CHAPTER V
THE TI DAIRY
The ti is the name of an institution which comprises a herd of buffaloes with a number of dairies and grazing districts tended by a dairyman-priest or priests called palol with an assistant called kaltmokh. Each dairy with its accompanying buildings and pasturage is called a ti mad, or ti village.
In most cases there are two kinds of buffaloes at each ti, and each kind should properly be tended by its own palol and kaltmokh. There is, however, only one ti which possesses two palol at the present time, and they share a kaltmokh between them, though a second is appointed on certain ceremonial occasions. In other cases one palol tends both kinds of buffalo, and in others, again, the dairies are unoccupied for the greater part of the year and the office of palol is only filled for certain limited periods.
Each ti is regarded as the property of a Tarthar clan, but the palol has to be taken from the Teivaliol, the choice being in some cases restricted to one or two Teivali clans; thus, the palol of the Nòdrs ti must belong either to Piedr or Kusharf. The palol is chosen by the Tarthar owners, but the latter do not seem to gain any material advantage from their possession. In fact, it involves them in some expense owing to the necessity of giving certain feasts, and this expense was put forward as one reason why a ti is often unoccupied. Nevertheless [[84]]the Tartharol are very proud of the fact that the institution of the ti belongs to their division, and whenever I asked a Tarthar man why he considered his people superior to the Teivaliol, the answer always ran that they had the ti and that the Teivaliol who tended the ti were their servants.
The buffaloes belonging to a ti are of two kinds, distinguished as persinir and punir. The former are the sacred buffaloes, and the elaborate ceremonial of the ti dairy is concerned with their milk. The punir correspond in some respects to the putiir of the ordinary village dairy, and their milk and its products are largely for the personal use and profit of the palol and are not treated with any special ceremony. The persinir are usually of various kinds, but the nature of their classification is different at each ti and its consideration may be postponed till later.
I obtained most of my information from people connected with the Nòdrs ti. During the whole of my visit the herds of this ti were at Mòdr, which is only about a mile from the Paikara bungalow. Owing to the restrictions on intercourse with so sacred a personage as a palol, it was not practicable to obtain all my information from those actually in office, and I found it best to work with men who had formerly held the post and had retired. I worked chiefly with Kaners (63), an old man who had been palol at the Nòdrs ti, and with Koboners (58), who had been at the Kars ti. For some time I worked with one or other of these two men every day, paying occasional visits to Mòdr to observe as much of the ceremonial as I was allowed to see. On these occasions I was also able to consult Karkievan, the chief palol, on points about which the ex-officials were doubtful.
Both Kaners and Koboners were trustworthy witnesses, but Kaners was old and had given up his office some time before, and in consequence often committed faults of omission. Koboners was an admirable informant, and the fulness of the account of the ti ceremonial is largely due to him. It must be remembered that I was only able to see for myself a few superficial features of the ceremonial, and that my account is based on the descriptions given by these and other men, but [[85]]nevertheless I have a considerable degree of confidence in its essential accuracy.
The dairy of a ti is always called poh, whatever its shape may be, and at those places where there is, or should be, more than one palol, each has his own dairy. In these cases the work of one dairy goes on quite independently of the other, each palol being only allowed to enter and work in his own building. In addition to the dairy, or dairies, there is at each ti mad a hut in which the palol and kaltmokh sleep and in which the latter takes his food. When there are two palol, both sleep in the same hut. There is a house for the calves called karenpoh, corresponding to the kwotars of the village dairy.
The milking-place of a ti mad is called pepkarmus instead of irkarmus, as at the ordinary dairy, and is usually enclosed so that the buffaloes are screened from the eyes of ordinary people.