Todas and Badagas
The Todas call a Badaga Mav,[1] which seems to be a form of the Canarese word for father-in-law or maternal uncle. The origin of this term is said to have been that when the Todas first met a Badaga, they asked his name and he answered “Mav.” A Badaga who performs certain services for the palol is called tikelfmav. Certain elders of the Badagas are also called madtin.
Whenever a Toda meets a Badaga monegar (headman) or an old Badaga with whom he is acquainted, a salutation passes between the two which is represented in [Fig. 69]. The Toda stands before the Badaga, inclines his head slightly, and says “Madtin pudia!” (“Madtin, you have come.”) The Badaga replies “Buthuk! buthuk!” (“Blessing, blessing”) and rests his hand on top of the Toda’s head. This greeting only takes place between Todas and the more important of the Badaga community. It would seem that every Badaga headman may be greeted in this way, but a Toda will only greet other Badaga elders if he is already acquainted with them. The salutation is made to members of all the various castes of the Badagas except the Torayas. It has been held to imply that the Todas regard the Badagas as their superiors, but it is doubtful how far this is the case. The Todas themselves say they follow the custom because the Badagas help to support them. It seems to be a mark of respect paid by the Todas to the elders of a tribe with which they have very close relations, and it is perhaps significant that no similar sign of respect is shown to Toda elders by the Badagas.
The Badagas perform definite services for the Todas and give what may be regarded as a tribute of grain at the harvest. The tribute is called gudu. I did not myself investigate the nature of the gudu, and there is some difference of opinion among previous writers[2] as to whether a definite amount of grain [[631]]or a given proportion of the crop is given. I have no information as to the way in which the giving of the tribute is regulated, and it is eminently one of those points on which evidence must be sought from both Todas and Badagas. In the case of the Kotas, we shall see that there is a definitely organised system regulating the relations of certain Kota villages to certain Toda clans, and some such system probably exists to regulate the supply of Badaga grain to different clans, but I have no information on the point.[3]
FIG. 69.—A BADAGA GREETING A TODA.
[[632]]
The contribution of grain from the Badagas has usually been regarded as given in return for the use of the land, the Todas being supposed to be the original owners of the soil. That this is not the whole explanation is shown by the fact that the Badagas also give a tribute of grain to two other Nilgiri tribes, the Kotas and Kurumbas. Harkness[4] was told by the Badagas that the portion given to the ti was in return for the prayers of the palol, and that they did not believe that “their crops or their cattle, themselves or their children, would prosper without his blessing.” The Badagas also stated that they generally desisted from cultivating their fields when the ti was left without a palol. They looked on the tribute of grain to the Todas as given of their own good will, while a similar tribute to the Kurumbas was dictated by fear of the consequences of sorcery which might be employed if the duty were neglected.
It has been supposed that the fear of Toda sorcery is one reason for the maintenance of the tribute, and, since the Badagas undoubtedly fear the power of the Toda sorcerers, it is probable that this factor plays a part, though one less important than in the case of the Kurumbas.
Another view which has been taken is that the Todas maintain rights over old dairies in the middle of the Badaga fields, and that any recalcitrance on the part of the Badagas might be followed by the taking up of these old rights. It is possible that the Todas have at some time threatened to resume their rights over disused dairies, but, in the case of the more sacred dairies, the fear of defilement of the sacred buffaloes by approaching a Badaga village would prevent the Todas from putting such a threat into practice.
The grain is probably given, partly because it is an immemorial custom, partly because the Badagas believe that they receive benefits and avoid evils in consequence of the custom.
At the present time, the amount of grain supplied by the Badagas is not sufficient for the needs of the Todas, and both grain and rice are bought by the Todas in the bazaar. All the grain used by the palol must, however, be that supplied by [[633]]the Badagas; but if more grain is required than the Badagas supply, it is possible that other grain may be used, though it is always in this case procured through the Badagas. The rice used at a ti dairy must also be procured through the Badagas.
The supply of grain is far from being the only duty of the Badagas to the ti dairies. Each ti has one or more special Badagas, each called tikelfmav, or “ti help Badaga,” who acts as intermediary between the palol and the Hindus. The earthenware vessels used in the inner room, the various garments of the palol, and other objects are made by Hindus, from whom they are procured by the tikelfmav. I did not learn of any material recompense given to the Badagas for these services, and the motive is probably some such belief as that described by Harkness.
One of the most important parts played by the Badagas in the Toda community is in connexion with the naim, or council, of which one member is a Badaga belonging to the village of Tuneri. He is only called upon to sit, however, in cases of difficulty, and probably one of his functions is to assist in the settlement of any dispute which may arise in connexion with the tribute of grain, or other transactions between members of the two communities.
There is little evidence that the Badagas have had much influence on the more important customs and ceremonies of the Todas. Few traces of their influence are to be found in the dairy ceremonial, but it is possible that some of the rites accompanying birth and death may have been borrowed from this people. The practice of making cicatrices on the arm (p. 576) is common to both Badagas and Todas, and may have been borrowed by the latter from the former, but the practice is not in any way of a ceremonial character. The only part played by a Badaga at a Toda funeral is that the bell called tukulir mani may be kept by a Badaga or a Kota, and, as I have suggested on p. [377], the whole ceremony with the calf in which this bell is used may have been borrowed from the Badagas. The idea of a thread bridge between this world and the next is said to be common to Todas and Badagas, but I have no evidence to show which has borrowed from the other. [[634]]
In the ordinary life of the people there is more evidence of influence. At many Toda villages there may now be seen huts like those of the Badagas which usually result from the practice of allowing Badagas to occupy a Toda village when the proper occupants have gone elsewhere. The visitors build a hut of their own kind in which to live, and sometimes the Todas on their return inhabit this hut, though in general they only use it as an appanage to the hut of the proper kind.
The fact that the Badagas will thus come to live at a Toda village seems to show that when the Todas move from one place to another the pasturage is not necessarily exhausted, for the Badagas would not bring their buffaloes in this case. It seems that the grazing-grounds for the Badaga buffaloes are not very extensive, and that the Badagas are always glad to use the more extensive pasturage of the Todas, even when the grass has been partly eaten off.
Transactions in buffaloes between Todas and Badagas seem now to be fairly frequent. I often heard of a buffalo as having been received from the Badagas, but I have no very definite information as to the reasons for the transference. On the occasion of the ceremony of the ear-piercing of Tikievan’s sons (p. 336), Tikievan received a present of two buffaloes from the Badaga monegar of Tuneri, and this present was said to be in return for things which Tikievan had previously given to the monegar, but I did not learn the exact nature of this gift.
In two departments there is very clear evidence of Badaga influence. The astronomical ideas of the Todas are almost certainly borrowed from their neighbours (see [Chap. XXIV]), and in the closely allied practical question of the calendar I think Badaga influence may be suspected.
The other department is medicine. There is no special reason to suppose that the magical remedies of the utkòren ([Chap. XII]) have been borrowed from the Badagas, but the more strictly medical remedies used by the Todas are largely borrowed, the actual leaves or other substances employed being obtained from the Badagas. The practice of suicide by opium, said to be very prevalent among the Badagas, has, in [[635]]at least one recent case, been adopted by a Toda, and the threat of suicide by this means is said to be fairly common.
There is no doubt that the Badagas believe in the powers of the Toda sorcerers. I was told of several definite instances in which misfortunes were believed to have been brought upon the Badagas in this way, and there is little doubt that, in one case, the supposed author of the death of a child was murdered by the Badagas.
If a Badaga suspects magical influence of this kind he may consult one of the Toda diviners, showing that the Badagas believe in Toda divination as well as in Toda sorcery.
It is probable that the relations between the Todas and Badagas have existed for very long. It is generally held that the Badagas are comparatively recent immigrants to the Nilgiri Hills. Breeks[5] states that the Badagas are said to have come to the hills about three centuries ago in consequence of the troubles that followed the fall of Vijayanagar, but it is certain that they have been on the hills much longer than this, for the account of Finicio in 1602 (see App. I) shows that the relations between Todas and Badagas were much the same then as they are now. The close connexion of Badagas with the ti dairies, their intermediation between the palol and the Hindu, and the fact that the palol must eat Badaga grain, are all indications of very ancient relations between the two tribes.
There is one fact which may be held to show that the relation between Todas and Badagas is recent as compared with that between the Todas and other Nilgiri tribes. This is the fact that the Badagas are not mentioned in one of the legends of the Toda gods, while Kotas, Kurumbas, and Irulas each play a part in one or more of these stories.