The Todas themselves manufacture a special kind of [[574]]material called twadrinar from the bark of a plant, and this is largely used in the ordination ceremonies. In the ordination of a Teivali palikartmokh, it may take the place of the petuni; at that of a wursol, twadrinar may be used as a girdle; and on the fourth day of the ordination ceremonies of the palol, the candidate manufactures and wears a rough kuvn made of this material. Its use in ceremony appears to be limited to the Teivaliol, and it is possible that it also is a survival in ceremony of clothing once in general use by this or both divisions of the Toda people.
Many of the older and more important Todas now wear the turban called madpâri, but there is no doubt that this is an innovation. The Todas themselves sometimes speak of the Badagas as “they who wear the turban,” and it seemed clear that the custom has been adopted in imitation of these people. Harkness and other of the earliest writers state that the Todas never wear any covering to the head, and there is little doubt that the practice has been adopted during the last century.
At the present time a man always removes his turban when performing any act of reverence (see [Fig. 10]) and when crossing one of the sacred rivers.
Mr. Thurston mentions that on his first visit, the man whom he chose as his guide adopted the turban in honour of his appointment, and my guide, Kòdrner, although much younger than most of those who wore turbans, also adopted this custom when he was with me.
Methods of Wearing the Hair
There are various methods of wearing the hair, each of which has its special significance. The ordinary method for men is to allow it to grow to a certain length, so that it forms a compact mass, as shown by the first man of [Fig. 61], or as in [Fig. 15].
When a member of a clan dies, all the men of the clan tie their hair in knots in front till the funeral ceremonies are completed. This is called mad tutvai, “head (or hair) who [[575]]rolls,” and the second man in [Fig. 61] is wearing his hair in this fashion, a girl of his clan having died not long before, whose second funeral ceremonies had not yet taken place.
Another method of wearing the hair is shown by the third man in [Fig. 61]. This method is called mad nadrk vai, “head (or hair) long to who.” It is adopted by anyone who has made a vow. In [Fig. 62] another man is shown in the same condition, but his head has a different appearance owing to the fact that he has tied two locks behind in order to keep the long hair away from his face. This tying back has no other significance.
