chapter I
propose to put together the chief facts with which I am acquainted which throw light on the very difficult problem of the relations between the Todas and the other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills. The chapter could only be written with any degree of completeness by one who had studied the question from the point of view of each of the Nilgiri tribes separately. I have only been able to do so, and that incompletely, from the Toda point of view. My information is derived almost wholly from the Todas themselves, and gives their way of regarding the relations between themselves and the other tribes.
The five tribes inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills are shown in Fig. 68 (taken from Breeks), the Todas in the centre with the Badagas on their right and the Kotas on their left. Next to the Badagas are the Irulas, and next to the Kotas are the Kurumbas.
The tribes with which the Todas come into contact habitually are the Badagas and Kotas, while their points of contact with Kurumbas and Irulas are much less important. The Badagas are not only the agriculturists of the Todas, but are the constant intermediaries between the Todas and the extra-Nilgiri world. The two tribes regard each other more or less as social equals. The Kotas, on the other hand, who are the artisans of the Todas, are regarded by them as social inferiors. The relations with the former may be considered first.
TODAS AND BADAGAS
The Todas call a Badaga Mav, [253] which seems to be a form of the Canarese word for father-in-law or maternal uncle. The origin of this term is said to have been that when the Todas first met a Badaga, they asked his name and he answered “Mav.” A Badaga who performs certain services for the palol is called tikelfmav. Certain elders of the Badagas are also called madtin.
Whenever a Toda meets a Badaga monegar (headman) or an old Badaga with whom he is acquainted, a salutation passes between the two which is represented in Fig. 69. The Toda stands before the Badaga, inclines his head slightly, and says “Madtin pudia!” (“Madtin, you have come.”) The Badaga replies “Buthuk! buthuk!” (“Blessing, blessing”) and rests his hand on top of the Toda’s head. This greeting only takes place between Todas and the more important of the Badaga community. It would seem that every Badaga headman may be greeted in this way, but a Toda will only greet other Badaga elders if he is already acquainted with them. The salutation is made to members of all the various castes of the Badagas except the Torayas. It has been held to imply that the Todas regard the Badagas as their superiors, but it is doubtful how far this is the case. The Todas themselves say they follow the custom because the Badagas help to support them. It seems to be a mark of respect paid by the Todas to the elders of a tribe with which they have very close relations, and it is perhaps significant that no similar sign of respect is shown to Toda elders by the Badagas.
The Badagas perform definite services for the Todas and give what may be regarded as a tribute of grain at the harvest. The tribute is called gudu. I did not myself investigate the nature of the gudu, and there is some difference of opinion among previous writers [254] as to whether a definite amount of grain or a given proportion of the crop is given. I have no information as to the way in which the giving of the tribute is regulated, and it is eminently one of those points on which evidence must be sought from both Todas and Badagas. In the case of the Kotas, we shall see that there is a definitely organised system regulating the relations of certain Kota villages to certain Toda clans, and some such system probably exists to regulate the supply of Badaga grain to different clans, but I have no information on the point. [255]
The contribution of grain from the Badagas has usually been regarded as given in return for the use of the land, the Todas being supposed to be the original owners of the soil. That this is not the whole explanation is shown by the fact that the Badagas also give a tribute of grain to two other Nilgiri tribes, the Kotas and Kurumbas. Harkness [256] was told by the Badagas that the portion given to the ti was in return for the prayers of the palol, and that they did not believe that “their crops or their cattle, themselves or their children, would prosper without his blessing.” The Badagas also stated that they generally desisted from cultivating their fields when the ti was left without a palol. They looked on the tribute of grain to the Todas as given of their own good will, while a similar tribute to the Kurumbas was dictated by fear of the consequences of sorcery which might be employed if the duty were neglected.
It has been supposed that the fear of Toda sorcery is one reason for the maintenance of the tribute, and, since the Badagas undoubtedly fear the power of the Toda sorcerers, it is probable that this factor plays a part, though one less important than in the case of the Kurumbas.
Another view which has been taken is that the Todas maintain rights over old dairies in the middle of the Badaga fields, and that any recalcitrance on the part of the Badagas might be followed by the taking up of these old rights. It is possible that the Todas have at some time threatened to resume their rights over disused dairies, but, in the case of the more sacred dairies, the fear of defilement of the sacred buffaloes by approaching a Badaga village would prevent the Todas from putting such a threat into practice.
The grain is probably given, partly because it is an immemorial custom,
## partly because the Badagas believe that they receive benefits and avoid
evils in consequence of the custom.
At the present time, the amount of grain supplied by the Badagas is not sufficient for the needs of the Todas, and both grain and rice are bought by the Todas in the bazaar. All the grain used by the palol must, however, be that supplied by the Badagas; but if more grain is required than the Badagas supply, it is possible that other grain may be used, though it is always in this case procured through the Badagas. The rice used at a ti dairy must also be procured through the Badagas.
The supply of grain is far from being the only duty of the Badagas to the ti dairies. Each ti has one or more special Badagas, each called tikelfmav, or “ti help Badaga,” who acts as intermediary between the palol and the Hindus. The earthenware vessels used in the inner room, the various garments of the palol, and other objects are made by Hindus, from whom they are procured by the tikelfmav. I did not learn of any material recompense given to the Badagas for these services, and the motive is probably some such belief as that described by Harkness.
One of the most important parts played by the Badagas in the Toda community is in connexion with the naim, or council, of which one member is a Badaga belonging to the village of Tuneri. He is only called upon to sit, however, in cases of difficulty, and probably one of his functions is to assist in the settlement of any dispute which may arise in connexion with the tribute of grain, or other transactions between members of the two communities.
There is little evidence that the Badagas have had much influence on the more important customs and ceremonies of the Todas. Few traces of their influence are to be found in the dairy ceremonial, but it is possible that some of the rites accompanying birth and death may have been borrowed from this people. The practice of making cicatrices on the arm (p. 576) is common to both Badagas and Todas, and may have been borrowed by the latter from the former, but the practice is not in any way of a ceremonial character. The only part played by a Badaga at a Toda funeral is that the bell called tukulir mani may be kept by a Badaga or a Kota, and, as I have suggested on p. 377, the whole ceremony with the calf in which this bell is used may have been borrowed from the Badagas. The idea of a thread bridge between this world and the next is said to be common to Todas and Badagas, but I have no evidence to show which has borrowed from the other.
In the ordinary life of the people there is more evidence of influence. At many Toda villages there may now be seen huts like those of the Badagas which usually result from the practice of allowing Badagas to occupy a Toda village when the proper occupants have gone elsewhere. The visitors build a hut of their own kind in which to live, and sometimes the Todas on their return inhabit this hut, though in general they only use it as an appanage to the hut of the proper kind.
The fact that the Badagas will thus come to live at a Toda village seems to show that when the Todas move from one place to another the pasturage is not necessarily exhausted, for the Badagas would not bring their buffaloes in this case. It seems that the grazing-grounds for the Badaga buffaloes are not very extensive, and that the Badagas are always glad to use the more extensive pasturage of the Todas, even when the grass has been partly eaten off.
Transactions in buffaloes between Todas and Badagas seem now to be fairly frequent. I often heard of a buffalo as having been received from the Badagas, but I have no very definite information as to the reasons for the transference. On the occasion of the ceremony of the ear-piercing of Tikievan’s sons (p. 336), Tikievan received a present of two buffaloes from the Badaga monegar of Tuneri, and this present was said to be in return for things which Tikievan had previously given to the monegar, but I did not learn the exact nature of this gift.
In two departments there is very clear evidence of Badaga influence. The astronomical ideas of the Todas are almost certainly borrowed from their neighbours (see Chap. XXIV), and in the closely allied practical question of the calendar I think Badaga influence may be suspected.
The other department is medicine. There is no special reason to suppose that the magical remedies of the utkòren (Chap. XII) have been borrowed from the Badagas, but the more strictly medical remedies used by the Todas are largely borrowed, the actual leaves or other substances employed being obtained from the Badagas. The practice of suicide by opium, said to be very prevalent among the Badagas, has, in at least one recent case, been adopted by a Toda, and the threat of suicide by this means is said to be fairly common.
There is no doubt that the Badagas believe in the powers of the Toda sorcerers. I was told of several definite instances in which misfortunes were believed to have been brought upon the Badagas in this way, and there is little doubt that, in one case, the supposed author of the death of a child was murdered by the Badagas.
If a Badaga suspects magical influence of this kind he may consult one of the Toda diviners, showing that the Badagas believe in Toda divination as well as in Toda sorcery.
It is probable that the relations between the Todas and Badagas have existed for very long. It is generally held that the Badagas are comparatively recent immigrants to the Nilgiri Hills. Breeks [257] states that the Badagas are said to have come to the hills about three centuries ago in consequence of the troubles that followed the fall of Vijayanagar, but it is certain that they have been on the hills much longer than this, for the account of Finicio in 1602 (see App. I) shows that the relations between Todas and Badagas were much the same then as they are now. The close connexion of Badagas with the ti dairies, their intermediation between the palol and the Hindu, and the fact that the palol must eat Badaga grain, are all indications of very ancient relations between the two tribes.
There is one fact which may be held to show that the relation between Todas and Badagas is recent as compared with that between the Todas and other Nilgiri tribes. This is the fact that the Badagas are not mentioned in one of the legends of the Toda gods, while Kotas, Kurumbas, and Irulas each play a part in one or more of these stories.
TODAS AND KOTAS
The Toda name for a Kota is Kuv. The relation between the two people is very different from that between Toda and Badaga. While a Toda regards a Badaga as his equal, or perhaps even as his superior, he looks down on the Kota as inferior, as hardly to be classed as a man with himself. In their secret language, a Toda speaks of a Kota as kimas ithvai, “he that is beneath,” and in the remedies for the evil eye (see p. 264) the Kotas are the only hill tribe which is not thought worthy of mention—they are not thought to be of sufficient importance to be able to cast the evil eye. When a Kota meets a Toda, he raises both hands to his face and salutes from a distance. The two people do not touch one another in general, though I do not know that contact is definitely prohibited. A Toda will not sleep or take food at a Kota village in general, but makes an exception in the case of Kulgadi in the Wainad (see p. 200). It is usually supposed that the contempt of the Toda for the Kota is due to the flesh-eating, or even carrion-eating, habits of the latter, and this is certainly one of the elements which influence the relations between the two peoples.
The Kotas supply the Todas with the larger part of their pottery and ironware. [258] All the earthenware vessels of the dairies, except those of the inner rooms of the ti dairies, are supplied by the Kotas, and the various knives and other metal objects of the Todas are chiefly obtained from these people. The Kotas supply most of the things burnt at Toda funerals and they supply the music on these occasions.
Just as the Badagas do not supply grain to the Todas only, so the Kotas do artisan work for Badagas, Kurumbas, and Irulas. The Kotas are the artisans, not of the Todas only, but of the whole hill district.
The relations between the Todas and Kotas are strictly regulated, each Kota village supplying certain Toda clans. There are seven Kota villages on the hills, of which the following are the Toda and Badaga names:—
In the Todanad district:—
Tizgudr, Tizgadr, or Tizgwadr (Badaga, Tirichigadi), between Ootacamund and Kanòdrs, near the Toda village of Ushadr.
Kurguli (B. Padagula or Kuruvoje), near the Badaga village of Sholur.
In the Mekanad district:—
Kalmal (B. Kolamala or Kollimalai), not far from Kateri.
In the Peranganad district:—
Meilkukal (B. Melkotagiri or Perangada) in Kotagiri, one of the three chief European stations on the hills. Kikukal (B. Kilkotagiri or Kinnada), north-east of Kotagiri.
In the Kundanad district:—
Medrkukal (B. Menada).
The seventh is Kulgadi (B. Kalagasa) at Gudalur in the Wainad.
The village of Tizgudr is connected with the Toda clans of Kars, Melgars, Kanòdrs, and sometimes with the people of Kulhem. Kurguli supplies the clans of Nòdrs, Taradr, Kuudr, Piedr, and Kusharf, and occasionally Kulhem. Kalmal supplies Keradr, Nidrsi, Päm, Kidmad, and Keadr. Meilkukal and Kikukal are both connected with Kwòdrdoni and Pedrkars, and Medrkukal is the Kota village of the Panol. Kulgadi is connected only with the village of Kavidi, near Gudalur, which belongs to the Piedrol. When there were several Toda villages in the Wainad, it probably served them all.
The connexion between clans and villages seems to depend almost wholly on geographical distribution. The clans are supplied by the Kota villages which are nearest to their headquarters. An outlying village such as Kavidi has not the same Kota village as the rest of its clan. The Kidmadol, who are a branch of the Melgarsol, have not the same Kota village as the parent stock; but, on the other hand, the Panol, who now live chiefly among other Todas near Governor Shola, are still connected with the Kundah Kotas.
Each Kota village is responsible for the supply of the clan or clans with which it is connected. Its inhabitants make the various utensils used in the household and in the less sacred dairy work of the Todas. At the funeral of any member of a clan with which they are connected, they provide the music and the following objects:—
At the etvainolkedr, a cloak in which the corpse is wrapped, five to ten measures (kwa) of the grain called patm (samai), and one or two rupees. If the Kotas do not possess the grain, they may give another one or two rupees in its stead.
At the marvainolkedr, they supply a cloak; eight annas to pay for the embroidery of the cloak, which is done by the Toda women; two to five rupees towards the funeral expenses; a bow and three arrows; a knife (kafkati); a sieve (kudshmurn) and a basket (tek).
In return, the Kotas receive the carcases of the buffaloes killed at the funeral, and on the occasion of a Kota funeral, the Todas supply one male calf from three to five years of age and one measure (kudi) of clarified butter. The Kotas also receive the bodies of any Toda buffaloes which die a natural death.
A Kota visiting a Toda village at any time is given clarified butter to take away with him. He is also given food consisting of jaggery and rice, which must be eaten on the outskirts of the village. A Kota is never given milk, buttermilk, or butter.
Once a year there is a definite ceremony in which the Todas go to the Kota village with which they are connected, taking an offering of clarified butter and receiving in return an offering of grain from the Kotas. I only obtained an account of this ceremony as performed between the people of Kars and the Kota village of Tizgudr, and I do not know whether the details would be the same in other cases.
In the Kars ceremony the Todas go on the appointed day to the Kota village, headed by a man carrying the clarified butter. Outside the village, they are met by two Kota priests whom the Todas called teupuli, who bring with them a dairy vessel of the kind the Todas call mu, which is filled with patm grain. Other Kotas follow with music. All stand outside the village, and one of the Kotas puts ten measures (kwa) of patm into the pocket of the cloak of the leading Toda, and the teupuli give the mu filled with the same grain.
The teupuli then go to their temple and return, each bringing a mu, and the clarified butter brought by the Todas is divided into two equal parts, and half is poured into each mu. The leading Toda then takes some of the butter and rubs it on the heads of the two Kota priests, who prostrate themselves, one at each foot of the Toda, and the Toda prays as follows:—
Ultamâ; Kûv erdm tânenmâ; kadr pelumâ; May it be well; Kotas two may it be well; fields flourish may;
mâ un mâ; îr kar mâ, nûv pedr mâ. rain may; buffalo milk may, disease go may.
The Toda then gives the two mu containing the clarified butter to the Kota priests, and he and his companions return home.
This ceremony is obviously one in which the Todas are believed to promote the prosperity of the Kotas, their crops, and their buffaloes. [259]
In another ceremonial relation between Todas and Kotas, the Kwòdrdoni ti is especially concerned. The chief annual ceremony of the Kotas is held about January in honour of the Kota god Kambataraya. This ceremony lasts about a fortnight, and, during part of the time, the proceedings are attended by Todas and other of the hill tribes. In order that this ceremony may take place, it is essential that there should be a palol at the Kwòdrdoni ti, and at the present time this ti is only occupied every year shortly before and during the ceremony. The palol gives clarified butter to the Kotas, which should be made from the milk of the arsaiir, the buffaloes of the ti. Some Kotas of Kotagiri whom I interviewed claimed that these buffaloes belonged to them, and that something was done by the palol at the Kwòdrdoni ti in connexion with the Kambataraya ceremony, but they could not or would not tell me what it was.
The relations between Todas and Kotas are probably of very old standing. The fact that the Kotas supply the bow and arrows burnt at a Toda funeral suggests that the connexion goes back to the time when the Todas used these weapons, while the special sieve supplied by the Kotas for a funeral is of a different pattern from that in use at the present time. The Kotas are mentioned in Toda legend. The people of Tizgudr play a prominent part in the story of Kwoten (p. 195), and this deity is said to have been the first Toda who stayed at a Kota village, viz., at the village of Kulgadi (or Gudalur). He sat and slept on the Kota tün and since that time the Todas have stayed at this village, though they will not stay at any other. The relation between Kwoten and the Kotas seems to have been especially close. The old woman, Muturach, from whom the present people of Kanòdrs are descended, according to the legend, may have been a Kota. The Kotas who give tribute to the Todas are known as their muṭṭu Kotas, and the first part of the old woman’s name may have been this word.
Our acquaintance with Kota mythology is too scanty to contribute much to our knowledge of the relations between the two peoples. Breeks states that Kurguli (Padagula) is the oldest of the Kota villages, and that the Badagas believe that the Kotas of this village were made by the Todas. At Kurguli there is a temple of the same form as the Toda dairy, and this is said to be the only temple of the kind at any Kota village.
Breeks gives a legend which records the origin of the different foods of the Nilgiri tribes. Kambataraya, perspiring profusely, wiped from his forehead three drops of perspiration, and out of these formed the Todas, Kurumbas, and Kotas. The Todas were told to live principally upon milk, the Kurumbas were permitted to eat the flesh of buffalo calves, and the Kotas were allowed perfect liberty, being informed that they might eat carrion if they could get nothing better. My interpreter, Albert, was told a different version of this legend, according to which Kambataraya gave to each people a pot. In the Toda pot was calf-flesh, and so the Todas eat the flesh of calves (i.e., at the erkumptthpimi ceremony); the Kurumba pot contained the flesh of a male buffalo, so this is eaten by the Kurumbas. The pot of the Kotas contained the flesh of a cow-buffalo, which may, therefore, be eaten by this people.
TODAS AND KURUMBAS
The Toda name for a Kurumba is Kurub, which often sounds like Kurb. In the secret language, a Kurumba is called âr kârthpol, “the man who watches the way.” Mr. Thurston states that when a Kurumba meets a Toda, he bends forward and the Toda places his hand on the Kurumba’s head. The Todas may visit Kurumba villages and take food in them.
Two ceremonial objects are obtained by the Todas from the Kurumbas. One is the tall pole called tadrsi or tadri, which is used in the dance at the second funeral ceremonies and afterwards burnt. Poles of the proper length are said to grow only on the Malabar side of the Nilgiris and are probably most easily obtained from the Kurumbas. The other is the teiks, or funeral post at which the buffalo is killed, which is probably made of teak wood.
The most striking feature of the relations between Todas and Kurumbas is the belief of the former in the magical powers of the latter, a belief which is shared by both Kotas and Badagas. The sorcery of the Toda is dangerous, but can be remedied, while for kurubudrchiti, or Kurumba sorcery, there is no remedy, and all that can be done is to kill the Kurumba, apparently to avoid further evil consequences to the community rather than from motives of revenge.
The Kurumbas play no part in the social life of the Todas. With the one exception of providing the funeral pole, I could not learn that they had any functions at Toda ceremonies. It was said that the teuol, Pangudr, who was believed to be inspired by Kwoto, must dance, i.e., divine, to the Kurumbas before he dances to the Todas, and when so doing, must dance like a lame man, this behaviour owing its origin to the god Kwoto (see p. 209). It is possible that this shows that the Kurumbas believe in Toda divination and consult the diviners.
The Kurumbas are mentioned in several Toda legends. According to one account, it was this people whom Kwoto deceived, making them eat the flesh of a buffalo calf; according to another, it was the Panins or Panyas who were deceived by the god.
Kwoten is said to have initiated the practice of allowing Todas to visit Kurumba villages, and he appears to have been closely connected, in some way, with the Kurumbas, who still offer plantains to Terkosh and light lamps in her honour, Terkosh being the goddess who was connected with his disappearance and deification.
In the story of Kuzkarv, the Kurumbas, together with the Irulas, collect honey for the Todas from nests in a tree, [260] and this seems to point to a time when these tribes took an active part in the social life of the Todas. It seems possible that the Kurumbas and Irulas were the huntsmen of the Todas, and sought roots and honey for them, just as the Badagas were the agriculturists and the Kotas the mechanics.
TODAS AND IRULAS
The Irulas live on the lower slopes of the Nilgiri Hills and have few relations with the Todas. They are called Erl by the Todas, and, according to Mr. Thurston, they are saluted in the same way as the Kurumbas. The Irulas are among the people mentioned in the remedial formula used against the effects of the evil eye, and are evidently regarded as having some magical power, though they are not feared in the same measure as the Kurumbas.
The name of the Irulas only occurs once in my collection of Toda legends, in the story of Kuzkarv, where they are associated with the Kurumbas. Atioto, who is the special deity of Kwòdrdoni and Pedrkars, is said to have a temple of which the priest is an Irula. This is probably an Irula temple to which the Todas make offerings.
## CHAPTER XXVIII THE CLANS OF THE TODAS
In this