chapter I

have given it as my opinion that the idea of Swami has only recently been acquired by the Todas, and I attach importance to the occurrence of the name in legends which have certainly been borrowed from another race.

GAMES

It is not altogether easy to draw the line between Toda games and Toda ceremonies. The sport which is practised with the greatest zest is undoubtedly the catching of the buffaloes at the funeral ceremonies, and in the old days when the marvainolkedr lasted two days, the first day, devoted to catching the buffaloes and putting them in the pen, must have been largely of a sportive character. Even now it is evident that the catching of the buffaloes is a spectacle which is much enjoyed by all in spite of the sad event which has led to its taking place.

The Todas have, however, pure games, though it is doubtful whether some of them have not acquired in a certain degree a ceremonial character.

In one of these games called narthpimi, a boy squeezes through a narrow tunnel formed by a flat slab of stone over two upright slabs. Two boys start from different distances, and the object of the nearer boy is to squeeze through the tunnel before the other can touch his feet. I did not have an opportunity of seeing this game, and I only saw the stones with which it is played at one village. This was at Nòdrs, where the three stones are called menkars and mark the spot at which one of the ordinary buffaloes is killed at the funeral ceremonies. The menkars is shown in Fig. 12 in front of and a little to the right of the entrance to the dairy.

Another game resembling tip-cat is called eln, and at some villages there is a special stone where the game is played. A piece of wood pointed at both ends is propped against the stone and struck with a stick, and should be caught by someone at a distance. The name for this game is probably Badaga, [238] and this suggests that the game has been borrowed from this people.

According to Breeks another game called kâriâlapimi, resembling ‘puss in the corner’ is played by the Todas. The name suggests a true Toda game and I regret that I know nothing about it.

One day I observed a stone near the village of Pakhalkudr, and, asking whether it was for tip-cat, was told of a different game. If a man jumped high enough at the stone, he could see the top of a certain hill. On jumping at the stone I could not see the hill, but by going a little way back, I found that it became visible, and as far as I could judge, the jump necessary at the stone would be a possible though a good performance.

At many villages there is a large globular stone called tukitthkars (lifted stone) and in another of the Toda games this stone is lifted. A man should be able to lift it to the shoulder, but this can now rarely, if ever, be done, and some of the stones can only be lifted a little way from the ground. Mr. Thurston saw the stone at Nòdrs lifted as high as the pit of the stomach. These stones seem to afford clear evidence of the degeneration of the Todas in physical strength. There is little doubt that they could be lifted much better by the Todas of a generation or two ago. Thus there is a stone at Nidrsi which was brought by the grandfather of Kudrmaskutan (43) in the pocket of his putkuli from a place called Attibadi at a considerable distance from Nidrsi. At the present time no Toda can do more than lift the stone a little way from the ground. The tukitthkars may not be lifted either on the madnol or the palinol. Feasts are prohibited on these days, and it is probable that the stone was often lifted on festive occasions. There is evidence that, in some places at any rate, the stone has acquired in some degree a sacred character. Thus, at the village of Kiudr, one of the most sacred of Toda dairies, the tukitthkars lies on a raised wall surrounding the dairy and in this situation would most certainly acquire some of the sanctity of its surroundings.

The Todas are very interested in athletic feats performed by any of their number and sometimes put up memorials of such feats. Thus, at Pishkwosht there are two stones marking the distance once jumped by a Toda. Such an athletic feat may be made the subject of a bet. Thus, four generations ago, one of the ancestors of Kudrmaskutan (43) jumped a stream called Kavageir, winning eighteen nakh (three-year-old buffaloes) from a Badaga by doing so. Bets of this kind are probably only made with Badagas, and betting is almost certainly not properly a Toda custom.

In addition to developed games, the Todas, and especially the children, often play with mimic representations of objects from practical life. Near the villages I have seen small artificial buffalo-pens and fireplaces made by the children in sport. On the hill of Mirson, where the chief council used to be held, I found a small pen, well built and with a gate, and was assured that it was made in sport by the children only a few years ago. This hill is one on which there are many cairns and such mimic representations may possibly mystify some future archæologist.

The commonest toys with which the children play are little imitation buffalo horns made of wood (see Fig. 35). In the legend, the boy Kuzkarv played with such horns, and even little children in arms may be seen fondling these play-things. The horns are burnt with the body at the funeral ceremonies, but only at those of males, though this rule was infringed at the funeral of Sinerani. In the funeral lament for his wife Teitnir speaks of their playing with imitation horns and imitation bracelets, so that adults evidently amuse themselves in this way as well as children.

Another imitation sport I have often seen is that of boys or youths hanging on the horns and round the necks of buffaloes exactly as is done when catching the animals at the funeral ceremonies. The skill shown at these ceremonies is probably the result of long practice in play of this kind.

Nearly all these games are connected in some way with the buffalo or the dairy, in some cases only remotely, as when the menkars of Nòdrs is used for the narthpimi game, while the tukitthkars may be kept by the dairy. Only one of the games so far described is wholly unconnected with the dairy, and this, the eln game, has a name which suggests that it has been borrowed.

Though the Todas have, as we see, a fair number of games, they are not much given to playing them. I never saw one of the more developed games in progress, and this formed a great contrast to my previous ethnological experience in Torres Straits, where hardly a day would pass without seeing games being played.

The chief interest in the case of the Todas is the clear evidence they give of games arising owing to the sportive imitation by children of the more serious occupations of their elders. In some of these cases the games so arising are useful in providing the younger members of the community with practice in feats which they will in later life be called upon to perform.

RIDDLES

The Todas are very fond of riddles, which they call werat. The following are examples:—

Mers illâth karthti, poi illâth ûdti? Mâ, neln. Udder without milks, mouth without drinks? Rain, earth.

I.e., What is it that gives milk without an udder, what is it that drinks without a mouth? Rain, earth.

Urk mers illâth, kâdak kal illâth, athinu? In (or to) village udder without, in forest leg without, what is it?

Kûdi, pob. Hen, snake.

Kerûd mokh perûd aiu, perûd mokh kerûd aiu? Kûdr, kevi. Little son big becomes, big son little becomes? Horn, ear.

This riddle depends on a comparison of the horn and ear of the buffalo. The horn of the calf is very small, the ear is relatively large.

Pûv pûvadi, kaim kaimadi? Tâf. Flower does not blossom, berry does not ripen? Fern.

Wûrâdr nolm, mokh pachtam, pîr ârchtam, ithithanithi ank? Whole year days, son begetting, pregnant, this is custom to it?

Pishkimän.

Pishkimän is a tree which bears flowers or is giving fruit the whole year round.

Puzhárḍnûdr adetpoloḍthi? Kûdi kûgili. Calls out if why that says no? Cock crows.

What is it that calls out and no one replies? The cock.

Neln tiri kai, pon tiri pûv? Eln. Earth goes round fruit, sky goes round flower? The tip-cat game.

Mudâl pîr vatvai, pin marsvati; pin pîr First pregnant who becomes, later is delivered; later pregnant

vatvai, mudâl marsvati? Tâmi, kodj. who becomes, first is delivered? A grain, barley.

Tami or samai (patm) is the grain from which patcherski, one of the chief Toda foods, is made. It shows above the ground later than barley, but is reaped earlier.

I did not hear of any mechanical puzzles or tricks used by the Todas, and it was quite clear that they had no knowledge of cat’s-cradle.

POETRY AND MUSIC

I have given two samples of Toda poetry in the chapter on funeral ceremonies. These are the chief occasions on which songs are composed, but they are also made when a new dairy is being built, and may be composed and sung on any festive occasion. The general name for compositions of this kind is kunedsti, and certain men have special reputations as composers. The most noted of recent times was a man named Mervoin belonging to the family of Kiugi.

Of those now living, Teitnir, whose two funeral songs I have given, is a noted composer, and I was told of six other men who were especially gifted in this way.

Though I have called these compositions songs, they should, perhaps, rather be called recitations. They are certainly not songs with any musical accompaniment. I understood, though I am not clear about this, that the clauses, or kwarzam, of the funeral poems are said in a low voice “in the throat,” so that they are not understood by the people who hear them. If this is correct, the funeral kwarzam resemble in this respect those of which the prayers consist.

The Toda poets also compose songs on any festive occasion, and Mr. Thurston [239] has recorded examples of several such compositions.

Dancing takes place at the funeral ceremonies, and exhibitions of these or other dances are sometimes given by the Todas. The only dancing I saw was at a funeral and it was of the simplest possible description, the men who took part forming a circle and moving slowly round and round.

The only musical instrument of the Todas is a simple flute, called the buguri. It is shown in Fig. 68, where it is being played by the man on the right. The instrument is not much used by the Todas and is not, so far as I know, played on any ceremonial occasion. The music at the funeral ceremonies is always performed by Kotas.

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