One striking feature of the dairy ritual is the use of the syllable Oñ. With one exception (p. 177) this word is always uttered thrice, and it seems to be especially connected with the act of putting curds or milk on the bells. It has a suggestive resemblance to the mystical syllable Om of the Hindus. It is [[239]]also possible that it may be a form of the name of the god Ön, or, again, it may be a corruption of the word mani, of which the initial letter has been dropped, a process of which other examples have been given.
It is doubtful how much significance is attached to the right and left sides in the dairy ritual. There is no doubt that in the most sacred acts of the ritual, such as saluting the buffaloes and the sun, or feeding the bell, it is the right hand which is used. This preference of the right hand is emphasised by the action of the palol in washing out his mouth, when he takes the water into his mouth from the left hand, because it is his right hand which has most to do with the sacred objects. In the migration ceremonies the dairy vessels are carried on the left shoulder, but at the ti the choice of this shoulder by the palol is obviously due to the fact that either the mani or churning-stick is carried in the right hand, and in other cases it is probable that the choice of the left shoulder is due to the necessity of leaving the right hand free. When the candidate drinks in the ordination ceremonies he holds the cup in the right hand, and this hand certainly has the preference throughout the dairy ritual. On the other hand, the petuni is worn on the left side of the waist-string, both by the kaltmokh, as a sign of his full rank, and by the palikartmokh during his ordination ceremonies.
In the ordinary dairy the side which is on the right hand in entering seems to be the more sacred, and the platform on this side is the meitün or superior bed. In the ti dairy, on the other hand, there was some doubt as to the more sacred side. At Mòdr it seemed that the mani is on the left hand side of the palol as he is performing his duties, but it is doubtful whether this is so at other places, and it may be that my account of the Mòdr dairy is wrong in this respect.
The Sanctity of Milk
The different degrees of sanctity attaching to the different dairies are associated with differences in the rules regulating the use of milk, and these rules seem to show clearly that [[240]]the milk of buffaloes belonging to the more sacred dairies has a higher degree of sanctity than that churned in the lower grades.
The milk of ordinary buffaloes may be drunk by anyone, man, woman, or child. The Todas do not ordinarily sell milk, but if they do so, they may only use the milk of ordinary buffaloes for this purpose. I have a note that anyone may also drink the milk of buffaloes belonging to the tarvali, but I suspect that this only applies to men who must drink it at the dairy.
The milk of the kudrpali may only be drunk by the kudrpalikartmokh himself. It is believed that any other person or animal who should drink milk from this dairy would die.
At the wursuli milk may be given to men at the dairy, but it must be mixed with buttermilk. At the kugvali of Taradr the milk of the kugvalir themselves is not drunk by anyone, the dairyman having certain ordinary buffaloes for his own use, and this is also the case at the ti. I believe that not even the palol would drink the milk of the persinir, the sacred buffaloes of the ti.
There is one exception to the rule that ordinary people may not use the milk of the sacred buffaloes of the village dairies (except in the form of butter and buttermilk). At the irpalvusthi ceremony at all the village dairies, including the kugvali, food is prepared with the milk of one of the sacred animals and this food is given to the people of the clan to which the dairy belongs and also to members of other clans.