Other Gods
There are very many other deities. Of the following I can give little more than the names.
Atiato is the nòdrodchi of the Kwòdrdoni clan and also of Pedrkars. He lives near the chief villages of these clans, and has a temple of which the priest is said to be an Irula, and Todas sometimes give to this god offerings of clarified butter. [[211]]
Konto or Konteu is the nòdrodchi of the Panol, and lives on the hill Konto, to which fire is set by the palol of the Kars or Pan ti (see [Chap. XIII]).
Kòdrtho is the nòdrodchi of Nidrsi. He played a part in the history of Kwoto, and according to some accounts he was the mun, or maternal uncle, of this god.
Near the source of the Paikara river, there is a cave in which there is a pool called Alvoi. Sometimes this pool gives forth a loud bubbling noise, and this is believed to be due to a teu dipping himself in the water. The name of the god is Alvoi Kalvoi, Kalvoi, situated at some distance from the pool, being a hill on which the god usually lives.
There are other gods about whose histories I have no information. Tiligush is the nòdrodchi of Päm and Karadr of Taradr. Pòrzo inhabits a hill near Nòdrs, and Karzo, a hill near Kars, and the names of other gods, such as Kaladrvan, Teikhun, Peigwa, Karmunteu, Kondilteu and Mundilteu, are mentioned in the prayers of the ti dairies.
In addition to these, who are certainly true Toda gods, the Todas also pay respect to the gods of the other tribes on the Nilgiris, while occasionally the names of Hindu gods are mentioned in their ceremonies. If a Toda be asked if he worships one of these gods, he will almost certainly assent, but at the same time he distinguishes them from his own gods. The only deity who seemed to be confused with their own gods by some of the Todas was Petkon, whose Badaga name was said to be Betakarasami. Breeks calls him Betikhan, and states that he is a hunting god; and according to some Todas Petkon was a son of Teikirzi.
Previous accounts of the Toda gods have been very erratic. Some writers have given the names of Hindu gods. Breeks gives the names of dairies as those of gods, though he also records abbreviated versions of several of the stories given in this chapter. The most curious account, however, of the Toda gods is that of Marshall, who gives[20] the following as the names of five gods which are muttered when milk is put on the sacred bells:—Ânmungâno, Godingâtho, Beligoshu, Dekulâria, and Kazudâva. We puzzled over these words for [[212]]a long time, and could not discover the names of gods even remotely resembling them. Finally it became clear that the last was “kars ud âva” (“Give me one rupee”). Similarly there was little doubt that “Beligoshu, Dekulâria” stood for “beli karsu tudkersia” (“Will you not give me a silver coin?”), the Badaga equivalent of the last word being very much like Dekulâria. The first two names we could not identify with certainty, but the first is possibly “en mûn gânei” (“Do not see my face”), and the second is possibly the name of a Badaga buffalo-pen. [[213]]
[1] This account of the creation of men and buffaloes was obtained from Arsolv (27) of Kanòdrs, one of the oldest living Todas. It agrees very closely with the story as related to Mr. Breeks. [↑]
[2] According to another account, Püv died from trying to catch the image of a white calf in the water. At that time, it was the custom to kill and bury any calf of a white colour, and one had been buried close to the spring. [↑]
[3] Usually called petkuter. [↑]
[4] These are quite unlike Toda names, nor is the name of the village, Mîtâhârzti, like a Toda name. [↑]
[6] I do not know exactly to which ceremonies tatòtiti and muòtiti refer. The words mean “he takes the tat” and “he takes the mu,” and evidently refer to some dairy ceremonial. Ponkastiti probably means that he kept pon throughout the year—i.e., gave or sold nothing from his dairy during the year. [↑]
[7] A spirit which brings death (see p. [403]). [↑]
[8] When Keikarskutan shot the bow and arrow he lay down. According to my informants, Keikarskutan lay down to shoot the bow and arrow because he was lame, but shot it in the ordinary way and did not use his legs in doing so. Breeks, who gives a brief version of this legend, was told that the arrow was shot by means of the legs and refers to this method as the ancient Indian custom. [↑]
[9] I give this as it was told. [↑]
[10] To meet this bird going from right to left is a bad omen; if going from left to right, it is a good omen. [↑]
[11] I could not find out the exact meaning of this word, but it appeared to be a name for the blood-stained froth which may come from the mouth of a dying man. In a sentence which occurs later the word appears as pògh (blood), but my informants were certain that pug itself is not blood. [↑]
[13] This is a creeper used in the funeral ceremonies. [↑]
[14] Probably the tree or bush from which the material called twadrinar is manufactured by the Todas. [↑]
[15] My informants could not say whether the boy went away in the air as a child or as a kite. The boy often assumed the form of a kite later, and it is tempting to suppose that the assumption of this form by the child was connected with the death of the kite, i.e., that it was a case of transmigration. The fact that the child went away in the air and was found sitting on a tree makes it highly probable that it flew in the form of a kite, but my informants could not say that this was definitely part of the legend. [↑]
[16] The kwarzam is the name used in prayer (see [Chap. X]). [↑]
[17] This place is close to the spot at which the path from Pishkwosht (Bikkapatimand) to Kodanad crosses a stream soon after leaving the former village. [↑]
[18] This pool has been converted into the Marlimand reservoir, the source of the water-supply of Ootacamund. [↑]
[19] The Hindu god who sends smallpox is Mari or Mariaman. The Toda name for buttermilk is mòr. [↑]
CHAPTER X
PRAYER
In the chapters in which the ritual of the dairies has been described, one of the most important features of the ceremonial has been passed over which must now be fully described. This feature is the prayer which is always offered at certain stages of the dairy operations. In the village dairies, of whatever kind they may be, no prayer is offered at the morning ceremonial. In the evening the prayer of the dairy is recited twice—once when lighting the lamp, and once when shutting the buffaloes in their enclosure for the night, the prayer on this occasion being said in front of the entrance to the pen.
At the ti dairy the palol prays both morning and evening. In the morning he prays when lighting the lamp and after he has finished milking; in the evening prayer is offered on both these occasions, and also when shutting up the buffaloes for the night. The palol also repeats a few clauses when going out to milk. Prayers are said on certain other ceremonial occasions, and clauses from the prayers are frequently uttered during the many ceremonies of the dairy.
At the evening ceremonial of the village dairy the prayer is said when the lamp is lighted, while during the morning ceremonial, at which the lamp is usually not lighted, there is no prayer. This suggests that the prayer is especially related to the lamp-lighting, and that some idea of worship of the light is involved, but occasionally for some special reason, such as unusual darkness, the lamp may be lighted in the morning, and on these occasions the prayer is not used. Nevertheless, the relation between lamp-lighting and prayer [[214]]both at the village and ti dairies has probably some significance, and, taken in conjunction with the undoubted salutation of the sun, it points to some degree of worship of light and its sources which may at one time have formed a more marked feature of the Toda religion than seems at present to be the case.
The prayer when shutting up the buffaloes for the night is common to both ti and village dairies. The night is the dangerous time for Toda buffaloes, which are not infrequently killed by tigers, and the prayer on the occasion of closing the pen is probably designed to promote their safety.
At the prayer uttered at the close of the milking at the ti dairy the palol adopts a special attitude which is shown in [Fig. 28]. He prays leaning on his wand, the pohvet, with his hands crossed over one another. This attitude is not employed in the village dairy, and only on this occasion at the ti dairy.
In all cases the prayer is uttered “in the throat,” so that the words cannot be distinguished by any one who may hear them. Whenever I listened to the recital of a prayer as it was being offered by a dairyman within the dairy, I heard only a gurgling noise in which no words could be distinguished. On one occasion I was allowed to approach the ti dairy at Mòdr while the first prayer was being offered by the palol. I heard the beating on the persin (see p. [92]) which accompanies this prayer, and at intervals in the monotonous sound produced by the voice of the palol there were pauses. As we shall see, the prayer of the ti has certain sections which are distinguished from one another, and it seemed possible that these pauses marked off the different portions of the prayer, but it was clear that this was not the case, the palol only stopping when the necessity for taking a new breath became imperative.
Each village has its own prayer, and so far as I could ascertain this prayer is used in all the dairies of the village; thus I believe that at Taradr the same prayer would be used in both kugvali and tarvali. This is not, however, a point on which I can speak positively, for there was much reluctance to talk about this subject and many of the Todas absolutely [[215]]refused to discuss it. One point seemed quite clear, at any rate among the Teivaliol, viz., that the different villages of a clan had different prayers, though often with many clauses in common.
In general, the prayer of the ti is longer and more elaborate than that of the village dairy. Different prayers are used at different dairies of the same ti, though here again they may have many clauses in common.
In all cases the prayer consists of two distinct parts: a preliminary portion consisting chiefly of names known as kwarzam, followed by a portion which may be regarded as the prayer proper.
The prayer proper should be the same in every dairy, but it seemed to me that there was a good deal of laxity as regards this portion, and there is no doubt that it is often slurred over hastily and is less strictly regulated than the preliminary portion of the prayer.
The following is the most generally accepted form:
Tânenmâ; may it be well
or
may be blessed; târmâmâ; may it be well
or
may be merciful; îr kark tânenmâ; with the buffaloes and calves may it be well; nûv ârk mâ; may there be no disease; kazun ârk mâ; may there be no destroyer; nudri ârk mâ; may there be no poisonous animals (snakes and insects); kâvel ârk mâ; may there be no wild beasts (tigers, &c.); per kârt pâ mâ; may be kept from (falling down) steep hills; pustht kârt pâ mâ; may be kept from floods; tüt ârk mâ; may there be no fire; mâ un mâ; may rain fall; maj eu mâ; may clouds rise; pul pûv mâ; may grass flourish; nîr ûr mâ. may water spring.
The prayer then concludes with the names of two of the most important gods or objects of reverence, followed by the words:
âtham them idith for the sake of emk for (or to) us tânenmâ. may it be well.
There does not seem to be any strict regulation as to the clauses of the prayer, and in different versions some of the [[216]]given above were omitted, while others were added, especially requests for protection against special animals, as pob ârk mâ, “may there be no snakes,” and pîrzi ârk mâ, “may there be no tigers.” One man concluded with the words erdâdrsink erdâdri ini, “I know half to pray, I know not half to pray,”[1] but I do not know whether this was an individual peculiarity or a special feature of the prayer of his dairy.
It seemed clear that the whole prayer referred to the buffaloes. It may be summarised as follows:
“May it be well with the buffaloes, may they not suffer from disease or die, may they be kept from poisonous animals and from wild beasts and from injury by flood or fire, may there be water and grass in plenty.”
The first part of the prayer contains a number of clauses each of which usually consists of the name of an object of reverence followed by the word idith (often contracted into ith). This word is said to mean “for the sake of,” so that the prayer as a whole seems to consist of clauses mentioning a number of objects of reverence for the sake of which the prayer is said, followed by the prayer consisting of clauses directed to avert evils or bring blessings on the buffaloes of the dairy. The word idith is used in the sense of “for the sake of” in ordinary language. Thus, “for my sake, leave him,” would be “en idith, an pidr” (me for the sake of, him leave).
The objects of more or less sanctity thus mentioned in the prayer are not called by their usual names, but are referred to by means of special names to which the general term of kwarzam is given. In some cases the kwarzam differs little from the ordinary name, while in other cases it bears no resemblance to it.
The kwarzam mentioned in the prayer fall into several groups: there are the kwarzam of the gods, of the buffaloes, of the villages, of the dairy and of its various parts, vessels and implements. In some cases, especially in the case of the ti, we shall find that different dairies differ in the prominence given to each kind of kwarzam; that the prayer of one place [[217]]consists chiefly of kwarzam of the dairy, while in the prayer of another the kwarzam of the gods or of the buffaloes predominate.
In some prayers there occur kwarzam of a special kind containing references to incidents in legend—incidents which occurred in the life of some deity especially connected with the dairy at which the prayer is used, or other kwarzam may refer to incidents in the history of the dairy or of the village in which the dairy is situated.
I had great difficulty in obtaining examples of the prayers, or rather of those portions consisting of the kwarzam of the sacred objects. There was little objection to giving the prayer proper; it was only when the kwarzam were approached that the difficulty arose. It was evident that it was this portion of the prayer which was regarded as especially sacred and mysterious, and this was doubtless due to the mention of sacred beings and objects by their sacred names.
With much difficulty I succeeded in obtaining the prayers of four village dairies, three belonging to the Kuudrol, while the fourth was the prayer, or part of the prayer, of the Kanòdrs poh. I was also successful in obtaining two ti prayers and fragments of others.