Exchange of Brother and Sister
Although I was not told that it was the custom for a brother and sister of one clan to marry a sister and brother of another, examination of the genealogies makes it clear that this frequently happens. A good example which may be cited is the marriage of Kuriolv (52) with Punaveli (65), while Sinkòrs, the sister of Kuriolv, married the three brothers of Punaveli. Two other similar instances may be found in Table 52, and they are of general occurrence throughout the genealogies.
In some communities this custom of exchange is definitely connected with the bride-price, which may be so large as almost to compel a man to give his sister in exchange for the wife he takes from another clan. In the case of the Todas the bride-price is so inconsiderable that it is unlikely that it would form a motive for exchange, and I think it improbable that in such marriages as those cited above, the idea of exchange is even definitely formulated, but that the combination of marriages comes about for such obvious reasons as may occur in any community. The marriage of matchuni, if widely practised, would obviously lead to an appearance of exchange, and it may be that among the Todas this is the chief cause of its occurrence.
Similarly, instances will be found in the genealogies of two brothers (or two groups of brothers) marrying sisters. An example may be given from Table 53, where Orzevan marries one woman and his two brothers marry her sister. Another instance may be found in Table 58.
In several cases in which a man or group of men have had two wives, the wives have been related. Thus, Kutthurs (12) and his brothers first married Tedjveli (16). After her death, Kutthurs, the only surviving brother, married Sabnir (34), the daughter of Arsner, Tedjveli’s sister. Again, Paners (23) and his brothers first married Pergveli, and when she died they married her brother’s daughter. Pungusivan (53) married his matchuni, Sinodz (68), and when she was taken from him by the terersthi custom, he married Sintharap, her sister. [[523]]
There is often very great disproportion of age in Toda marriages. I have already given two cases in which the woman is the older, in each of which the disproportion of age is due to the custom of marrying a matchuni. More commonly the man is much the older, and there are at the present time many cases in which elderly men are married to young girls. This is partly due to the practice of infant marriage. Unless a widower can take advantage of the terersthi custom, which is always expensive, he may have to marry a child and wait till she has reached a marriageable age. Thus, Kòdrner, my guide, lost his wife some years ago, and then married a girl whose present[7] age is only thirteen, Kòdrner being forty-two. The girl is still living with her parents, and will probably not go to her husband for another three or four years.