Irnörtiti, Tuninörtiti and Pilinörtiti
We now come to three kinds of offering, with their attendant ceremonial, which are of a much more complex nature. These are irnörtiti, tuninörtiti and pilinörtiti, in which the offerings are a buffalo calf, a piece of the cloth called tuni, and a silver ring respectively. The first two offerings are made only when one of a certain number of recognised offences has been committed, and in order to bring about the removal of some misfortune which has befallen the offender. Pilinörtiti, on the other hand, is usually performed to bring about the cessation of some ill-fortune which is not due to any fault on the part of the sufferer, but it may also be done in expiation of an offence.
One essential feature common to all three offerings is that [[295]]the primary divisions of the clan called kudr (see p. [542]) here become of importance.
Nearly every Toda clan is divided into two kudr, and the offerings in the three ceremonies always pass from one kudr to the other. The offering which is given by a man of one kudr becomes the property of the members of the other kudr. At the present time the kudr is of no importance except in connexion with these ceremonies, and, so far as I could learn, it never had any other significance. There are a few clans of recent origin which have no kudr, and members of these clans cannot make the offerings. In other clans, one kudr has become extinct, and so long as no occasion for these ceremonies should arise, nothing is done to supply the deficiency. As a general rule, it is only when some trouble arises which may require one or other of these ceremonies that a redistribution of the members of the clan is made, and it is decided that one or more of the pòlm or smaller sub-divisions of the clan shall be constituted a new kudr.
The following are the chief offences for which the irnörtiti or tuninörtiti ceremonies have to be performed:—
(i) Stealing milk, butter, buttermilk, or ghi from the dairy.
(ii) Going to the dairy after having had intercourse with a woman in the day-time.
(iii) Quarrelling between people of the same clan on a feast day.
(iv) Quarrelling in the dairy.
(v) Going to the dairy after visiting the seclusion-hut for women (see [Chap. XIV]).
(vi) Going to the dairy after taking food with a man who has been to the seclusion-hut.
(vii) Going to the dairy after throwing earth at a funeral (see [Chap. XV]).
(viii) Going to the dairy after chewing tobacco.
(ix) Buying or selling buffaloes on the madnol or sacred day of the village or on the palinol, the sacred day of the dairy (see [Chap. XVII]).
(x) Driving buffaloes from one place to another on these days. [[296]]
Going to the buffaloes or touching the buffaloes is an offence of the same rank as going to the dairy.
The general name for all these offences is paliwörtvichi; they are all regarded as offences against the dairy.
For the first three of the offences it is customary that the irnörtiti ceremony shall be performed. For the last seven tuninörtiti is more usual. For the fourth offence the punishment varies according to the status of the offender. If he is a palikartmokh, he usually has to give the tuni only, but if an ordinary man he may be ordered to give a buffalo. It is a far smaller punishment to give a piece of cloth worth about one rupee four annas than to give a buffalo calf, and it would seem therefore that the first three offences are regarded as more serious than the last seven. It would seem also that if a dairyman quarrels in his dairy it is regarded as a less serious offence than in the case of an ordinary man.
The decision as to which ceremony shall be performed rests with the teuol or diviner, but although a diviner usually follows the rules I have given, it seems that he may order otherwise, and if he does so I was told that his decision would be followed. I have a very strong impression, however, that if a diviner ordered a man to do irnörtiti for one of the more trivial offences, the offender would take further advice and consult another teuol before obeying.
There were several other offences for which it was said by some that a man might have to perform irnörtiti or tuninörtiti; thus, if a dairyman gave up his office on any but one of the appropriate days of the week he might be ordered to do irnörtiti, and the same penalty might be incurred if a man assumed office on a wrong day. Similarly a dairyman might have to perform one of these ceremonies if he spoke to a woman in the day-time, and probably if he broke any other of the laws regulating his conduct or made any serious mistakes in carrying out the ritual of his office. One occasion for irnörtiti was said to arise if anyone crossed the Paikara or Avalanche rivers on a Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday, but this is certainly a dead letter at the present time (see p. [418]).
There was some difference of opinion about the penalty for buying, selling, or driving buffaloes on the arpatznol, or day [[297]]on which the father of a man had died. According to one account, the proper penalty for this is that the offender should give a buffalo to his ancestors—i.e., that he should name a buffalo which he would neither kill at a funeral nor sell to others.
In one definite case, however, it appeared that driving buffaloes from one village to another on the arpatznol had been one of the offences for which a man had been ordered to do irnörtiti. In this case, however, other faults had been committed, and it is possible that if driving buffaloes on the arpatznol had been the only offence a slighter penalty would have been inflicted.
The ceremony of irnörtiti was performed thirty years ago after the disappearance of the sacred bells of the Kars kudrpali. In this case the diviners were consulted, and they found that the bells had gone away and would not return. It was thought, however, that the palikartmokh, Kakarsiolv, might have committed some offence against the dairy, or have made some mistake in the performance of his duties, and it was thought best that he should perform the irnörtiti ceremony, though, so far as I could learn, it was not directly prescribed by the diviners.
As we shall see, the irnörtiti and pilinörtiti ceremonies may have to be performed as expiation for revealing the secret lore of Toda institutions, but this is an innovation in custom for which I am afraid I was indirectly responsible.
It does not seem that the penalties with their attendant ceremonies are inflicted merely because it is known that a man has committed any of the recognised offences. It is only when some misfortune befalls a man which obliges him to have recourse to the diviners that the ceremonies are performed.
The usual course of events is that a man, his wife, children, or his buffaloes fall ill, or the buffaloes will not give milk or kick their calves, or the milk in the dairy will not coagulate properly. Whenever any of these ills happen the man concludes that for some reason the gods are angry with him and he goes to the diviners to ascertain the cause of their displeasure. [[298]]
The diviners may find that the man’s misfortunes are due to the action of a sorcerer, or that he has committed some offence against the dairy, possibly some offence which it is well known he is in the habit of committing. The diviners not only announce the cause or causes of the misfortune, but also give information as to the course to be pursued to remove it. If the diviners decide that an offence has been committed and that one of the ceremonies should be performed, the offender goes on the following Sunday to the dairy or dairies of his village and makes a vow that he will perform the ceremony which has been ordered. The following is probably a typical instance. Ten years ago Kòdrner fell ill and one of his buffaloes died. He and his brother consulted the teuol, who said that they had bought things (i.e., given money from the village) on Mondays and Thursdays, the madnol or sacred days of Kars and Kuzhu. They had also driven their buffaloes from Kars to Isharadr on their arpatznol; there had been sickness among the buffaloes and they had driven them to Isharadr without thinking that it was the arpatznol. The teuol said they must do irnörtiti, and on the following Sunday Kòdrner went first to the kudrpali of Kars (Tarziolv) and then to the wursuli (Karziolv) and made the following vow at each:—
Ir kar Buffalo calf ultâmâ, may it be well, pîrsk illness from ultâkh en, be well I, irnörtkin buffalo will I give,
or “May the buffaloes and calves become well, may I recover from my illness, I will give a buffalo.”[9]
FIG. 42.—THE ‘IRNÖRTKARS’ AT KARS. IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE ‘WURSULI.’
From this account it seems clear that the ceremony of irnörtiti is not a mere punishment for offences committed. If a man commits any of the recognised offences habitually and with the knowledge of the whole community, it does not appear that anything is done. Only when some severe misfortune befalls the offender does he appeal to the diviners to learn how he has offended and how he can atone for his fault. He gives the buffalo with the definite idea of recovering from the illness or removing any other ills which his [[300]]offences have brought upon him. Giving the buffalo is clearly of the nature of a ‘sin offering,’ but the offering is only made when the sin has already had evil consequences and it is made in order to remove these consequences. Its object is atonement for an offence committed. It seemed that a man only had resort to the advice of the diviners in the case of exceptionally severe misfortunes. The act of giving the buffalo is attended by ceremonial which involves considerable expense to himself and great inconvenience to all the members of his clan. The expenses and inconvenience are so great that the ceremonies of irnörtiti and tuninörtiti are rarely performed, and in some clans it is many years since they have occurred.
There is one case in which the irnörtiti ceremony may be performed for a reason quite different from any of those given above. Owing to a quarrel which took place many generations ago, the people of Pedrkars (and probably also those of Kulhem) may not hold the office of palol. They may become eligible, however, if they perform the irnörtiti ceremony at Kuudr or Kiudr. It would seem as if they can only hold the office by expiating the offence committed in the remote past by their ancestors.