First the buffaloes were caught and killed, and then the supposed corpse was taken to the burning-place, where a fire [[204]]was made and the gourd in its mantle was put on the fire. The fire first burnt the cloak, and when it reached the gourd, this broke into two pieces. One piece became a little baby, a boy, which took a piece of the burnt cloak and went away in the air to Neikhârs, where there is a big tree, under which it alighted. The other piece of the gourd was split into many fragments by the heat of the fire, and some of the fragments were driven with such force that they killed a kite which had come to the funeral. (To this day the kite does not eat the buffaloes at funerals at Ushadr, though it does so at other places.) The father and mother followed the child to Neikhârs, where they found it sitting on the tree.[15] The father and mother said to the child “Ena, itvâ”—“My son, come here,” and the boy came down and went to them, and was taken away by his parents to Melgars.
As the parents and child were on their way to Melgars they met the buffaloes of the Kars ti going from Kòn to Enòdr. At that time the buffaloes of Melgars and Kars used to go with the ti buffaloes as far as a place called Irgûdrval, on the way between Kars and Enòdr. A Kars man went with the buffaloes, and he wore on his right wrist a gold bracelet (which is still kept at Kuzhu). At Irgûdrval there is a stone called Pidûtkars, and it was the duty of the man with the bracelet to sit on this stone and to make the Melgars buffaloes pass on the right side, the Kars buffaloes on the left side, and the ti buffaloes in the middle. When he had done this, the palol prayed at the stone, and then the buffaloes of Melgars and Kars turned back and the ti buffaloes went on to Enòdr. When the man and his wife saw the buffaloes coming, they waited near Pidûtkars, and while they were waiting the baby laughed. The father asked the boy, “Why do you laugh?” The boy answered, “I know the kwarzam[16] [[205]]of the ti buffaloes, perner persagun; I know the kwarzam of the Melgars buffaloes, narsüln natüln nâkh; also I know the kwarzam of the Kars buffaloes, inâtviḍshti inâtvan; that is why I laughed.” After the buffaloes had gone on to Enòdr, the parents and child went on their way to Melgars. After they had been at Melgars fifteen days, they noticed that the child grew so rapidly that they could see him getting bigger from day to day, and he was soon grown up. He was called Kwoto.
One day Kwoto went into the buffalo pen and played there with the buffalo-dung, so that he was covered with the dust of the dung. His father rebuked him and was blowing on him to get rid of the dust when the boy changed into a kite and flew away. The next day he resumed human form, but from that time he only stayed in the village at times, and at other times stayed in the woods. This went on for about eight days, and then he refused to take food from the village and became a companion of the gods.
At this time the gods used to hold councils on the slopes below a hill called Tikalmudri. The place where they sat was called Pòlkab. When the gods were holding council at Pòlkab, Kwoto went and sat on the top of the hill Tikalmudri. Then the gods said to one another, “How is it that he sits on the top of the hill while we sit below? It is not at all good.” They consulted together and decided to kill him. So three or four of the gods went to Kwoto and said in a cunning way, “We will show you your country” (i.e., the place which should belong to him; each of the gods had his appointed place). So they took him to a steep precipice called Teipâper, and having deceived him that they would show him his country, they threw him down. Kwoto, however, was not killed, but took the form of a kite and flew back to Tikalmudri. Then all the gods were surprised that he was not dead, but decided to try and kill him again, and they took him to the hill Kòdrtho, near Nidrsi, and threw him down. (The hill Kòdrtho was inhabited by the god Kòdrtho.) Kwoto was not killed, but pulled up a bamboo tree with its roots, and flew back and struck Kòdrtho on the head, and Kòdrtho’s head split into three pieces. One of these pieces is now the well-known [[206]]hill, the Drug, seen from Coonoor, while the other two pieces are eminences on the ridge running out to the Drug.
Kwoto then returned to Tikalmudri. The gods said, “We cannot kill him; he has some power; let us try his power.” So they gave him the following task:
“Peivoi Low tirikvâ, turn pîdâr high pîrichvâ?” fill?
i.e., “Can he turn the low stream and fill the high stream?” (According to another account the words in which the task was given were, “Alvoi tiriki, Kalvoi pîrsvôka,” i.e., “Can he turn the stream Alvoi and fill the stream Kalvoi?”)
Kwoto then took a huge stone, which may still be seen near Kanòdrs, and put it in the stream so that it flowed upwards. Then the stream begged Kwoto, “We are going upwards according to your order, but it is very difficult for us; we wish to be allowed to go our ordinary way.” So Kwoto took away the stone and the stream resumed its natural course.
The gods saw what Kwoto had done and decided to try his power in another way, so they said:
“Kânêr Sun ât, tie, kutei stone kurs chain ütia?” can he do?