The Todas

by W. H. R. Rivers

It is very difficult to ascertain how far at the present time, according to Toda belief, the gods intervene in human affairs. Each clan is believed to have its nòdrodchi, or ruling deity, but I could not learn what he is supposed to do. In general the nòdrodchi of a clan is a god dwelling on a hill near the chief village of the clan, and two clans living near one another may have the same ruler. Thus Teipakh is connected with both Piedr and Kusharf, Atioto with both Kwòdrdoni and Pedrkars, while Etepi, who is the nòdrodchi of Keradr, and Kuzkarv, the nòdrodchi of Keadr, are almost certainly one and the same deity. In the two latter cases a Tarthar clan has the same god as a clan of the Teivaliol.

Little can be said about the nature of these connexions between gods and clans, but it is possible that when a clan or a member of a clan is said to incur the anger of the gods it is the nòdrodchi who is chiefly offended and inflicts punishment in the form of death or disease to man or buffalo. The Todas certainly believe that misfortunes are due to the anger of the gods. It is clear that the various offerings described in [Chapter XIII] are piacular and propitiatory. They are designed to atone for wrong done and to avert any future evil consequences of the offence which has been committed.

The power of the gods is believed to show itself in various ways. In several cases dairies have been disused because the dairymen have died in office, and this was said to have happened because the gods of those places were severe. It was apparently believed that they had visited infringements of the laws regulating dairy ritual with death.

The various misfortunes which befell different members of the community as the result of my visit were all ascribed to the anger of the gods. Again, the untoward incidents of the funeral of Sinerani (see p. [391]) were ascribed to the anger of the gods because there had been an infringement of funeral custom. These and other cases show clearly that [[450]]the gods are held to be the source of punishment for sins committed by the Todas, and that they may be appeased by offerings.

Each of the ti dairies has connected with it many deities whose names are especially mentioned in the prayers, and it is probable that for infringements of their ritual these gods are the avenging deities.

The attitude towards the gods shown by the formulæ used in the dairy ceremonial has already been considered. Though there is no direct evidence in these formulæ that there is actual supplication to the deities, it is almost certain that this supplication is implied. The formulæ used in other Toda ceremonies have the same general form as those used in the dairy ritual; and here, again, though there is no direct appeal to deities in the words of the formula, such appeal is almost certainly implied. The formulæ of the various ceremonies of the Todas are almost certainly of the nature of prayers in which the gods are asked to give blessings and avert evils. Apart from the formulæ of the definite ritual, there seems to be no doubt that the Todas offer supplications to their gods for help and protection.

In the formulæ used in Toda sorcery appeal to the gods is even more definite than in the prayers of the dairy ritual. In them the names of four most important gods are mentioned, and it seems quite clear that the sorcerer believes that he is effecting his purpose through the power of the gods.

Another definite way in which the gods of the Todas are believed to intervene in human affairs is in divination. During the frenzy into which the teuol or diviners fall they are believed to be inspired by the gods. The diviners are chiefly consulted in the case of misfortune, and they are believed to reveal the reasons for the divine displeasure which has been the cause of the misfortune, and to communicate the ways in which the gods may be appeased. The diviners are believed to be directly inspired by the gods, and their name, teuol, or “god men,” shows how definitely this belief is present in the Toda mind. In this case each diviner is believed to be inspired by a special deity, though sometimes more than one deity may reveal himself by the same man. [[451]]

In the process of divination men are possessed by gods; and another example of possession by the gods may be mentioned here, as I have not found a suitable place for it elsewhere. If any of the gods should sit on the back of a buffalo, the animal will go to the hill called Kûrâtvan, near Neduvattam, and this is said to have happened to two buffaloes in recent times. A buffalo which goes to this hill is allowed to find its own way back, and, provided the buffalo goes only to etudmad, its course will not be interfered with. One of the two buffaloes above-mentioned travelled back by way of Taradr, a place called Panmtu, Nòdrs, Miuni, and then went to its own village.

In the chapter on divination I have pointed out that many of the deities who inspire the diviners are not true Toda gods, and this suggests that the practice of divination may have been borrowed from surrounding peoples, in which case caution would be needed in drawing conclusions from the beliefs associated with the practice. I believe, however, that the information given to me on this point is based on recent utterances of the teuol themselves when in a state of frenzy. Each teuol was asked by whom he was inspired, and I think it not unlikely that the answers were influenced by the recent associations of the Todas.