the right arm of the corpse.

THE PUZHUTPIMI CEREMONY

In the puzhutpimi ceremony a man digs up a little earth in front of the entrance to the buffalo pen. The digger must belong to the Tartharol, if the dead man is one of the Teivaliol, and vice versâ; thus, at the funeral of Pursevan (53) [135] of Kuudr, the earth was dug by Kedjeri (6) of Nòdrs. In this case the Tartharol were told to send someone to dig, and they selected Kedjeri.

At the funeral of a Tarthar man the earth is first thrown by the wursol, who must be, on this occasion, one of the Teivaliol. A Melgars wursol may not perform this office. After the wursol has thrown earth, it is thrown by certain relatives of the deceased who are present. At a Teivali funeral only the relatives perform this ceremony, no one corresponding to the wursol taking part.

Before the people begin to throw earth, one of the dead man’s division asks “Puzhutkina?”—“Shall I throw earth?” and a man of the other division replies, “Puzhut!”—“Throw earth!” At the funeral of Pursevan a Teivali man asked the Tartharol in this way, and the Tartharol responded. At this funeral earth was thrown by the following: Punatvan (53), a younger brother of the dead man; Kuriolv and Piliar (52), Pöteners (54); Targners, Pungusivan and Tevò, the sons of the dead man, and Pòl, the son of Punatvan. In this case all who threw earth were not only Kuudrol—i.e., of the same clan as the dead man—but were also of the same family, so that their relation to one another can be traced in the genealogies. Kuriolv, Piliar and Pöteners would all have called Pursevan “aia,” or father, and were first cousins once removed according to our system of kinship. I do not know whether the earth-throwing is usually limited to the nearer relatives in the same clan. The family to which Pursevan belonged was unusually numerous, and it is probable that in most cases other families of the clan are called upon to take a part.

At a funeral seen by Mr. Walhouse [136] the earth was thrown into a circle made of rough stones laid upon the grass with an opening on one side, and Mr. Thurston [137] records a similar case in which the earth was thrown into a circle of stones about a yard and a half in diameter, which had been constructed for the occasion. This is probably done when the funeral is held at a place where there is no tu, and it is possible that these funerals were not being held at regular funeral places of the clan, and that the circles of stones were intended to represent buffalo pens. At the funeral seen by Mr. Walhouse the ‘priest’ handed a bag to the nearest relatives, who tied it to the stick with which they turned up the earth.

Each man, as he throws, kneels down, facing the opening of the pen, and then bows down so that he touches the earth with his forehead, many saying “Swami” as they do this. Three handfuls of earth are thrown into the pen, and then three handfuls are thrown backwards on the corpse, the man standing up as soon as he has done this. Each man covers his head with his cloak before he throws, as shown in Figs. 49 and 50. [138] Fig. 50 shows the special action employed in throwing backwards, the hand being turned inward.

The earth-throwing ceremony is one of several funeral rites, in which men of one division take part in funerals belonging to the other division. Thus, at a Tarthar funeral the earth is dug by one of the Teivaliol; the Tartharol then ask for permission to throw the earth, and the permission (or order) is given by the Teivaliol—i.e., those who have dug the earth have to give the word that the earth may be thrown.

THE TIVERI TÛR CEREMONY

At the funeral of a woman no earth is thrown, but a ceremony is performed which is said to correspond to it. A woman goes in search of the leaves of the tiveri plant, [139] the leaves being called tiveri tûr. The woman who plucks the leaves must be the motvilth (daughter-in-law) of the dead woman, but if it is a child who is dead the leaves are plucked by the mother-in-law or potential mother-in-law. If a dead woman has no daughter-in-law, it was said that her daughter might pluck the leaves, but at the funeral of Kiuneimi (3), a childless woman, the leaves were sought and plucked by Naburveli, the wife of Mushkers (28), who would have called the husband of Kiuneimi “brother,” being of the same family and generation, although only his second cousin according to our system of kinship. In this case, therefore, the leaves were plucked by a sister-in-law, or, more strictly, by the wife of the ‘brother’ of the dead woman’s husband. In this case both Kiuneimi and Naburveli were daughters of Nòdrs men, but this was probably only a coincidence.

At the funeral of Kiuneimi, Naburveli was accompanied by a man and by another woman, but it was quite clear that they would on no account be allowed to touch the leaves, which must be plucked by the daughter-in-law or other relative who is performing the ceremony. When found, the tiveri leaves are put by the woman in the armlet on the right arm of the dead woman. Then the men present say to the woman:—

“Parthûl ütchka, tiveri tûr parch pudthka?” In the armlet is it put, tiveri leaves plucking have you come?

and the woman replies:—

“Tiveri tûr parch pudthpimi, parthûl ûtchpimi, Tiveri leaves plucking we have come, in the armlet we have put,

îr patz!” the buffalo catch!

The woman thus announces that this ceremony has been completed, and that they may proceed to the next event of the funeral rites, that of catching the buffalo.

The tiveri tûr ceremony of a woman’s funeral was said to correspond to the earth-throwing ceremony of a man’s funeral, but this correspondence may only mean that each is the first of the actual funeral ceremonies. Since, however, a woman belongs to the clan of her husband, the leaves are always put into the armlet by a woman of the same clan as the deceased. In this respect the ceremony resembles that of earth-throwing, but my informants laid stress on the fact that the ceremony should be performed by a motvilth or other relative-in-law, and no reference was made to the fact that they would be of the same clan. This makes it probable that there is no real correspondence between the two ceremonies.

THE SLAUGHTER OF THE BUFFALOES.

The next stage in the proceedings is the catching and killing of the buffalo or buffaloes. At the present time the Todas are only permitted by the Government to kill two of these animals, and if the family of the dead person is poor only one may be killed. At the funeral of a man it is customary that one of the animals killed shall be an ordinary buffalo (putiir) and the other a sacred buffalo; one of the pasthir in the case of the Teivaliol, and usually one of the wursulir in the case of the Tartharol. At least one sacred buffalo must be killed at one or other funeral ceremony for every man, but this may be done either at the etvainol- or the marvainolkedr. Sacred buffaloes are only killed at the funerals of men, never at those of women.

When it was the custom to slaughter more than two buffaloes, there was often a rule that these should be of certain kinds; thus, at Nòdrs, it was once the custom to kill seven buffaloes at a man’s funeral—viz., two wursulir, two putiir, and one each of the following kinds: nashperthir, pineipir, and persasir.

If the family possess no sacred buffalo, they must procure one by exchange, and it is customary to give two ordinary buffaloes for one of the sacred kind.

There is a definite spot appointed for the slaughter of each kind of buffalo. The ordinary buffalo is usually killed near the funeral hut, and sometimes there is a stone marking the spot at which the animal is to die. The wursulir are killed at a place usually marked by a stone called teiks. In cases where there is no stone the spot is marked by a wooden post (see Fig. 51), which has the same name, and I was told that it should be made of teak. [140]

In some cases there are other appointed stones or unmarked spots where buffaloes of other kinds are slaughtered; thus, at Nòdrs there are seven stones, at each of which a buffalo used to be killed, and the people of Pan have two stones called teiks, one for each division of the clan.

The catching of the buffalo is one of the most exciting incidents of a Toda funeral. When only one or two buffaloes are to be killed it is usual to take about four buffaloes from the village of the dead person to the neighbourhood of the funeral place. When the preliminary ceremonies are over, all those who are attending the funeral move towards the place at which the buffaloes are standing, while several of their number are chosen to catch the appointed animal or animals. At the same time, the buffaloes, which are usually standing in some hollow so that they cannot be seen from the funeral place, are driven towards the people. As soon as they appear the appointed men drop their cloaks and race to meet the buffaloes. The buffaloes are driven on from behind in a more vigorous manner than that to which they are accustomed, are more or less infuriated, and often rush wildly about in their efforts to avoid the racing Todas, one of whom succeeds in catching the appointed animal, seizing it by the horns, and then hangs round its neck with one hand and seizes the cartilage of the nose with the other. Another of the men seizes a horn and also hangs round the neck of the animal, and both men put their whole weight on the neck of the buffalo and bear it to the ground. Often they are carried many yards before they succeed in getting the infuriated animal under control, and when catching the horns they are sometimes severely gored, though this rarely happens now, and I could hear of no case in which there had been fatal consequences.

The men who are appointed to catch the buffalo belong to the Tartharol at a Teivali funeral and to the Teivaliol at a Tarthar funeral. They are usually chosen from among the younger and more agile of the community, but at an important funeral the older and more experienced men may undertake the duty. The catching of the buffalo is critically watched, and some men have acquired great reputations for the adroitness with which they perform the feat.

I have some reason to think that it is the custom to catch the buffaloes at different places at the funerals of males and females (see p. 393), but my information on this point is not satisfactory.

The captured buffalo has next to be led to the spot appointed for its slaughter. The people of both divisions drive the animal, beating it with sticks, while the course taken by the animal is directed by the two men hanging on its horns and round its neck. The buffalo is beaten much more vigorously than ever happens on ordinary occasions, and it has seemed to many who have watched a Toda funeral that this vigorous beating must have some significance, and the idea of vicarious punishment is naturally suggested. I could obtain no information from the people on this point, and I am doubtful whether the beating means more than that, under the exceptional conditions, the animal requires much more vigorous driving than usual. Ordinarily the buffalo follows out its daily routine with little interference; it goes to its usual pasture, and, as I have seen myself, it may return to the dairy of its own accord at the proper time.

At one funeral at which I was present the buffalo was so alarmed or so infuriated by the proceedings that it lay down and absolutely refused to move, and the efforts of all present were insufficient to drag the animal to the slaughtering place. This incident will be described more fully later, but I mention it here to show that it may often be difficult to drive the buffalo, and that the unaccustomed vigour with which the animal is beaten may have a natural and not a ceremonial reason.

Before the buffalo is killed two things have still to be done. A bell or its substitute has to be hung on the neck of the buffalo, and butter rubbed on its back, head and horns.

If one of the wursulir is to be killed there is hung on its neck the sacred bell called mani, while the ordinary buffalo or putiir is given only the kwungg or household bell. A mani may also be used for the varieties of sacred buffalo called nashperthir, persasir, &c. Probably at one time there was a mani for each kind, but some of the sacred bells have been lost, and it is only in some clans that a bell can now be used. Those clans which have no mani do not use an ordinary bell, but they tie the sacred buffalo to the teiks by means of a piece of the creeper called kakhudri, about two yards in length. This is the case with all the Teivaliol except the people of Piedr and with the Melgarsol among the Tartharol. The kakhudri is said to be used in place of the mani.

The details as to the use of the mani differ somewhat in different clans. The Nòdrs people have two mani, called Kòdj and Kagur, which are now kept at Òdr. When a Nòdrs man dies these bells are fetched from Òdr by the wursol and one is hung on the neck of one of the mersgursir and the other on the neck of one of the nashperthir. [141] After the etvainolkedr these bells are kept outside the conical dairy at Nòdrs in a special hole in a stone called karsalb. The people of Kars similarly take their mani to Taradrkirsi for the first funeral and keep it there till the funeral ceremonies are completed.

Among the Teivaliol the Piedrol are the only clan to possess a mani, which is called Kerâni. It is kept in a wood or shola near the funeral place and lies in an earthenware pot buried in the ground. At the funeral of a Piedr man the bell is hung on the neck of a buffalo belonging to the kudeipir (the special name for the pasthir of this clan). It is dug up by the Teivali palikartpol and given by him to a Nòdrs man, who ties it on the neck of the buffalo. The Nòdrs man chosen for this office must bathe on the morning of this day and must go without food till after the funeral.

Just before the buffalo is killed butter is smeared on the back of the animal, on the horns and on the part of the head between the horns. This should be done by a man of the same clan as the dead person.

The killing of the buffalo is called îrkîpti. It is done by striking the animal on the head with the back of an axe (masth). The animal is usually killed by one blow, though in some cases more are necessary. The wursulir are killed by the wursol and the ordinary buffaloes by men of the same division as the deceased, but of a different clan. Certain clans appear to have a prescriptive right to kill the buffalo; thus, among the Teivaliol, a Kuudr man kills at the funerals of members of all other clans, while at the funeral of a Kuudr man a member of one of the other clans performs this function. Among the Tartharol, the members of the Nòdrs and Kars clans appear to occupy the most privileged position, but the relations are more complicated than among the Teivaliol. At a Kars funeral the ordinary buffalo is killed by a man of Nòdrs, Taradr or Pan. At a funeral of a member of any of these three clans, a Kars man kills. At funerals in other clans, the buffalo is usually killed by men either of Kars or Nòdrs, but in the case of a Kwòdrdoni funeral, it seemed that the killing might also be done by a man of Päm or Nidrsi. Each buffalo is killed at the appointed stone or post, and the teiks at which the wursulir are killed is at some distance from the funeral hut, and a woman is not allowed to approach the spot lest she should see the sacred bell.

Though there is no definite landmark for the killing of the putiir, each buffalo is killed at an appointed spot; thus, at the funeral of Sinerani (see p. 392), the buffalo at the etvainolkedr was killed on the left-hand side of the funeral hut.

As soon as the buffalo is felled, the corpse is brought up and placed by the head of the dying animal (Fig. 53). At the funeral of a man, the covering of the body is unfolded and the right hand of the dead man is made to clasp one of the horns. At the funeral of a woman, the body is laid with its feet by the mouth of the buffalo. [142] At the funeral of a Pan man, Kwoten’s ring is placed on the finger of the deceased before his hand is made to clasp the horn. Then the men present come to the buffalo and salute it by bowing down and placing their foreheads on the horns and on the head between the horns.

The people then group themselves round the buffalo and corpse and cry together by placing forehead to forehead so that their tears and cries mingle. In the case of the sacred buffalo, wearing the mani, this circle is composed of men only. The lament [143] usually consists in calling first the name of the buffalo and then speaking of the dead person, not by his name, but by the term expressing the bond of kinship between the lamenter and the dead. Thus at a funeral at which the buffalo killed was called Pundrs, one man would cry:

“Pundrsia, en potch aia ivanersia, en potch aia” O Pundrs, O my father.

I could not ascertain the meaning of ivanersia, except that its latter

## part is the word for buffalo with the vocative termination ‘ia.’

For a son, a man would cry after the name of the buffalo, “en mokh ûpa”; for an elder brother, “en potch anna”; and similarly for other relatives. For a wife a man would cry “iza kughia”, and for a husband a woman cries “iza mókhia” (iza is merely exclamatory).

It might appear from the form of lamentation that the buffalo itself was regarded as the father, son, &c., of the lamenter, and I could not satisfy myself as to what the people really had in their minds when they were lamenting in this way. It has been supposed that the lamentation is for the slaughtered buffalo, and I am unable positively to say that this is not the case. It is probable that the people grieve for the departure of one of their much-loved buffaloes, but I do not think that there is any decisive evidence that they are lamenting for the buffalo rather than for the dead person.

Within the group of mourners there is much going hither and thither. After two people have mourned together for a while they separate, and each seeks a new partner with whom to lament. When separating, the salutation of kalmelpudithti often takes place, and, as in general, it is the younger of each pair who bows down his head and raises each foot of the other so that it touches his forehead. It seemed to be the duty of everyone to salute certain of the older men in this way; and round these men there would be a continual coming and going, each person saluting by placing his head beneath the feet of the elder. At times the band of mourners would form a confused mass of struggling people, some crying forehead to forehead, others saluting head to foot, while others would be struggling through the mass to seek partners with whom to mourn (Fig. 55).

THE CLOTH-GIVING CEREMONY

During or after the lamentation a ceremony is performed which is known as kachütthti [144] (kach, cloth, ütthti or ütiti, he puts). The essential feature of this ceremony is that a cloth is given by a near relative of the dead person to those who have married into his family, and the cloth is placed on the dead body by the wives of those to whom it is given. This ceremony takes place at the funerals of both sexes and for members of all clans. It is an inconspicuous ceremony, and with one exception [145] has escaped the observation of all those who have previously witnessed and recorded the procedure of Toda funerals. It takes place in the middle of a crowd, who gather round the corpse possibly while the lamentation is still going on or while other ceremonies are in progress. In the first funeral I witnessed the ceremony took place while dancing was going on, and I missed it entirely, though I was told afterwards that it had taken place as usual, and was able to obtain the names of the chief actors.

In the ceremony of kachütthti, a man belonging to the clan of the deceased gives a cloth to one of his paiol, or brothers-in-law. The latter gives the cloth to his wife or wife’s sister, or to some woman whom he would be allowed to marry, and the woman places the cloth on the corpse. The man who originally gave the cloth then takes it from the body and gives it to another paiol, and the ceremony is repeated till the cloth has been given to all the paiol present.

The man who gives the cloth should belong to the same clan as the dead person. At the funeral of a male, the proper person is the father of the deceased, if he is alive, or some other elder of the clan. At the funeral of a woman, a man of the clan of the woman’s husband is chosen. Thus, at the funeral of Kiuneimi (3 and 28), a widow of Kanòdrs, the cloth was given by Neratkutan (28), who was of the same family as the husbands of the dead woman and the eldest representative of their generation. At the funeral of Sinerani (52), the cloth was given by Tebkudr (68), who was the younger brother of the father of Keinba, the husband of the dead child.

The men called paiol, to whom the cloth is given, seem to include all those who have married women of the same clan as the giver of the cloth. Thus, at the funeral of Kiuneimi the cloth was given to Pepob (44) of Melgars, and to Nelkush and Tevò (3) of Nòdrs, who had all married women of Kanòdrs.

At the funeral of Sinerani, the cloth was given to Kuriolv (52), who was the father of the dead child, not, however, for this reason, but because he was the husband of Sintharap, Tebkudr’s sister. At this funeral the only other man to whom the cloth was given was Piliag (52), who received it in the place of his brother, Piliar (52), who was not present. The latter, like Kuriolv, was the brother-in-law of Tebkudr (68). If there is no paiol present the cloth may be given to a matchuni, [146] and this may also happen even when paiol are present. Thus at one funeral at which I was present, the marvainolkedr of Pursevan (53), the cloth was given by Piliar (52) to Teikudr (63), his matchuni. Piliar was the son of Mutevan and Teikudr was the son of Kavani, the sister of Mutevan.

If neither paiol nor matchuni be present, it was said that the cloth might be given to a brother, i.e., a man of the same clan, but this probably never happens and the statement is possibly an error.

The man who receives the cloth hands it to his wife, if she is present; if she is not present, he may put it on the corpse himself, and I saw this done more than once. On one occasion a man gave it to a woman who was not his wife, but in this case he was acting as a substitute for the husband of the woman.

This ceremony is one in which a man of the same clan as the deceased person gives a cloth to a man who has married into his family. The latter hands on the cloth to his wife, who was, before her marriage, of the same clan as the giver of the cloth, and it is this woman who places the cloth on the dead body.

The father of each woman who places the cloth on the body receives a fee of one rupee called kachkars, or cloth-rupee, but the sum is not paid till the woman has attended twenty funerals. An account is kept and twenty rupees are paid when the number is completed. The money is paid by the husband of the woman.

In the ceremony of kachütthti, the men who have married into the family of the dead person have to perform this ceremony and have to pay a fee to the family of the dead person. As we shall see later, the chief mourner at a funeral should receive a buffalo from each of his sons-in-law, and we see here that this tribute is supplemented by an addition to the account kept of the times the cloth is given. The cloth-giving ceremony involves a payment to the family of the dead man of certain fees from those members of other clans who have married into the family.

The cloth used is a red loincloth of a kind which is never worn by the Todas, but, so far as I could ascertain, it is only an ordinary cloth procured in the bazaar.

THE CREMATION

After the kachütthti ceremony the body is replaced on the wooden bier and borne to the methkudi, where the funeral pyre has been erected within the wood, usually at no great distance from the funeral hut.

The bier is laid by the side of the pyre, and the dead person is then supplied with the various necessaries for the other world. Many of the things are placed in the large pocket, or kudsh, between the two folds of the cloak in which the body is enclosed.

The things supplied are chiefly food, ornaments, and money. The food includes grain, rice, jaggery, limes, and honey. Some of the food is put directly into the kudsh, while some of the grain, rice, and honey are mixed together and put in a metal bowl. Tobacco, coconuts, ghi, or articles of food from the bazaar may be added.

A number of square boxes made of rattan and called pettei [147] are also placed on the bier. They are procured from Mitur in the Wainad, and are often called miturpettei or mitudpettei. Jaggery and other things are put into each of the boxes, and they are covered with cloth, tied with thread, and adorned with cowries.

The ornaments placed on the corpse included rings for the fingers, armlets, necklaces, and earrings.

The money is collected from all present and put in rolls into long purses, called tinkani. Most of the money used for this occasion is old with Arabic inscriptions and is known by the Todas as irajkars, the more recent coinage being called englishkars. In one collection of coins which I was allowed to inspect many bore the date 1780, and among the more recent coins were included two Japanese yen. The rolls of coins are placed within the cloak, often near the feet of the dead person.

Meanwhile the pyre has been lighted. At the funeral of a man this must be done by means of fire made by friction. I have not recorded whether the fire is made by any special relative of the deceased or other special person. At the funeral of a woman, the fire is started by means of a lighted rag which has been soaked in ghi. The rag is lighted by a man, who at present uses matches for the purpose. Though lighted by a man the fire is applied to the funeral pyre by a woman, usually of the same clan as the dead person. The pyre is lighted on the top, where small pieces of wood have been placed, and butter is poured on the fire which gradually spreads downwards. The progress of the fire is very slow, and at every funeral at which I was present the fire was far from strong when the body was placed upon it.

At the funeral of a male, imitation buffalo horns of wood (tebkuter or petkuter, see Fig. 35) are placed on the fire and burnt. This was also done at the funeral of the girl Sinerani, but it seemed clear that this was unorthodox and was done by Kuriolv, the father of the dead girl, on account of his great sorrow at her death.

The body on the bier is now taken up and swung three times over the fire, while a small wooden framework resembling a miniature bier is held under the larger bier. As the body is swung over the fire in this way the bearers say:—

“Kedr tütth tâzâr mud tirk tûkitth tâthi.” Funeral fire over three times lifted must.

These words seem to be connected with the small wooden framework held under the body, for this is called tütth tâzâr tûkitth kûrs, or “fire over lifted (or lifting) stick.”

The bier is then replaced on the ground and nearly all the objects of value are removed from the bier or from the pocket of the cloak. In one case I observed that the bangles were taken from the arms, all the rings except one were taken from the fingers, and the coins were removed and redistributed to those who had given them. The people told me that when the body was swung over the fire, the dead person went to Amnòdr with all the ornaments and objects then on the bier, and that the removal of the things afterwards would not deprive the dead person of their use in the next world.

It would seem as if this ceremony of swinging the body over the fire was directly connected with the removal of the objects of value. The swinging over the fire would be symbolic of its destruction by fire, and this symbolic burning has the great advantage that the objects of value are not consumed and are available for use another time.

This is probably the real explanation of the ceremony, but it is not the explanation given by the Todas themselves. They say that long ago, about 400 years, a man supposed to be dead was put on the funeral pyre, and, revived by the heat, he was found to be alive and was able to walk away from the funeral place. In consequence of this the rule was made that the body shall always be swung three times over the fire before it is finally placed thereon. I could not discover the significance of the small wooden framework held under the body. Its appearance suggests that it is a miniature bier.

The objects of value having been removed, the body is now burnt. Formerly it was put on the pyre face downwards, and in the accounts of funerals given by Marshall [148] and Walhouse [149] thirty years ago, this was done, but it is no longer the custom, and in recent funerals attended by Mr. Thurston and myself the body was put on the fire with the face upwards. I was told that Teikirzi ordained that the body should be consumed face downwards, and it was believed that if this were not done, the dead person would have to make the journey to Amnòdr backwards. This seems to imply that the world of Amnòdr is below this world and that the dead person should be burnt in such a way that his face is set towards his future abode.

At some time during the day, Kotas will have arrived, some to act as musicians (Fig. 56), others to take the flesh of the slaughtered buffaloes. The musicians play on their instruments, which may include a clarionet, a drum, tambourine, and brass horn, though usually I saw only the clarionet and drum. The musicians become especially active while the body is consuming. The other Kotas, who carry sharp sticks on which to carry away the flesh, begin to cut up the buffaloes as soon as the people have left the neighbourhood of the funeral hut. On more than one occasion I noticed Tamil women sitting not far from the funeral scene, and was told that they had come to buy some of the flesh from the Kotas, and I believe that it is not unknown for the flesh to find its way to the bazaar at Ootacamund.

Before the body is finally placed on the fire, a lock of hair is cut from the head to serve as one of the relics for the second funeral. It is cut by a near relative of the dead person; in the case of Sinerani, it was cut off by her boy-husband. According to Breeks, [150] one of the nails should also be removed, but I could not hear of this being done at the present time, and similarly I heard nothing of the practice of keeping the knee-cap bone, which is said by Hough [151] to have been preserved. When the burning is over, a piece of the skull is sought from among the ashes, and this, together with the hair, is put within two pieces of bark and wrapped in a cloak to be kept for the marvainolkedr.

The remainder of the ashes are left on the burning-ground till they are dispersed by wind and rain.

SOME SPECIAL FUNERAL CEREMONIES

In the previous account certain ceremonies which may be performed by special individuals have been omitted. In general, at the funeral of a man, the part of chief mourner and director of the ceremonies is taken by a brother or son of the deceased. At the funeral of a woman the husband takes the chief place.

While the mourning is going on, a ceremony will have been performed if the dead person should be a man or woman whose spouse is still alive. The husband of a dead woman goes to one of his paiol, most commonly to his father-in-law, if he is living, and the paiol draws up the cloak of the widower so that it covers his head. The man who has his head covered in this way is called mad âr mitch nidvai, “head on covered who stands” (see Fig. 61). The widower keeps his head covered in this way as a sign of mourning and does not take off the cloak till the end of the second funeral. When the paiol has arranged the cloak of the mourner, the two men cry together with forehead to forehead.

Similarly the wife of a dead man has her cloak drawn over her head as a sign of mourning, and this is done for her by her own father or someone of his clan who takes his place. This ceremony is performed by a relative of the woman, whether it is husband or wife who is dead.

It is the duty of the widower or widow to mix the grain and honey which is put into a bowl on the bier.

Other special ceremonies fall to the lot of the mokhthodvaiol or sedvaitazmokh of the dead person if there should be such. The mokhthodvaiol of a woman is the recognised lover whom she may have in addition to her husband or husbands. The sedvaitazmokh is the name of the woman in this Toda institution. The mokhthodvaiol of a dead woman goes to the funeral wearing his ring on the ring finger of the left hand. Before the buffalo is caught he pays the kalmelpudithti salutation to the father of the woman; bows down before him and raises each foot to his head. He then puts into the pocket of the cloak of the woman some limes, three handfuls (mudteir) of patcherski and one large piece of jaggery. He also puts a piece of the dark cloth called än into the pocket of the cloak, this act being called än kudshk it pudithti. The mokhthodvaiol asks the husband of the woman three times “än kudsh idukina?” (“Shall I put än into the kudsh?”) and the husband answers each time “idu!” In putting the various things into the pocket, the mokhthodvaiol has to use his left hand throughout.

When a man dies his sedvaitazmokh, if there be one, goes to the funeral ceremony wearing a ring on the ring finger of her left hand, and similarly puts limes, grain, jaggery, and a piece of än into the pocket of the dead man’s mantle. Before doing this the brothers of the dead man do kalmelpudithti to the father of the woman, and this was said to be done in order to obtain permission from him for his daughter to put things into the cloak.

At the funeral of a girl, or of a childless woman, there are performed the ceremonies of urvatpimi and pursütpimi which are usually performed during pregnancy. In life the urvatpimi, or hand-burning ceremony, is performed before that of pursütpimi, but after death the order may be reversed. These ceremonies are most frequently performed at the funerals of children, and a full description may be reserved till a later section (see p. 391).

In the case of an adult the ceremony is only performed if it has not been performed in life. If a woman dies in the later months of pregnancy after these ceremonies have taken place, they would not be performed at the funeral.

If an unmarried boy dies, a girl who should be the matchuni of the dead boy, is chosen to act as his wife. It seemed that the girl might be of any age, but she must be unmarried, and therefore must nearly always be young. One of the elder brothers of the dead boy performs the salutation of kalmelpudithti to the girl’s father, or if there are no brothers this will be done by the boy’s father. The head of the girl is then covered with her mantle by her father and the girl puts food into the pocket of the mantle of the dead boy. Thus, there is no pursütpimi ceremony in the case of an unmarried boy, but a girl is chosen to act as his widow would have done if he had been married.

At the funeral of a Teivali or Melgars male who has not held any dairy office, a piece of tudr bark is placed in the right hand of the deceased by a man of the Tartharol. Every male of the Teivaliol or Melgarsol who has been a dairyman of any grade will have been purified with tudr bark during the ordination ceremonies, and the piece of bark is only given after death to those who have not been so purified.

THE INTERVAL BETWEEN THE TWO FUNERALS

As soon as the body is consumed at the etvainolkedr, the people go home, the near relatives taking with them the relics of the deceased. These relics are enclosed in two pieces of bark called pitûdri, taken from the tree called mûtmän. I was once told that tudr bark was used, but this is unlikely. The relics and bark are covered with plain cloth, and the whole is enclosed in a mantle of the kind ordinarily worn.

The relics, which are known as the kedr, are not taken to the chief village (etudmad) of the clan, but to other villages, usually to a definitely appointed village for each clan. If the clan should only have one village, or if the appointed village should be inconveniently distant, a small hut may be especially built in which to keep the relics till the second funeral. The near relatives of the dead person may not go to the chief village in the interval between the first and second funerals. If they are living at the chief village at the time of the death, they must leave it and live elsewhere till the second funeral is over.

The term kedr is not only applied to the relics of the dead person, but also to the period between the two funerals, or rather the people say, “There is kedr in his family,” or “So and so, or such and such a clan, has kedr,” so that the same word is used for the funeral, for the body of a dead person, for the relics, and for the condition of persons or clans while funeral ceremonies are uncompleted.

All those who go near the corpse at a Teivali funeral become ichchiloivichi, usually abbreviated to ichchil, and the same is true of anyone who goes to a Teivali village where the relics are being kept. The whole family in which the death has occurred is spoken of as being ichchil. If anyone wishes to attend a funeral and yet avoid becoming ichchil, he must sit at some distance and take no part in the funeral proceedings. At several funerals I have seen people sitting apart from the rest in order that they might not incur the disabilities associated with the condition of ichchil, the chief of which is that it is forbidden to approach or salute a palol.

A person who has incurred ichchil remains so till the next new moon. Those in the family of the dead person remain ichchil till the new moon after the marvainolkedr, owing to the fact that between the two funerals they probably either live at or visit the village where the relics are kept.

The condition of ichchil arising from attendance at a funeral is regarded as of the same nature as that incurred by a visit to the seclusion-hut after childbirth.

Both Teivaliol and Tartharol may become ichchil at a funeral of one of the Teivaliol, but there is no ichchil due to attendance at a Tarthar funeral. All those who throw earth at a Tarthar funeral, however, are called puzhut, and incur the same disability as those who are ichchil—i.e., they may not approach or salute a palol.

Melgars people incur the same disabilities as other Tartharol, and it is probably for them that the restrictions are of most importance, for they lose their special privileges as mòrol while they are in the condition of ichchil or puzhut.

During the condition called ‘kedr,’ all the men of the clan in which the death has occurred must tie their hair in a knot in front, as is shown in the case of the second man in Fig. 61. This method of wearing the hair is called mad tutvai, or “head (or hair) who rolls.” When the people of a clan are in this condition they must not hold any of the feasts in which the food called ashkkarthpimi is used, but they may attend as guests at feasts held in the villages of other clans.

A person who is keeping the funeral ceremonies should not traverse the path by which the ti buffaloes go from one grazing ground to another. The ostensible reason why the buffaloes of the Nòdrs ti did not journey to Anto at their usual time in 1902 (see p. 131) was that Teitnir, whose wife had died, had passed over the road. The ti buffaloes, also, may not pass a place where the relics of a dead person are being kept between the two funerals. In 1902 the relics of the dead wife of Teitnir were removed from the village of Karia in order that they should not be in the way of the buffaloes. On this occasion the relics were followed by a procession of people and Teitnir gave a feast. This was said to be very unorthodox, and on cross-examination it was found that the procession and the feast were not connected with one another, the latter being part of another ceremony which was being performed on the same day. [152]

There are special regulations for widowers and widows—i.e., for those who have their heads covered at the etvainolkedr. While they wear the mantle over the head they must never put out their hand or arm from above the mantle, but always from below. When they salute by raising the hand to the forehead (kaimukhti), they must do so by putting out their hand below the cloak, and in eating and all other acts they must do the same. When the mantle is over the head, it is probably most convenient to put the hand out of the mantle from below rather than from above, but it was quite clear that it was now regarded as wrong to do the latter.

When a man crosses the Paikara or Avalanche rivers he must usually do so kevenarut, with his right arm outside his mantle, but if he has the mantle over his head as a sign of mourning he merely protrudes his right hand, so that it can be seen below the mantle. Similarly, the throwing of water done by matchuni (see p. 501), when they cross these rivers on certain days, is not done by people of a family in which there has been a death—i.e., not between the two funerals—but they only chew the grass, which is the preliminary act of the ceremony.

The mourner who has his head covered has certain restrictions in regard to his food. A widower is not allowed to eat rice nor drink milk, and on every return of the day of the week on which his wife died he takes no food in the morning and only has his evening meal. The same holds good for a widow. This fasting on each weekly return of the day of death suggests that some rite is, or used to be, performed on this day, but I did not obtain an account of any such ceremony. The day of the week on which a man dies is always observed by his children, and is called arpatznol.

The wursol who attends to kill the sacred buffalo loses his office by so doing, and becomes perol. Similarly, if a palol, wursol, or kaltmokh wish to attend the funeral of a relative, he can only do so by giving up his office, and this is a common cause of change in the various dairies. The dairyman who has thus given up his office often resumes it when the funeral ceremonies are completed, and if he expresses his intention of returning, the temporary occupant is often said to be doing the work for the other.

Between the two funerals it is the duty of every Toda who was not present at the etvainolkedr to salute the remains. When anyone visits the village where the remains are kept for this purpose the cloth containing the relics is brought out and the visitor bows down and touches the cloth with his forehead, just as is done with the body at the funeral. When I visited the village at which the kedr of Olidzeimi was being kept my Toda guide took the opportunity of performing his duty to the remains, and I was able to witness the reverent way in which the duty is performed. While I was on the hills, Tersveli, the wife of Teitnir, died while Sintagars was in the seclusion-hut after the birth of her first child, and on the morning on which Sintagars went from the puzhars to the aliars (see p. 327), she visited Karia to salute the kedr of Tersveli. Her first act after her period of seclusion was to show her respect to the remains of her dead relative. If anyone is too ill or feeble to visit the village the remains may be taken to them for salutation.

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