To people living in the simple surroundings and with the simple life of the Todas we might well look for material to help us to understand the evolution of religion, but, if I am right, we must look for this in vain. If the religion of the Todas is a product of degeneration, it is hopeless to seek among the customs of this people for evidence of the mode of growth of religious ideas and practices. Thus, it is natural that we find among the Todas no clear trace of totemism, or of those ideas connected with animals which are probably allied to totemism. There are several reasons why the Todas should not furnish any clear evidence of this frequent starting-point of religion. In the first place, they are people to whom one animal has become so predominantly sacred that it might be expected that any other relations with animals of a sacred character would have disappeared; the cult of animals in general would have been swamped in the cult of the buffalo. Secondly, if I am right in the supposition I have advanced in this chapter, it is probable that the Todas came to the Nilgiri Hills with the cult of the buffalo or other milk-giving animal already to some extent developed, and if at this time they had customs and beliefs connected with other animals, these would naturally soon disappear if these animals were [[456]]absent in the new country. At the same time, it is perhaps not without significance that the Todas are allowed to eat the flesh of the sambhar. In their former home, in the low country, it is almost certain that this animal would not have been a totem, and therefore it would be natural that on their reaching the Nilgiris they might be permitted to eat it.[3]
It is doubtful how far the Todas have an idea of a supreme god. At the present time they speak of and constantly appeal to Swami, and they will say that Swami is above all the gods, but I have very little doubt that this is a recent idea. Swami was chiefly spoken of and reverenced by the younger men, and it is quite clear that the name should not properly occur in the formulæ of any Toda ritual. Nevertheless, the possibility cannot be excluded that the idea is old. It is probable that at one time there existed direct appeal to gods in the Toda prayer, and this direct appeal may have been to some supreme being who was addressed as Swami.
Apart from this question of the meaning of Swami, two deities stand out from the remainder of the Toda gods. One of these is Meilitars, whose cunning was able to deceive the gods, and who was able to perform miracles which were regarded as beyond the powers of the other gods. His story seems to show one way in which a god might rise above his fellows, and might become a supreme god, but this has certainly not happened in his case. There is not the slightest evidence to show that Meilitars is in any way worshipped as a supreme god. There is a much stronger case for the supremacy of the goddess Teikirzi. Teikirzi is said to be the foundress of many of the Toda institutions; the final explanation of all things in the Toda mind is that “it is the will of Teikirzi.” She is said to be all-pervading, and [[457]]is regarded as the ruler of this world; she is mentioned in many of the sacred formulæ, and of the occasional kwarzam uttered by the Todas on various occasions by far the most frequent are those of Teikirzi Tirshti.
Teikirzi is undoubtedly the most important Toda deity, and yet she is not so pre-eminent that she can be said to be in any way a supreme god. Though she is the ruler of this world, it is Ön who rules the world of the dead.
Influence of other Religious Systems
The Todas show undoubted signs of the influence of Hinduism on their religion. It would be quite easy for a visitor to the Todas to talk to some of the younger and more sophisticated men and to go away believing that the Todas differed little from the surrounding tribes in their religious beliefs. In my first conversation with the Todas on religious matters I was told that they worshipped the following six gods:—Nanjandisparan, whose temple is at Nanjankudi in Mysore; Petkon or Betakarasami, whose temple is at Gudalur; Punilibagewan, whose temple is called Punilikudi and is near Cheirambadi; Mari, a female deity, with a temple called Marikudi near Pokapparam; Magòli, another female deity, with a temple near Kodanad on the Nilgiris, and Karmudrangan,[4] whose temple is near Mettapollayam.
Four or five of these gods are probably Hindu deities, while Magòli may be a deity of the Kurumbas or Irulas. At the present time there is no doubt that their temples are visited by the Todas and offerings made to them. The most frequent motive for these offerings appears to be the desire for children. The Todas now pray to these gods, most commonly for this purpose to Nanjandisparan, Magòli or Karmudrangan, and if a child is born it is taken when one year old to the temple, its head is shaved, and an offering, usually in the form of an image of the child, given to the priest. Rice is also given, sufficient, it is said, to feed 101 men, and the proceedings are said to cost the Todas [[458]]from 40 to 100 rupees. They have a rule that, however much money they take away with them from their villages, all must be spent and none brought back.
If the Todas wish to obtain more buffaloes they offer silver images of these animals to the temples.
I do not know how long these Hindu gods have been worshipped by the Todas, but my informants were emphatic that Nanjandisparan and Petkon had been worshipped by the Todas for very long, and that annual offerings of small sums were made to them by every Toda family.