The Slaughter of the Buffaloes.
The next stage in the proceedings is the catching and killing of the buffalo or buffaloes. At the present time the Todas are only permitted by the Government to kill two of these animals, and if the family of the dead person is poor only one may be killed. At the funeral of a man it is customary that one of the animals killed shall be an ordinary buffalo (putiir) and the other a sacred buffalo; one of the pasthir in the case of the Teivaliol, and usually one of the wursulir in the case of the Tartharol. At least one sacred buffalo must be killed at one or other funeral ceremony for every man, but this may be done either at the etvainol- or the marvainolkedr. Sacred buffaloes are only killed at the funerals of men, never at those of women.
When it was the custom to slaughter more than two buffaloes, there was often a rule that these should be of certain kinds; thus, at Nòdrs, it was once the custom to kill seven buffaloes at a man’s funeral—viz., two wursulir, two putiir, and one each of the following kinds: nashperthir, pineipir, and persasir.
If the family possess no sacred buffalo, they must procure one by exchange, and it is customary to give two ordinary buffaloes for one of the sacred kind.
There is a definite spot appointed for the slaughter of each kind of buffalo. The ordinary buffalo is usually killed near the funeral hut, and sometimes there is a stone marking the spot at which the animal is to die. The wursulir are killed at a place usually marked by a stone called teiks. In cases where there is no stone the spot is marked by a wooden post (see [Fig. 51]), which has the same name, and I was told that it should be made of teak.[8]
In some cases there are other appointed stones or unmarked spots where buffaloes of other kinds are slaughtered; thus, at Nòdrs there are seven stones, at each of which a [[350]]buffalo used to be killed, and the people of Pan have two stones called teiks, one for each division of the clan.
FIG. 51.—the wooden ‘teiks’ at Inikitj.
The catching of the buffalo is one of the most exciting incidents of a Toda funeral. When only one or two buffaloes are to be killed it is usual to take about four buffaloes from the village of the dead person to the neighbourhood of the funeral place. When the preliminary ceremonies are over, all those who are attending the funeral move towards the place at which the buffaloes are standing, while several of their number are chosen to catch the appointed animal or animals. At the same time, the buffaloes, which are usually standing in some hollow so that they cannot be seen from the funeral place, are driven towards the people. As soon as they appear the appointed men drop their cloaks and race to meet the buffaloes. The buffaloes are driven on from behind in a more vigorous manner than that to which they are accustomed, are more or less infuriated, and often rush wildly about in their efforts to [[351]]avoid the racing Todas, one of whom succeeds in catching the appointed animal, seizing it by the horns, and then hangs round its neck with one hand and seizes the cartilage of the nose with the other. Another of the men seizes a horn and also hangs round the neck of the animal, and both men put their whole weight on the neck of the buffalo and bear it to the ground. Often they are carried many yards before they succeed in getting the infuriated animal under control, and when catching the horns they are sometimes severely gored, though this rarely happens now, and I could hear of no case in which there had been fatal consequences.
The men who are appointed to catch the buffalo belong to the Tartharol at a Teivali funeral and to the Teivaliol at a Tarthar funeral. They are usually chosen from among the younger and more agile of the community, but at an important funeral the older and more experienced men may undertake the duty. The catching of the buffalo is critically watched, and some men have acquired great reputations for the adroitness with which they perform the feat.
I have some reason to think that it is the custom to catch the buffaloes at different places at the funerals of males and females (see p. [393]), but my information on this point is not satisfactory.
The captured buffalo has next to be led to the spot appointed for its slaughter. The people of both divisions drive the animal, beating it with sticks, while the course taken by the animal is directed by the two men hanging on its horns and round its neck. The buffalo is beaten much more vigorously than ever happens on ordinary occasions, and it has seemed to many who have watched a Toda funeral that this vigorous beating must have some significance, and the idea of vicarious punishment is naturally suggested. I could obtain no information from the people on this point, and I am doubtful whether the beating means more than that, under the exceptional conditions, the animal requires much more vigorous driving than usual. Ordinarily the buffalo follows out its daily routine with little interference; it goes to its usual pasture, and, as I have seen myself, it [[352]]may return to the dairy of its own accord at the proper time.
At one funeral at which I was present the buffalo was so alarmed or so infuriated by the proceedings that it lay down and absolutely refused to move, and the efforts of all present were insufficient to drag the animal to the slaughtering place. This incident will be described more fully later, but I mention it here to show that it may often be difficult to drive the buffalo, and that the unaccustomed vigour with which the animal is beaten may have a natural and not a ceremonial reason.
Before the buffalo is killed two things have still to be done. A bell or its substitute has to be hung on the neck of the buffalo, and butter rubbed on its back, head and horns.
If one of the wursulir is to be killed there is hung on its neck the sacred bell called mani, while the ordinary buffalo or putiir is given only the kwungg or household bell. A mani may also be used for the varieties of sacred buffalo called nashperthir, persasir, &c. Probably at one time there was a mani for each kind, but some of the sacred bells have been lost, and it is only in some clans that a bell can now be used. Those clans which have no mani do not use an ordinary bell, but they tie the sacred buffalo to the teiks by means of a piece of the creeper called kakhudri, about two yards in length. This is the case with all the Teivaliol except the people of Piedr and with the Melgarsol among the Tartharol. The kakhudri is said to be used in place of the mani.
FIG. 52.—LEADING THE BUFFALO TO BE KILLED.
The details as to the use of the mani differ somewhat in different clans. The Nòdrs people have two mani, called Kòdj and Kagur, which are now kept at Òdr. When a Nòdrs man dies these bells are fetched from Òdr by the wursol and one is hung on the neck of one of the mersgursir and the other on the neck of one of the nashperthir.[9] After the etvainolkedr these bells are kept outside the conical dairy at Nòdrs in a special hole in a stone called karsalb. The people of Kars similarly take their mani to Taradrkirsi for the [[354]]first funeral and keep it there till the funeral ceremonies are completed.
Among the Teivaliol the Piedrol are the only clan to possess a mani, which is called Kerâni. It is kept in a wood or shola near the funeral place and lies in an earthenware pot buried in the ground. At the funeral of a Piedr man the bell is hung on the neck of a buffalo belonging to the kudeipir (the special name for the pasthir of this clan). It is dug up by the Teivali palikartpol and given by him to a Nòdrs man, who ties it on the neck of the buffalo. The Nòdrs man chosen for this office must bathe on the morning of this day and must go without food till after the funeral.
Just before the buffalo is killed butter is smeared on the back of the animal, on the horns and on the part of the head between the horns. This should be done by a man of the same clan as the dead person.
The killing of the buffalo is called îrkîpti. It is done by striking the animal on the head with the back of an axe (masth). The animal is usually killed by one blow, though in some cases more are necessary. The wursulir are killed by the wursol and the ordinary buffaloes by men of the same division as the deceased, but of a different clan. Certain clans appear to have a prescriptive right to kill the buffalo; thus, among the Teivaliol, a Kuudr man kills at the funerals of members of all other clans, while at the funeral of a Kuudr man a member of one of the other clans performs this function. Among the Tartharol, the members of the Nòdrs and Kars clans appear to occupy the most privileged position, but the relations are more complicated than among the Teivaliol. At a Kars funeral the ordinary buffalo is killed by a man of Nòdrs, Taradr or Pan. At a funeral of a member of any of these three clans, a Kars man kills. At funerals in other clans, the buffalo is usually killed by men either of Kars or Nòdrs, but in the case of a Kwòdrdoni funeral, it seemed that the killing might also be done by a man of Päm or Nidrsi. Each buffalo is killed at the appointed stone or post, and the teiks at which the wursulir are killed is at some distance from the funeral hut, and a woman is not allowed to approach the spot lest she should see the sacred bell. [[355]]
Though there is no definite landmark for the killing of the putiir, each buffalo is killed at an appointed spot; thus, at the funeral of Sinerani (see p. [392]), the buffalo at the etvainolkedr was killed on the left-hand side of the funeral hut.
As soon as the buffalo is felled, the corpse is brought up and placed by the head of the dying animal ([Fig. 53]). At the funeral of a man, the covering of the body is unfolded and the right hand of the dead man is made to clasp one of the horns. At the funeral of a woman, the body is laid with its feet by the mouth of the buffalo.[10] At the funeral of a Pan man, Kwoten’s ring is placed on the finger of the deceased before his hand is made to clasp the horn. Then the men present come to the buffalo and salute it by bowing down and placing their foreheads on the horns and on the head between the horns.
FIG. 53.—THE CORPSE BY THE HEAD OF THE DYING BUFFALO.
The people then group themselves round the buffalo and corpse and cry together by placing forehead to forehead so that their tears and cries mingle. In the case of the sacred [[356]]buffalo, wearing the mani, this circle is composed of men only. The lament[11] usually consists in calling first the name of the buffalo and then speaking of the dead person, not by his name, but by the term expressing the bond of kinship between the lamenter and the dead. Thus at a funeral at which the buffalo killed was called Pundrs, one man would cry:
“Pundrsia, O Pundrs, en potch aia O my father. ivanersia, en potch aia”
I could not ascertain the meaning of ivanersia, except that its latter part is the word for buffalo with the vocative termination ‘ia.’
For a son, a man would cry after the name of the buffalo, “en mokh ûpa”; for an elder brother, “en potch anna”; and similarly for other relatives. For a wife a man would cry “iza kughia”, and for a husband a woman cries “iza mókhia” (iza is merely exclamatory).
It might appear from the form of lamentation that the buffalo itself was regarded as the father, son, &c., of the lamenter, and I could not satisfy myself as to what the people really had in their minds when they were lamenting in this way. It has been supposed that the lamentation is for the slaughtered buffalo, and I am unable positively to say that this is not the case. It is probable that the people grieve for the departure of one of their much-loved buffaloes, but I do not think that there is any decisive evidence that they are lamenting for the buffalo rather than for the dead person.
FIG. 54.—SALUTING THE DEAD BUFFALO.
Within the group of mourners there is much going hither and thither. After two people have mourned together for a while they separate, and each seeks a new partner with whom to lament. When separating, the salutation of kalmelpudithti often takes place, and, as in general, it is the younger of each pair who bows down his head and raises each foot of the other so that it touches his forehead. It seemed to be the duty of everyone to salute certain of the older men in this way; and round these men there would be a continual coming and going, each person saluting by placing his head beneath the feet of the elder. At times the band of mourners would [[358]]form a confused mass of struggling people, some crying forehead to forehead, others saluting head to foot, while others would be struggling through the mass to seek partners with whom to mourn ([Fig. 55]).