The Todas

by W. H. R. Rivers

Other features of the ritual in which there are differences in different grades of dairy are in the ceremonial touching of dairy vessels, in the avoidance of turning the back towards the contents of the dairy, in lamp-lighting, in the ritual connected with the bell, and in the frequency with which the prayer of the dairy is recited.

At the tarvali and kudrpali, the dairyman touches ceremonially the majpariv and the patat at the beginning of the afternoon churning, while at the wursuli this is done both morning and afternoon. At the ti, however, this ceremonial touching does not occur, or, at any rate, I failed to obtain any account of its performance.

The method of carrying out the dairy procedure kabkaditi, in which the back is never turned on the sacred vessels of the dairy, is not followed in the tarvali, except at the irpalvusthi ceremony. I have no record of it in the kudrpali, except on [[235]]the same occasion, and it is only followed regularly in certain dairies of the wursuli grade, viz., Nòdrs, Nasmiòdr, Òdr, and Kozhtudi. The first has a conical dairy, and Nasmiòdr and Òdr are especially ancient and sacred places. At the kugvali and the ti dairy, on the other hand, the dairy ceremonial is always performed kabkaditi. At one ceremony, that of irpalvusthi, the work of the dairy is performed kabkaditi in every dairy of whatever grade.

The lamp-lighting is another feature which becomes more frequent and more ceremonial in the higher grades of dairy. In all the village dairies, including the kugvali of Taradr,[1] the lamp is only lighted ceremonially at the afternoon churning, the lighting being made the occasion of prayer. If the morning is dark, the lamp maybe lighted, but it is clear that this is not done ceremonially, and the lighting is not accompanied by prayer. At the ti we have already seen that the lamp is lighted in a more ceremonial manner and in the morning as well as in the afternoon.

Some of the details of the ritual are definitely associated with the mani, and since the presence of a mani implies a higher grade of dairy, this leads to an increase in the elaboration of the ritual. The mani is treated in much the same way in all the grades of dairy which possess this sacred object.

Another feature in which the increasing sanctity of the dairy is shown is the frequency with which prayer is offered. At all the village dairies the dairyman only prays at the afternoon ceremonial when lighting the lamp, and when shutting up the buffaloes in their pen for the night. As already mentioned, there is a definite association between prayer and the ceremonial lamp-lighting.

In the ti dairy, prayer is offered both morning and evening; at the morning ceremonial twice and in the afternoon three times. On both occasions the first prayer begins when the lamp is being lighted and is continued while the palol knocks on one of the persin with the persinkudriki. The second prayer in each case is offered at the conclusion of the milking, and the third prayer of the afternoon corresponds to [[236]]the second prayer of the village dairy, being offered when shutting up the buffaloes for the night.

The increasing sanctity of the different grades of dairy is shown very clearly by the increasing stringency in the rules of conduct of the dairyman. The tarvalikartmokh may sleep in the living hut on any night in the week, and there are no restrictions on his intercourse with women. The kudrpalikartmokh may only sleep in the hut on Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and is prohibited from intercourse with Teivali women. The wursol is limited to two nights, Sunday and Wednesday, and, though himself a Teivali man, is prohibited from intercourse with Teivali women. The kugvalikartmokh has similar restrictions, but the pohkartpol of Kanòdrs must avoid women altogether, and this is almost certainly the case with the palol also.

The tarvalikartmokh takes his buttermilk and food without any ceremony. The kudrpalikartmokh must hold his food in his hands throughout his meal and must not put it on the ground.

In the case of the wursol we meet first with the ceremonial drinking of buttermilk, which must in this case be poured into the leaf-cup from the vessel called ertatpun. The kugvalikartmokh drinks buttermilk sitting on the seat outside his dairy and pours from the ertatpun, drinking three times only and saying “Oñ” each time.