The Erkumptthpimi Ceremony
In this ceremony a young male calf is killed and eaten. The ordinary name is erkumptthpimi (“male buffalo we kill”) or erkumptthiti, but at the ti the ceremony is called ernudrtipimi. I met with great obstacles in obtaining a satisfactory account, the men who had told me all the details of the dairy ceremonial denying at first all knowledge of any ceremony among the Todas in which a calf was killed or eaten. As soon as they found that I knew positively of the existence of the ceremony, they acknowledged that they killed a calf, but said they could not tell me anything about it. I succeeded at last in obtaining a record of the ceremony from Teitnir, and when I was endeavouring to identify the various parts into which the sacrificial animal is divided, we met with such difficulties[1] that Teitnir agreed to allow me to see the ceremony on the condition that I would provide the cost of the calf. [[275]]
Owing to the general reluctance to talk about this ceremony, I was not able to obtain such independent accounts from other people as I should have liked, but the details of the sacrifice as given me by Teitnir agreed with those of the ceremony I witnessed, and I have no doubt as to its essential accuracy. I had hoped to have obtained independent evidence on some doubtful features at the end of my visit, but these hopes were entirely frustrated by the death of Teitnir’s wife a few days after the ceremony which had been performed for my benefit, her death being generally ascribed to the anger of the gods because the secrets of erkumptthpimi had been revealed. After I had left the hills, however, Samuel succeeded in obtaining information on several doubtful points, and was given an independent account which entirely confirmed the accuracy of the proceedings which he had witnessed at the same time as myself.
The ceremony is performed both at the ordinary village and at the ti dairy. At the ti there is no doubt that it is performed three times a year, but there was much discrepancy in the accounts of its frequency at the village. According to some, the sacrifice only takes place once a year at each village in October, soon after the ceremony of teutütusthchi, to be described later in this chapter. According to others, the ceremony is performed whenever the people have a suitable male calf to sacrifice. During the ten years that my interpreter, Samuel, had been living among the Todas, he had come to the conclusion that the ceremony is performed fairly often, his opinion being based on chance remarks made by the children. I think there is very little doubt that a calf is now killed in each village more often than once a year, and the ceremony at which I was present was almost certainly one of the occasional performances, though the time of year at which it took place makes it possible that it was the chief annual occasion of that village.
There was also some doubt whether there is an annual ceremony in every village for the people living in that village, or whether the annual ceremony is only performed in the etudmad, or chief village of each clan, for all the people of the clan. The true state of affairs at the present time is probably [[276]]that the ceremony is performed at the Nòdrs ti in October. Fifteen days later it is performed at the other ti mad and at the chief village of each clan. In addition to these annual celebrations the sacrifice is performed on two other occasions at the ti, while at a village it may be performed whenever the people of the village have a suitable animal.
The place at which the sacrifice is performed is called the ernkar, and at Karia, where I witnessed the ceremony, the ernkar is in a wood nearly half a mile from the village at a spot where it is very unlikely that the proceedings would be disturbed by chance visitors. It seems that there is not only a special ernkar for each ti and for each clan, but that each village has also its appointed place.
The ceremony is performed on appointed days, different for each ti and clan. In the case of the Kuudrol, these are Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and the ceremony which I witnessed at Karia, a village of this clan, took place on a Sunday. The chief officiator at the sacrifice at an ordinary village is the palikartmokh of the village, who must, however, for this occasion be of the same clan as those who are celebrating the sacrifice.
On the day arranged for the ceremony at Karia the palikartmokh was ill, and as none of the other inhabitants of Karia was able to undertake the office, an elderly man, Punatvan (53), had to be fetched from another village. On his arrival he had first to go through the ordination ceremonies for the office of palikartmokh, a lucky chance which gave me the only opportunity I had during my visit of observing these proceedings.
At the ernkar wood for the fire is collected, and over small firewood the people place several logs about three feet in length, so that the fire is of an oblong form. The firewood must be of one or both of the kinds called main and kiül. While some of those present are making the fire, others will be fashioning sharply pointed stakes of wood on which the parts of the calf are to be impaled. These sticks are called ko, and must be made of one of the following four kinds of wood: avelashki, karkekoi, kwadiki, or pohvet. It was said that exactly fifty of these ko must be provided. [[277]]
The first stage of the ceremonial is to make fire by friction, which should be done by the palikartmokh. The only occasion on which I saw fire made by friction during an actual ceremony was when I witnessed the sacrifice at Karia, and on this occasion both Punatvan and his chief assistant, Pichievan (69) of Keadr, twirled the fire-sticks alternately, but though they soon produced some smoke, they failed to light the rag used as tinder. My constant attendant, Kòdrner, was called in, and with his more powerful manipulations was almost immediately successful, and the lighted rag was carried by Punatvan to the heap of firewood, which was soon in a good blaze.
FIG. 37.—PUNATVAN AND PICHIEVAN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE FIRE AT THE ‘ERKUMPTTHPIMI’ CEREMONY.[2]
As soon as the fire is alight the calf is brought to the [[278]]ernkar, and the palikartmokh goes to cut a log of tudr wood and three small branches of tudr leaves. The calf should be fifteen days old and must be without blemish. Its ears must not be split, its tail must not be cut, and its eyes must be clear.
The log of tudr wood is for the killing of the calf and is about four feet in length and about three inches in thickness. Such a log is usually called tudrkud, but on this occasion is named erkumptthkud. The three branches of tudr must consist of perfect leaves. Such branches are usually called tudrkwunak, but on the occasion of this ceremony they receive the name toashtitudr.
The palikartmokh then stands in front of the calf, holding the log and leaves in his right hand. He raises the log and leaves to his forehead as a salutation, and then recites the appointed prayer. This prayer is different for each clan and consists of clauses in each of which the kwarzam of one of the villages of the clan is followed by “——k per mâ.” Thus the first clause of the Kuudr prayer is atthkârk per mâ; atthkâr is the kwarzam of Kuudr, k is the suffix, meaning “to,” and per mâ is “may increase” or “may there be increase.” All the clauses of the prayer are of this form except the last two, which are karsêram parsêram; Nòtîrzk êr usht mâ; the first of which is a kwarzam of Kulinkars, êram probably meaning buffaloes, while the second means, “may the buffalo appear to Nòtirzi.” The calf is supposed to appear to Nòtirzi and then to go from the hill of this goddess to the hill of Kulinkars. The complete prayers of Kuudr and Kars are given on pp. 288, 289.
The palikartmokh touches the head of the calf with the erkumptthkud ([Fig. 38]) as he utters each kwarzam till he comes to the penultimate clause of the prayer, at which point he begins the following series of actions. He draws the three branches of tudr leaves along the back of the calf from head to tail and then drops one of the three toashtitudr on the ground behind the calf. The two remaining branches are drawn along the back of the calf from tail to head in the reverse direction to the first, and on reaching the head one of the two branches is dropped on the ground at the head of the animal. [[279]]The remaining branch is drawn from head to tail and dropped on the ground by the side of the first (see [Fig. 39]).
The animal is then killed by striking it on the head with the erkumptthkud. The palikartmokh then takes up the three toashtitudr, and, taking them in his right hand with the log, passes them round the calf three times. In doing this, the body of the calf rests on its side, while the log and leaves are passed between the two fore-legs, then between the two hind-legs, round the hind-quarters, and forward over the back and head, so that they make a complete circuit of the animal, and this circuit is twice repeated, so that the log and leaves are passed completely round the calf three times.
FIG. 38.—PUNATVAN UTTERING THE ‘ERKUMPTTHPIMI’ PRAYER. HE IS HOLDING THE ‘ERKUMPTTHKUD,’ AND ONE OF THE ‘TUDR’ LEAVES IN HIS HAND CAN BE DISTINCTLY SEEN.
The palikartmokh then proceeds to cut up the calf ([Fig. 40]), [[280]]beginning with a complete incision round the neck. The knife used is of the ordinary kind called turi, but on this occasion it is called ab, or “arrow.” On the occasion on which I saw the ceremony, the calf seemed to have only been stunned by the blow on the head and began to kick as soon as this incision was made. The animal was, in consequence, vigorously belaboured over the testicles with the log of tudr wood, and this was repeated till the movements of the animal ceased.
FIG. 39.—STROKING THE BACK OF THE CALF WITH THE ‘TOASHTITUDR.’ PUNATVAN IS BEGINNING THE THIRD MOVEMENT, AND ONE OF THE BRANCHES OF LEAVES CAN BE SEEN ON THE GROUND BEHIND THE CALF.
The next incision is down the mid-ventral line; incisions are made through the skin above each hoof, and the palikartmokh then removes the skin of the whole animal except the head and feet, beginning at the right fore-limb. [[281]]
When the skin (tars) is removed, it is laid on the ground with its outer surface downwards a few yards from the spot at which the animal is being cut up, and the palikartmokh proceeds to cut the animal into the following parts:—
Kwelthkh, hoof and attached skin and bones.
Mogâl, lower segment of fore-limb (metacarpus).
Kemal, or kemalth, upper segment of fore-limb corresponding to fore-arm.
Kanòdri, shoulder.
Mêdrkwelv, trachea and larynx.
Tòdrthars, lower segment of hind-limb (metatarsus).
Pevutth, upper segment of hind-limb (leg).
Ûrûf, liver.
Putth, gall-bladder.
Pushk, kidneys. [[282]]
Kwur, small intestine.
Tütkwur, large intestine.
Mulikudri, urinary bladder.
Agelv, pelvis, including thigh bones.
Mudri, sternum and part of ribs attached.
Nüdz, heart.
Püth, lungs.
Kwotinerûf (kwotinûrûf?), spleen.
Pâlvîr, stomach full of milk, called pâlvetâr when emptied of milk.
Mutelf, lower part of backbone with parts of lower ribs attached.
Nòdi, upper half of backbone with parts of upper ribs attached.
Mad, head.
The parts of the calf are removed approximately in the order in which they are given above. The palikartmokh first cuts off the four feet of the animal, beginning with that of the right fore-limb and the four kwelthkh are placed under the skin, one at each corner.
FIG. 40.—PUNATVAN AND PICHIEVAN CUTTING UP THE CALF. IN THE BACKGROUND KÒDRNER IS SHARPENING UP THE ‘KO.’
The next part to be removed is the right mogâl, and then the three other corresponding parts. Up to this point, everything must be done by the palikartmokh himself, but after the mogâl have been removed any one may help, and on the occasion when I witnessed the ceremony, several operations were going on simultaneously after this point of the proceedings, and it became difficult to ascertain exactly what was being done and the exact order in which the parts were being removed. The cutting up of the calf was performed chiefly by Pichievan, while the palikartmokh, Punatvan, occupied himself with other operations.
After the removal of the mogâl, the remaining parts of the two fore-limbs are removed and placed on the skin. The larynx and windpipe are taken out together, and in doing this the large vessels of the neck are divided. The body of the animal is then taken up and held over the skin, so that the blood runs out over the parts placed on the skin, and these parts are then moved about, so that they become smeared with blood, and are then placed on the stakes (ko), [[283]]and each ko with its part of the animal is stuck in the ground on one side of the skin. Some of the other parts when removed are rubbed in the blood on the skin.
When the different parts have been impaled in this manner, the palikartmokh cuts from each part a small piece of flesh called mîis and puts the pieces on a stake. From the ribs and sternum, he cuts a part called the tütmîis, much larger than the other fragments, and puts this on a stake. I could not ascertain exactly of what the tütmîis consisted, but it seemed to be the lower end of the sternum with some of the diaphragm attached to it.[3]
FIG. 41.—ROASTING THE PIECES OF THE CALF.
After cutting off the mîis, the palikartmokh begins to put the parts round the fire ([Fig. 41]), beginning with the mogâl, [[284]]which are placed, one on each side, about the middle of the fire, but rather nearer that end at which the head is to be placed later. The mogâl must be put in this position by the palikartmokh himself, but the other parts may be arranged in any order. While the palikartmokh is manipulating the parts first cut off and placing them round the fire, his assistants will be continuing the division of the animal. When the liver is taken out, the gall-bladder is cut from it and thrown on one side. The intestines are removed and put on stakes by transfixing every few inches of their length.
The small intestine is placed on more than one ko, while, so far as I could see, the large intestine is put on one stake. The urinary bladder is thrown on one side. The ribs are cut through nearer the back than the front, and the sternum and anterior parts of the ribs form one part, the mudri. It was from this part that the tütmîis was taken. The spleen is put on one side in order that it may be given to a cat, and its name is derived from this fact. The stomach when taken out of the body is filled with milk and in this state is called pâlvîr. Its contents are poured out and it then receives the name pâlvetâr.
As soon as the cutting up is completed and all the other parts have been placed round the fire, the head is put on a ko, and this is stuck in the ground at one end of the fire and about half a yard from it, and the four kwelthkh are placed on the ground round the head. Some of the parts placed round the fire may by this time have charred, and they are turned round so as to expose the opposite side to the flames.
The next step is to take up the head on its ko and place it in the middle of the fire for about a minute, after which it is replaced. The object of this is to singe the ears, which the palikartmokh then pulls off. He also takes certain fragments (mîis) from some of the other parts and throws them, together with the ears, into the fire, standing at one end, the opposite end to that at which the head is placed. He then takes three charred pieces of wood from the fire, and throws them over the fire and over the head, so that they fall beyond the latter, saying as he throws each time, “Nòtîrzk per mâ, mañ!” the [[285]]last exclamation being the sound which is ordinarily uttered when calling a calf.
When the flesh is sufficiently roasted the palikartmokh eats the tütmîis, while the others present may eat any portion. When enough has been eaten, the remainder of the cooked flesh is carried to the village. The mogâl, agelv, mad, and kwelthkh are carried to the dairy by the palikartmokh and kept there. The flesh of these parts is eaten by the dairyman or by other men, but may on no account be eaten by a woman. The other parts are taken to the hut and given into the keeping of the women, and the flesh of these parts can be eaten by any one—man, woman, or child. Butter is often put on the flesh before it is eaten.