chapter I

wish to consider the general nature of the personal names of the Todas and some special customs connected with them.

The genealogies provide a large store of material, for it is exceptional for two Todas to have the same name, and no Toda should bear a name which has been borne by another for four generations, and certainly not one which has been borne by one of his own family.

The great majority of Toda names have distinctive terminations which are different for men and women.

The common terminations for males are -van, -kûdr, -kût or -kûtan, -olv, -eidi, and -ners. The first was said to be the same word as pan or pun, the Toda name for the stone circles found on the summits of the hills. The names of deities often receive the same termination; thus Nòtirzi is also called Nòtirzivan, and, in several cases, men received the names of gods or hills followed by the syllable -van. The same termination is also given to names which have other derivations.

The terminations, -kûdr or -gûdr, -kût or -kûtan, are different forms of the word kûdr, which means primarily ‘horn,’ and when it occurs in a name seems to mean ‘child.’ The termination in -kûdr or -gûdr seems to be much more frequently used by the Teivaliol than by the Tartharol, and in both divisions it is rare in older generations.

I do not know the meaning of the terminations in -olv and -eidi: it is noteworthy, however, that -olv is also a frequent ending of the names of dairies.

The termination -ner or -ners sometimes becomes -nîr, and it may be the word for water, possibly with the idea of ‘spring.’

The usual terminations of female names are -veli, -veni or -vani, -eimi, and -idj or -idz. Of these, the first is by far the most frequent, being usually pronounced with a th sound, as in -velthli or -vilthli. It is possibly the same word as a frequent Indian name of Venus, which is also the Toda name for this planet. The word also means silver and in the form pelthiti is used for ‘white.’

The termination -veni or -vani is probably derived from pani, which is said to be an ancient name for a Toda woman. Occasionally the latter form occurred, as in the name of Sinadapani (67), and one of the wives of Kwoten was named Kwaterpani. I know nothing of the derivation of the terminations -eimi and -idz.

The names of Todas are often derived from villages, dairies or dairy vessels, hills and their deities, and objects of various kinds. There seems to be no objection to use the names of deities or of such sacred objects as the mani as personal names, but only as those of men. Recently the Todas have begun to use words of Hindu or even English origin for the names of their children.

It is the names of men which are chiefly derived from villages, and at least twenty examples occur in the genealogies. In some cases the name of the village is used without any suffix, as in Ushadr (48) and Madsu (58); in other cases one or other of the customary terminations is used, as in Keradrkutan [250] (26), Nongarsivan (62), Kuirsiners (18), and Karseidi (8). The special point of interest here is that the names of villages which have now disappeared may be preserved as personal names; thus Harkness mentions the village of Kattaul as being near Ootacamund, and, though the village has now disappeared, its memory is preserved in the name Katolvan (44), borne by one of the Melgarsol, to whom the village belonged. Again, the village of Kepurs, an extinct village mentioned in the legend of Kwoten, is preserved in the name of Kepursvan (18), borne by one of Kwoten’s clan, the Panol.

In general, when a man receives a name derived from a village or other place, the village or place is one belonging to his own clan. Names may be derived from ti places as well as from ordinary villages, of which Makars (10) and Pursas (42) are examples.

The special feature of interest about these sources of nomenclature is that personal names may thus preserve records of the past, and a full investigation of the genealogies from this point of view might bring to light the names of many other villages now extinct.

Names are also derived from dairies, buffalo-pens, stones, and other objects of the village; thus Tarziolv, the special name of the kudrpali of Kars, is borne by a member of the Karsol (15), and Tilipa (12) is probably a corruption of Tilipoh. A boy of Nidrsi is named Punatu (43) after the buffalo-pen of his village, and the men called Agar (7), Pepners (44), and Persinkudr (16), have received names connected with the operations of the dairy.

The names of stones occur in the examples Menkars (10) and Mutchud (45). Several men are named after the sacred bells, or mani, of which examples are Nalani (35), Kerani (35), Pongg (47), while Mudriners (57) is named after Mudrani, one of the patatmani of Kiudr. The name of Eshkiaguln of Kars (8) is very much like that of one of the bells of Nidrsi, Eshkiakudr, and in one case a man is called Maniners (62).

The kwarzam of the prayers form a frequent source of personal names. Thus the name of Puthion (64) occurs in the last clause of the Kuudr prayer, and no less than six men take their names, either directly or with some modifications, from the Kiudr prayer; these are Kil, Erai, Etamudri, Kwelthipush from Kwelpushol, Kishkar from Arsvishkars, and Keikudr, who was also called Parvakudr, derived from another kwarzam of this prayer. In one of these cases the name is taken from the kwarzam with so much modification that I should not have guessed its derivation if I had not been told; and if this extensive modification is frequent, there may be many more names derived from kwarzam than appears to be the case at first sight.

The names of deities are not uncommonly adopted as personal names; the chief examples being Nòtirzi (47), Meilitars (44), Teipakh (20), Etepi (26), Karzo (12), Pòrzo (4), and Pakhwar (16). Two people are also called Tevò (3 and 53), which is a corruption of Teipakh, and a boy is called Kòdrthokutan (43). In many cases men are named after hills, of which Drugevan (40), Kòdrner (7), and Mopuvan [251] (16) are examples, and it is not improbable that these hills are also provided with deities. Two of the instances given above are the names of river-gods, and there is also a man, Palpa (16), named after the stream by which Kwoten met the goddess Terkosh. Punatvan (53) is named after one of the personages in the story of Kwoto. Among these names it is noteworthy that Nòtirzi, the name of a female deity, is borne by a man, and that there is no instance in which a man is named after one of the three ancient and important deities, Pithi, Ön, and Teikirzi.

This use of the names of deities as personal names seems to point to the absence of any high degree of reverence for the divine beings. The Todas are by no means free from the ideas of danger and disrespect connected with the utterance of names; and if their gods still received any great degree of veneration, I think it is improbable that their names would be allowed to be in everyone’s mouth, as must be the case when used as personal names. It is possible that this use of the names of deities is recent; it is certainly more frequent at the present time than in the older generations recorded in the genealogies, and I strongly suspect that the practice adds another indication to those already given of the decay of the religious sentiment of the Todas.

It seems to be extremely rare for persons to have the same names as buffaloes. There is only one doubtful example in the genealogies, Kerani (35). This is also the name of a bell, and I am doubtful whether it is really a buffalo-name. It is probable that the absence of the names of buffaloes is merely utilitarian and has no deeper significance. Buffaloes are generally referred to by name, and it would obviously be inconvenient that they should have the same names as people.

Many other names are derived from objects or from the language of everyday life. Examples of such are Nipa, stream; Perol, unsanctified man; Irsimitch, lime; Sakari, sweet; Kakar, a grass; Mogai, cubit; Kapur, camphor; and Pòl, a two-year-old calf. Sometimes such words become names by the addition of the terminations -kûdr or -veli, as in Panmkudr, the horn of a four-anna piece, and Nirveli and Kadakveli, derived from the words for water and for the wild rose. Probably with a wider knowledge of the Toda vocabulary, it would be found that a very large number of the names are formed in this way.

In one case a girl was called Mudukugh (72). She was the third girl in the family, and the name was no doubt given to commemorate the fact.

Often two or more children of a family are given names with a considerable degree of similarity to one another. In one case two brothers are called Mongeidrvan and Tergeidrvan (53); in another, Piliar and Piliag (52); and in a third, Singudr and Sinar (55); three sisters are called Teinesveli, Ternersveli, and Kenerveli (51), and in such cases it seems probable that new names are invented.

At the present time children are in many cases receiving Hindu names. Three young boys are called Arjun, Parvishki, and Sandisparan, and a young girl is called Natcham, which was said to represent Latchmi. Other Hindu names are Katcheri (Cutcherry), Sirkar, Kedjeri, and probably there are many others.

In a few cases names of English origin have probably been given, as in the case of Pensil, and the name Birkidj was said to be derived from Breeks.

The genealogical record shows clearly that this use of names derived from external sources is quite recent. There is a very striking difference in general character between the names of the present and those of older generations, and a foreign origin is especially frequent in the names of children less than ten or fifteen years of age. The evidence from names would seem to point to a rapid spread of outside influence during the last ten years.

Shortened forms of names are often used. The termination of a word may be dropped; thus Nurmaners is often called Nurman, Ultzkudr becomes Ultz, and Paniolv, Pani. Sometimes the contraction is of a different kind; thus the girls Astrap and Pumundeivi are usually called Asp and Pumidz, and the name of the boy Kulpakh often becomes Kulen.

In addition to his proper name nearly every Toda has a nickname, usually given to him by the Badagas. These names often refer to some personal peculiarity, and this is probably the reason why nicknames were usually given to me with great reluctance, there being a distinct reversal of the condition found in communities of lower culture, where the proper names are usually kept secret, while only nicknames are uttered. Arpurs (46) was nicknamed Suri (knife) on account of his sharp nose, and Nertolvan (16) is called Teinkan or ‘Bee eye,’ on account of the smallness of his eyes, like those of the honey bee. In other cases I do not know the origin of the Badaga names, but they have usually different forms from those of true Toda names, often terminating in -oin or -üln. Sometimes the Badaga name is merely a modification of the Toda name, as when Tudrvan becomes Utudiki. In a few cases I heard the Badaga name of a man more often than his Toda name; thus Tövoniners is usually called Aravoin, and a noted Toda of the last generation is always spoken of by his Badaga name, Mervoin. In a few cases, men long dead are remembered by their Badaga names, while their Toda names are forgotten.

As I have already indicated, nicknames are often used by people of low culture as a means of evading taboos, and though, as we shall see shortly, such taboos exist among the Todas, I met with no instance in which a Toda, who was unable to utter a name, gave a nickname in its stead.

From the foregoing account it is evident that in the names of the Todas we have a storehouse of words the investigation of which might lead to many discoveries in connexion with their half-forgotten folklore and past history. We have seen that the names of villages which have now entirely disappeared may still be preserved in the names of persons, and I have little doubt that a complete investigation of the names included in the genealogies would furnish a record of many more extinct villages and possibly provide clues to institutions which have now wholly disappeared.

CHANGE OF NAME

There are three chief conditions which lead Todas to change their names. If two men have the same name, and one of the two should die, the other man would change his name, since the taboo on the name of the dead would prevent people from uttering the name of the living. The most recent example of this occurred about six years ago. There were two men named Matovan, one of Pan (19) and the other of Kwòdrdoni (34). The Kwòdrdoni man died and Matovan of Pan changed his name to Imokhvan, and it is this name which will be found in his pedigree.

This change of name may also be effected even when there is only a similarity between two names. Thus when Punbuthuvi, the wife of Parkurs (8), died, Sinbuthuvi of Kusharf (65) changed her name to Pukuruveli. Similarly when Òners of Kuudr (56) died, Einers of Piedr [252] (64) changed his name to Tokulvan.

A person may also change his name merely because it is the same as, or very similar to, that of another, this being done simply to avoid inconvenience and misunderstanding. It sometimes happens that a child is given the same name as some other child, and then one or other is renamed. Thus a boy was named Oblodj, but it was found later that there was a girl at Kars called Obalidz (12), and so the name of the boy was changed to Meilitars (44). A boy of Päm was called Kudeners, but it was found that there was another Kudeners at Taradr (25), so the name of the former was changed to Arparners, often shortened to Arpar (38).

When Kainir (3) married, his wife’s name was Kanir, but she changed it since it was so like that of her husband. It was said to have been changed to Singub, but she was always known as Udz at the time of my visit.

Change of name of this kind is not obligatory, and there are several cases in which two people now living have the same name. When a change is made because two people have the same name or similar names, it is the younger of the two who changes. In most of the cases in which two people bear the same name it will be found that one belongs to the Tartharol and the other to the Teivaliol, and I am doubtful whether in this case names are changed except as the result of death.

A third reason for changing names is illness or other misfortune. When a man is ill, change of name is sometimes recommended by a diviner, but this is not often done. One of my guides, Kutadri (7), had changed his name twice. His original name had been Okeithi or Okvan, but as there was another Okvan of Keadr (68), he became Tagarsvan. Later he fell ill, and, on the recommendation of a diviner, Tagarsvan changed his name to Kutadri, and I never heard him spoken of or addressed by any but this name during my visit.

TABOOS ON NAMES

The only definite restrictions on the utterance of the names of living people are those connected with kinship which have already been considered in