The Toda system distinguishes widely between elder and younger members of the family and clan. This feature, which is of very general occurrence in connexion with the classificatory system, has been highly developed by the Todas, and their system differs from any other with which I am acquainted in having a special term for relatives of the same age.
When two members of a clan or two men related in other ways address one another as brother, the terms employed depend altogether on their relative ages, and are not influenced by the relative seniority of the branches of the family or clan to which they belong. [[494]]
The Toda system appears to be closely related to that of the Dravidians of Southern India. In several cases the names for certain kin are identical with or closely resemble those of other South Indian languages.
The three most characteristic features of the Toda system are (i.) the use of the same term for mother’s brother and father-in-law, &c.; (ii.) the marked development of vocative forms of the kinship terms; (iii.) the marked development of distinctions according to age. These three features are also found in Tamil, and as far as my information goes in Telugu and Canarese. The Toda system appears to be a simplified form of the Tamil system with many points of identity. The resemblance between the Toda and the Tamil names seems certainly to be closer than that between the Toda names and those of the Telugus and Canarese.
I do not wish here to consider these resemblances and differences in any detail, but in the Table on the opposite page I have given a list of those kinship terms in which the Todas resemble other inhabitants of Southern India. The Tamil terms I owe to Mr. K. Rangachari of Madras; the others I have taken from Morgan’s System of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Race.
Kinship Taboos
A man never mentions the name of his mun. If he wishes to make clear of whom he is speaking he will give the name of the place at which his mun lives, as “Tedshteiri ithvai en mun podchi,” “My uncle who lives at Tedshteiri.” This restriction only applies to the own brothers of his mother. Other more distant mun may be spoken of by name, and as we have already seen, if a man wishes to make it clear of whom he is speaking, he mentions the name in addition to the kinship term.
A man is also prohibited from uttering the name of the man from whom he has received his wife—i.e., to whom he has done kalmelpudithti (see p. [502]). This man, who is called the mokhudrtvaiol, is usually the father of the wife and would normally be also a mun, but sometimes the place of the [[495]]mokhudrtvaiol is usurped by somebody else and in such a case there might be no restriction on the name of the wife’s real father. In the only case of this kind of which I have a record, the marriage of Siriar (20) and Pupidz, the place of mokhudrtvaiol was taken by Kuriolv, who was living with Pilimurg (7), the girl’s mother, and though he was no real relative of the wife, Siriar might not mention his name. In spite of the fact, however, that Kuriolv had become his mokhudrtvaiol Siriar went privately to Patirsh (35), the real father of his wife, and did kalmelpudithi and would also refrain from saying the name of this man.
| Toda. | Tamil. | Telegu. | Canarese. | |
| Son | mokh | maghan | ||
| Elder brother | an (anna) | aṇṇan (aṇṇa) | anna | anna |
| Elder sister | akkan (akka) | akkal (akka) | akka | akka |
| Mother’s brother | mun (mâmâ) | amman or maman (mama) | mena mama | mava |
| Father-in-law | mun (mama) | mamaner (mama) | mama | mava |
| Father’s sister | mumi (mimia) | attai | ||
| Wife of mother’s brother | mumi (mimia) | ammami | ||
| Wife’s mother | mumi (mimia) | mamiyar (ammami) | ||
| Sister’s son | manmokh | maruman or marumakan | ||
| Mother’s brother’s son | matchuni | maittunan (?) | ||
| Father’s sister’s son | matchuni | attan or maittunan | ||
| Wife’s brother | matchuni or paiol | machchinan or maittunan |