In some recent cases the aggrieved parties in such disputes have appealed to the Government, and during my visit a petition was being drawn up for presentation to the Governor of Madras, asking that the abuses of the terersthi custom should be remedied.
Divorce
Divorce exists among the Todas quite apart from the transference of wives just considered.
I was told that a man divorces his wife for two reasons, and for two only, the first reason being that the wife is a fool and the second that she will not work. Barrenness is not generally regarded as a reason for divorce, though I was told of one case in which a man had sent away his wife on this account. It seemed more usual in such a case to take a second wife. In some cases the illness of the husband has been regarded as a ground for divorce. Intercourse between [[526]]a wife and another man is not regarded as a reason for divorce but rather as a perfectly natural occurrence.
When a man divorces his wife, the woman’s people usually complain to the naim or council, but if it is decided that the man shall take his wife back, there appears to be no way of compelling him to do so. In any case the husband pays a fine (kwadr) of one buffalo to the wife’s people, just as he would have done if he had refused to take her when she reached the marriageable age, but he receives back any buffaloes he may have given as pòdri. Even if the council decides that the man ought to take his wife back and he refuses, a fine greater than one buffalo cannot be inflicted.
If the divorced woman re-marries, the previous husband does not receive anything, and any buffaloes given become the property of the woman’s family.
The Mokhthoditi Institution
In addition to the regular marriage, there is another recognised mode of union between men and women, which is called mokhthoditi. The man who becomes the consort of a woman in this way is called her mokhthodvaiol—viz., “man who keeps mokh,”[11] and the woman is called sedvaitazmokh—viz., “woman who joins.” The mokhthoditi union differs from the regular marriage in one important respect. It may be, and usually is, formed between Tarthar men and Teivali women, or between Teivali men and Tarthar women. The great majority of instances of which I heard were of this kind. One woman might have more than one mokhthodvaiol, the largest number of which I heard being three. Similarly, a man might have more than one sedvaitazmokh, but as the custom entailed considerable expenses on the man, this was not common, and I did not hear of any instance in which a man had more than two.