The Todas

by W. H. R. Rivers

History of the Dairy

The Todas can give very little information which throws any light on the development of this complex organisation of the dairy with its elaborate ritual. According to tradition, the most sacred dairies, and especially that of the Nòdrs ti, date back to the time when the gods were active on earth and were themselves dairymen.

Beyond the belief that buffaloes of different kinds were assigned to the different clans by Teikirzi, I could obtain no account of beliefs about the origin or growth of the other grades of dairy. One fact as to the past which seemed clear was that ti dairies were at one time more numerous than at present, and several places now possessing village dairies of the ordinary kind are said to have been at one time the seats of ti dairies. Thus it is believed that Kiudr was formerly a ti place, and the old weatherworn stones shown in Figs. 31 and 32, which are still called neurzülnkars, seem to provide evidence that tradition is here correct. The village of Teidr is said to have been at one time a ti, and here again two stones called neurzülnkars are to be seen about a quarter of a mile from the village.

There is another feature of the Kiudr dairy which suggests that it may at one time have been a ti dairy. It contains six bells called mani, which clearly differ in nature from the mani of the other village dairies, especially in the fact that they [[247]]are not used at funerals. They are also distinguished as patatmani and ertatmani, a distinction not met with in any other village dairy. It seems probable that they are the representatives of the two kinds of bells of a ti, the mani proper and the kudrsmani. The ertatmani of Kiudr are ‘fed’ with buttermilk, a procedure not followed, so far as I know, in any other dairy, but it may be that this is a feature of the procedure of the ti dairy which escaped me. Certainly the most likely explanation of the existence of these bells at Kiudr is that they are survivals of its former position as a ti dairy.

The villages of Kiudr and Teidr both belong to the Teivaliol, and this raises the question whether this division of the Todas may not have possessed ti herds and ti dairies of their own at one time, and may not always have had to be content with providing dairymen for institutions belonging to the Tartharol. No information could be given on this point, but it seems unlikely that dairies and places belonging to a Tarthar clan should have been handed over to the Teivaliol when they were no longer used as ti dairies and ti places.

Certain Tarthar villages are also said to have had at one time ti dairies, especially the sacred places of Nòdrs and Òdr. This probably means that there is a tradition that the buffaloes of the Nòdrs ti were at one time kept at these places which, as we have seen, are still visited by the palol during his ordination ceremonies.

The process of extinction of ti institutions can be seen in progress at the present time. The Nidrsi ti is not now in working order; there has been no palol for some years and its dairies are unoccupied. It is said that a palol would have to be appointed temporarily if it was desired to perform the second funeral ceremonies of a Nidrsi man, but in the present condition of the Nidrsiol, it seems to me not at all unlikely, either that the rule will be disregarded, or that the second funeral ceremonies will not be performed, and that the Nidrsi ti will become absolutely extinct, possibly dragging down another institution into extinction with it.

The Kwòdrdoni ti is now only active for a short time once every year in order to satisfy a ceremonial requirement of the [[248]]Kotas, and this institution may possibly soon become little more than a name. If it were not for the Kotas, it would undoubtedly be as near extinction as the ti of Nidrsi. One palol of the Pan ti has recently ceased to be appointed, and the same difficulty which has led to his disappearance will probably sooner or later vacate the other office, and Pan will follow in the footsteps of the other clans. Many of the dairies belonging even to the more prosperous ti institutions are now disused, and some have completely vanished. The legend of Kwoto preserves a tradition of ceremonial accompanying the migration of the buffaloes of the Kars ti which has now entirely disappeared, and nothing is known of the special features of ritual which were practised at many ti dairies which have become extinct.

Of dairies of other grades, the poh of Kanòdrs is now only occupied for a short time once a year, and its ceremonial may soon also become extinct. The conical poh of Kars and the seven-roomed kudrpali of Nòdrs are dairies which have ceased to exist, and with the extinction of the latter have gone completely all traces of the ritual which was practised in this kind of dairy, and nothing is known as to the meaning of the seven rooms.

Some of these changes are recent, and due to the altered conditions produced by the general invasion of the Nilgiris, but others date back to a time before Europeans came to the hills, and were due to intrinsic conditions, chiefly the hardships connected with the ritual practised in certain of the dairies. The altered surroundings of the Todas are undoubtedly hastening the process of decay, and institutions which would probably have lasted for centuries will now almost certainly disappear in a few decades. [[249]]