The Slaughter of the Buffaloes.
The next stage in the proceedings is the catching and killing of the buffalo or buffaloes. At the present time the Todas are only permitted by the Government to kill two of these animals, and if the family of the dead person is poor only one may be killed. At the funeral of a man it is customary that one of the animals killed shall be an ordinary buffalo (putiir) and the other a sacred buffalo; one of the pasthir in the case of the Teivaliol, and usually one of the wursulir in the case of the Tartharol. At least one sacred buffalo must be killed at one or other funeral ceremony for every man, but this may be done either at the etvainol- or the marvainolkedr. Sacred buffaloes are only killed at the funerals of men, never at those of women.
When it was the custom to slaughter more than two buffaloes, there was often a rule that these should be of certain kinds; thus, at Nòdrs, it was once the custom to kill seven buffaloes at a man’s funeral—viz., two wursulir, two putiir, and one each of the following kinds: nashperthir, pineipir, and persasir.
If the family possess no sacred buffalo, they must procure one by exchange, and it is customary to give two ordinary buffaloes for one of the sacred kind.
There is a definite spot appointed for the slaughter of each kind of buffalo. The ordinary buffalo is usually killed near the funeral hut, and sometimes there is a stone marking the spot at which the animal is to die. The wursulir are killed at a place usually marked by a stone called teiks. In cases where there is no stone the spot is marked by a wooden post (see [Fig. 51]), which has the same name, and I was told that it should be made of teak.[8]
In some cases there are other appointed stones or unmarked spots where buffaloes of other kinds are slaughtered; thus, at Nòdrs there are seven stones, at each of which a [[350]]buffalo used to be killed, and the people of Pan have two stones called teiks, one for each division of the clan.
FIG. 51.—the wooden ‘teiks’ at Inikitj.
The catching of the buffalo is one of the most exciting incidents of a Toda funeral. When only one or two buffaloes are to be killed it is usual to take about four buffaloes from the village of the dead person to the neighbourhood of the funeral place. When the preliminary ceremonies are over, all those who are attending the funeral move towards the place at which the buffaloes are standing, while several of their number are chosen to catch the appointed animal or animals. At the same time, the buffaloes, which are usually standing in some hollow so that they cannot be seen from the funeral place, are driven towards the people. As soon as they appear the appointed men drop their cloaks and race to meet the buffaloes. The buffaloes are driven on from behind in a more vigorous manner than that to which they are accustomed, are more or less infuriated, and often rush wildly about in their efforts to [[351]]avoid the racing Todas, one of whom succeeds in catching the appointed animal, seizing it by the horns, and then hangs round its neck with one hand and seizes the cartilage of the nose with the other. Another of the men seizes a horn and also hangs round the neck of the animal, and both men put their whole weight on the neck of the buffalo and bear it to the ground. Often they are carried many yards before they succeed in getting the infuriated animal under control, and when catching the horns they are sometimes severely gored, though this rarely happens now, and I could hear of no case in which there had been fatal consequences.
The men who are appointed to catch the buffalo belong to the Tartharol at a Teivali funeral and to the Teivaliol at a Tarthar funeral. They are usually chosen from among the younger and more agile of the community, but at an important funeral the older and more experienced men may undertake the duty. The catching of the buffalo is critically watched, and some men have acquired great reputations for the adroitness with which they perform the feat.