Government
The most important feature of Toda government is the naim, or noim,[4] a council having a definite constitution. The naim proper has to do with the affairs of the Todas in general, and, in addition, more informal councils,[5] consisting of the chief members of a clan, may be held to settle matters arising within the clan. It seems, however, that the supreme naim may sometimes be called upon to settle the internal affairs of a clan.
The naim of the general body of Todas should have five members, or, if more than five members, they should be drawn from five sources. Four of these sources are the Tarthar clans of Kars, Nòdrs, and Taradr, and the Teivali clan of Kuudr. The fifth source is the Badaga village of Tuneri, from which a Badaga man may be sent to take part in the naim. He is only called upon to sit, however, on special occasions; and in the many councils which I saw during my visit a Badaga was rarely present. He probably only sits, as a rule, when questions arise which involve the relations between the Todas and Badagas.
The Toda representatives should be drawn from certain families of their respective clans. The Kuudr representative should belong to the family known as the manikudupel, and the representatives of Kars, Nòdrs, and Taradr to the families known as tinkanikudupel. A few years ago the Toda representatives were Kuriolv of Kuudr (52), Parkurs (8) and Piutolvan (10) of Kars, Kudòdrsvan (3) of Nòdrs, and Ircheidi (20) of Taradr, though there was some question whether Ircheidi was on the naim, or whether his place had not been taken by Piutolvan, the second Kars representative. All these men are at present living, but, with the exception of [[551]]Kuriolv, they are too old or infirm to serve. Kuriolv is still on the naim, and his influence is entirely predominant, and it appears that he has been instrumental in altering the constitution of the council very largely. The number of representatives has been increased, and the following were the members in 1902:—Kuriolv and Ivievan (52) of Kuudr, Perner and Tebner (68), of Keadr, Parkeidi (21), Paners (23) and Siriar (20) of Taradr and Pidrvan (9) of Kars. Thus several members of the Kuudrol and Taradrol are serving, while there appears to be no representative of the Nòdrsol; and I was told by several Todas that Perner and Tebner are on the council because they are friends of Kuriolv, though, as members of the Keadr clan, they have no right whatever to the position.
On the slopes below the hill called Mirson, near Paikara, there are the remains of ruined walls marking a place where the naim used to meet. This place is called Idrgûdipem, and seems to have been at one time the chief meeting-place.
At the present time the naim meets anywhere. I have seen the council sitting in the compound of the bungalow at Paikara and on one occasion, when I was working in a bungalow at the Ooty Club, the naim sat in the grounds of the club. In general, they now meet at the places which happen to be most convenient for the chief members.
The members usually sit in a semicircular row. If they are considering a dispute between two parties, representatives of the parties take part in the sitting, and in these cases the members of the naim sit in the middle of the row while the representatives sit on either wing.
During my visit the council was chiefly occupied with the various complicated transactions which are always arising out of the custom of transferring wives from one man to another. This custom is the chief source of disputes among the Todas, and at times the naim may sit for several days before one case is settled.
I am doubtful whether the naim should have a definite head, but at the present time it certainly has such in the person of Kuriolv of Kuudr. He is the senior representative of the manikudupel of Kuudr, and is therefore the natural representative of this clan on the naim. He is highly intelligent, [[552]]and gave me the impression that he might have risen to a high place in any community. He has the reputation among the Todas of being very eloquent and of having great persuasive powers. When persuasion fails, there is very little doubt that he resorts to intimidation of some kind, though I could not discover what his means of intimidation are.
