When the palol leaves the dairy, he raises the milking-vessel and wand to his forehead and salutes in the way shown in [Fig. 27]. The Todas say that he is saluting the sun and the buffaloes. It is probable that, in general, the palol faces approximately east as he salutes, but there is no doubt that, at the present time, his salutation is chiefly to the buffaloes. He salutes in the same direction both morning and evening, and certainly pays no attention to the direction in which the sun lies.
This salutation is now often done in a very perfunctory manner. The vessel and wand may be raised hastily to the forehead for a few seconds only as the palol goes towards his buffaloes, and I am doubtful whether the salutation is ever performed exactly as shown in the figure, for the vessel contains some of the buttermilk called pep, which might be spilt if the vessel were held quite horizontally.
When the palol salutes, he says “Oñ” three times, and repeats two or three clauses of the dairy prayer, usually the kwarzam of the more important gods of the dairy.
When going to milk and when going from one buffalo to another, the kwoi and kwoinörtpet are always held together in the right hand. When the kwoi is filled, it is taken into the dairy. If it is the custom of the dairy to put milk on the mani, this is now done three times, saying “Oñ” each time, and then the milk is poured into the middle persin, the kwoi being held in the left hand, and the palol goes out again to refill the kwoi. When all the persinir have been milked, the milk of the three persin is mixed together by pouring from one to the other. The reason for this is that the buttermilk, called pep, [[95]]is only taken out in the kwoi on first going to milk, and in consequence the pep would affect the milk of the middle persin only if its contents were not mixed with those of the vessels filled later.
FIG. 27.—THE ‘PALOL,’ KARKIEVAN, SALUTING AT MÒDR. HE IS STANDING IN THE ‘PEPKARMUS.’ THE BUILDING NEXT TO THE ‘PALOL’ IS THE ‘TI POH’; THAT ON THE RIGHT IS THE ‘KARENPOH,’ AND BETWEEN IT AND THE ‘TI POH’ CAN BE SEEN THE HUT WHERE THE INHABITANTS OF THE ‘TI MAD’ SLEEP.
The palol next goes out to milk the punir, taking for this purpose the vessel called karpun and an ordinary wand, the kwoi and kwoinörtpet being only used for the more sacred buffaloes. There was some difference of opinion as to what should be done with the milk of the punir. According to [[96]]some it may be used to fill the persin if these are not filled by the milk of the persinir; according to others it is wrong to do this, and the milk of punir should on no account be put in the more sacred vessels of the inner room. I think there is no doubt that at the Nòdrs ti at any rate the first procedure is followed. At this ti the punir outnumber the persinir by far, and it is probable that the milk of the former is used to supplement that of the more sacred buffaloes, although it is contrary to tradition that this should be done.
The three persin being filled, the tòrzum are again put on as covers, and the palol takes up the wand called pohvet, and prays, standing in front of the screen (patun) with his hands lying over one another cross-wise on the top of the stick as shown in Fig. 28. He recites the full prayer of the ti, then replaces the pohvet between the persinand the patun and this act of replacing the wand marks the end of the more sacred part of the dairy operations. If a Toda wishes to ascertain if the work of the dairy is over, he asks, “Has he taken the pohvet?”
FIG. 28.—TO SHOW THE ATTITUDE ADOPTED BY THE ‘PALOL’ WHEN PRAYING.