Trees and Plants
The most sacred tree of the Todas is undoubtedly the tudr ([Fig. 58]). This name is given by the Todas to two species, Meliosma pungens and M. wightii, the two trees resembling one another closely.
The bark is largely used in the dairy ceremonial, and especially in the ordination ceremonies of the palol and other dairymen drawn from the Teivaliol and Melgarsol. Its use is especially connected with the people of these sections of the Toda community, but the rest of the Tartharol undergo a ceremony at the second funeral in which tudr is used, and this was said to have the purpose that every Toda should be purified with tudr before he enters on the future life.
A log and leaves of tudr are also used in the ceremony of [[434]]erkumptthpimi, and here it is used by both Teivaliol and Tartharol alike.
FIG. 58.—BOUGH OF THE ‘TUDR’ TREE. (From Marshall.)
The leaves of tudr used in any of these ceremonies must be perfect, and the bark must be knocked off the tree by means of a stone, this being one of the Toda practices which show the persistence of stone implements in ceremonial. The identity of this sacred tree is important, for it may furnish a clue to the home of the Todas. So sacred a tree would almost certainly have been already known to the Todas when [[435]]they reached the Nilgiris, though it is, of course, possible that it might have been chosen on account of its resemblance to some tree sacred in their past history. The tree has, however, a wide distribution in India.
Pope has suggested that tudr is connected with tulasi, Ocymum sanctum or holy basil. This is a small flowering plant, and it is improbable that there is any connexion between the two plants except a resemblance in name.
Another tree which appears to be especially sacred is the kiaz tree (Litsœa Wightiana). Whenever a tree is used to mark the spot where the mani is laid during purificatory and other ceremonies, the tree must be of this kind. The wood of this tree is used when making fire for most sacred purposes.
The leaves of trees and shrubs are used in various branches of the dairy ritual. Those in most frequent use are various kinds called generically by the Todas muli, three of which belong to the genus Rubus. The young shoots of the same plants are used in the ordination ceremonies.
Grasses are also used in Toda ceremonial, and one of these, a slender grass called kakar (Eragrostica nigra) is used on several occasions, those of especial importance being the ordination of the Teivali palikartmokh and the sweeping of the threshold of the dairy by a girl at the migration ceremony. The same grass is also used in one of the methods adopted to promote speedy delivery in childbirth.
Of the various kinds of grain used by the Todas, that called patm or samai (Panicum miliare) seems to be in most frequent use in connexion with ceremonial, but it cannot be said to be sacred in any way. Barley (kodj) seems to have a peculiar place in Toda belief. The tòratthadi or cooking-vessel of the dairy may not be used for this grain, although any other kind may be boiled in it. On the other hand, three grains of barley are put into the mouth and three into the hair of a boy at the naming ceremony. In explanation I can only offer the surmise that barley is not cooked in the dairy vessel because its use by the Todas is an innovation, and that similarly the use of barley in the naming ceremony is also an innovation borrowed from the Badagas or some other tribe. [[436]]