On the social side these resemblances are perhaps closer than on the religious side. The system of kinship is very similar to that of other parts of Southern India, and, so far as my knowledge goes, to that of India generally. The marriage regulation that the children of brother and sister should marry is found throughout Southern India and probably throughout the Dravidian population of India. The practice of polyandry probably exists scattered here and there throughout India, and has undoubtedly existed in recent times in Malabar. The practice of the mokhthoditi union between man and woman has also close analogies in Malabar.
On the religious side the high development of the dairy ritual, so far as I know, stands alone, but the customs connected with birth and death have many resemblances to practices followed in other parts of India, though this resemblance is general only and usually breaks down on going into detail.
Thus in Brahmanic ritual there are several ceremonies prescribed at different stages of pregnancy, and some Indian tribes or castes have pregnancy ceremonies peculiar to themselves, but I do not know of any tribe or caste except that [[697]]of the Todas in which giving a bow and arrow forms the essential feature of a pregnancy ceremony, though it is not uncommon for this weapon to play a part in marriage rites, and in Coorg a little imitation bow and arrow is put into the hand of a newly born boy.
Similarly, seclusion after childbirth is common in India, and in the Brahmanic ceremony of Jatakarma water is poured over the heads of mother and child by the priest. In some cases from Mysore (see p. [705]) there is a still closer resemblance to Toda custom, but there are some features of the Toda ceremonial for which I can find no parallel.
In many points, again, there are distinct resemblances between the practices of the Todas and the more popular customs of India; thus the pounder, sieve and broom frequently play a part in the popular magic of India,[2] as of other parts of the world, but I do not know of any parallel for their being regarded as especially the emblems of women, as they appear to be in Toda belief.
It is perhaps in the funeral ceremonies that we find the largest number of resemblances between Toda custom and that of other parts of India. Thus, among those who cremate their dead, it is usual to have ceremonies some time after the cremation, and some have regarded the second funeral ceremony of the Todas, the so-called dry funeral, as the representative of the Sapindi ceremony of orthodox Hinduism. Among several tribes fragments of bone are preserved after the cremation, which become the objects of further ceremonies. Thus, the Hos and Mundahs[3] preserve large fragments of bone, which are hung up in the house and are buried in an earthenware pot much later, after being taken in procession to every friend and relation of the deceased. Again, among the Saoras of Madras[4] fragments of bone are picked out from the ashes and covered over with a miniature hut.
Animals are frequently killed at funerals throughout India, and among the Saoras, just mentioned,[5] the animal is a [[698]]buffalo, which is killed close to the stone on which its blood is smeared. Again, among the Kois[6] a bullock is slain and the tail placed in the hand of the corpse.
A funeral practice which is very widely spread in India is the breaking of a pot, and in some cases the pot so broken is one which has contained the water used to quench the fire. Among the Naickers and the Reddies of South India[7] the body is bathed with water from an earthen pot, which is then dashed upon the ground, while in other places an earthen pot filled with water is carried round the body three times, after which the fire is lighted and later extinguished by water which runs from a perforation in the pot. The common Indian practice, according to Padfield,[8] is for the chief mourner to throw a pot over his head behind him so that it is dashed in pieces.
That the kindred should retire with averted faces from the place where the corpse is left is prescribed by Manu,[9] and the custom of burning or burying face downwards is practised by low caste people, the motive in this case being to prevent the evil spirit from escaping and troubling its neighbours.[10]
While there is thus a general resemblance between many of the manners and customs of the Todas and those existing in various parts of the Indian peninsula, there is one district which possesses customs and institutions which seem to stand in a much closer relation to those of the Todas than is the case elsewhere.