The Teivali Clans
Kuudr
This is the most important of the Teivali clans, at any rate from the social point of view. It has supplied the monegar since the institution of this office, and it is the only Teivali clan represented on the Toda naim or council. From the religious point of view the Kuudrol are less important and have no exclusive rights to any sacred office,[3] though they are exceptional in being greeted by the palol with the kwarzam of their clan, Ivikanmokhkûtmeilteu, followed by idith as in the prayers. The origin of this custom is said to be that long ago strangers came to the hills and massacred all the people of the clan except one boy, who hid himself in the buffalo pen. The present people of Kuudr are descended from the boy and his escape is commemorated in the greeting of the palol. The Kuudrol also possess the very sacred dairy of Kiudr.
The Kuudr clan is the largest of the Teivali clans and stands second in point of numbers among all the Toda clans. It has at least sixty-three male and thirty-five female representatives. I omitted to obtain the children of two families, and these would raise the numbers slightly.
I had much difficulty in obtaining a correct account of the organisation of the Kuudrol, the difficulty proving to be due to certain anomalies in this clan. It has three chief divisions, headed by Kuriolv (52), Ishkievan (60) and Tövoniners (61), [[667]]and each of these divisions is sometimes called a kudr. From the point of view, however, of the irnörtiti ceremony it is clear that the division of Tövoniners is not a definite kudr, for the men of this division do not receive buffaloes from any other division, although they may themselves perform the irnörtiti ceremony, in which case the buffalo goes to the men of the other two divisions. The family of Tövoniners differs also from other families of the clan in having no place at the village of Kuudr. This anomalous position of the family is due to the part played by the men of the family in the quarrel which led to the separation of the Pedrkars people from Kuudr (see p. [675]). The family of Tövoniners is probably not a kudr in the strict sense of the term, and if so, the Kuudr clan falls into line with other clans in being divided into two kudr only.
There was also some confusion about the pòlm of the Kuudr clan, one source of confusion being due to the trouble connected with the parentage of Teitchi (52), which has been already considered (see p. [564]).
It was quite clear that the kudr of Ishkievan has two pòlm only, headed by Ishkievan and Tadrners (60).
Kuriolv’s division was said to have eight pòlm, the head men being Kuriolv (52), Targners (53), Pöteners (54), Keitas (55), Tüliners and Tikievan (56), Mudriners (57), and Madsu (58). The men of the first four pòlm are known to be closely connected with one another, and, as may be seen in the genealogies, the first three claim common descent from Tudrvan. Similarly the pòlm of Tüliners, Tikievan and Madsu are known to be closely connected. About the position of the pòlm of Mudriners, as we have already seen, there is much doubt, the state of affairs being that it is really most closely connected with the pòlm of Tüliners and Tikievan, but that Kuriolv claims it as closely allied to his own through the relation of Teitchi to Kòrs. Formerly the family of Arsners (59) formed a separate pòlm, but owing to the fact that it now has only two young members, and is very poor, it has been joined to the pòlm of Madsu (58).
Including the families of Tövoniners and Arsners, there [[668]]would thus be twelve pòlm. This is not consistent with the information given in connexion with the pepkaricha ceremony (see p. [169]), from which it appears that there are fifteen heads of families in the Kuudrol. It may be that the pòlm and family do not correspond with one another, or there may be some other explanation of the discrepancy.
The following are the chief villages of the Kuudrol:—