The Kurumbas are mentioned in several Toda legends. According to one account, it was this people whom Kwoto deceived, making them eat the flesh of a buffalo calf; [[642]]according to another, it was the Panins or Panyas who were deceived by the god.
Kwoten is said to have initiated the practice of allowing Todas to visit Kurumba villages, and he appears to have been closely connected, in some way, with the Kurumbas, who still offer plantains to Terkosh and light lamps in her honour, Terkosh being the goddess who was connected with his disappearance and deification.
In the story of Kuzkarv, the Kurumbas, together with the Irulas, collect honey for the Todas from nests in a tree,[8] and this seems to point to a time when these tribes took an active part in the social life of the Todas. It seems possible that the Kurumbas and Irulas were the huntsmen of the Todas, and sought roots and honey for them, just as the Badagas were the agriculturists and the Kotas the mechanics.
Todas and Irulas
The Irulas live on the lower slopes of the Nilgiri Hills and have few relations with the Todas. They are called Erl by the Todas, and, according to Mr. Thurston, they are saluted in the same way as the Kurumbas. The Irulas are among the people mentioned in the remedial formula used against the effects of the evil eye, and are evidently regarded as having some magical power, though they are not feared in the same measure as the Kurumbas.
The name of the Irulas only occurs once in my collection of Toda legends, in the story of Kuzkarv, where they are associated with the Kurumbas. Atioto, who is the special deity of Kwòdrdoni and Pedrkars, is said to have a temple of which the priest is an Irula. This is probably an Irula temple to which the Todas make offerings. [[643]]
[1] Mav is also the Toda word for sambhar. [↑]
[2] According to Harkness, “each burgher, hamlet, or village” gives about two quarts (p. 108), or (p. 135) half a bushel to the ti and half a bushel to the other Todas. According to Breeks (p. 9), the gudu is about one-tenth, one-eighth, or one-fifth of the gross produce. [↑]