New Dairy Vessels
The earthenware vessels of the inner room (persin and tòrzum) are procured from Hindus through the Badagas. They were formerly obtained from a place called Kulpet (Kundapeta), near Nanjankudi in Mysore, and I was told that the Todas used to go down to fetch them.
The earthenware vessels of the outer room (alug) are obtained from the Kotas like those of the ordinary dairy. The churn or kòghlag is made by the Todas themselves from the slender bamboo growing on the hills.
The material out of which the bamboo vessels (kwoi, idrkwoi, karpun, uppun) are made, is procured from a place [[109]]called Ebenput(?) near Musinigudi. When new vessels are required, and there is only one kaltmokh, a second is appointed, who goes to Ebenput, where he cuts bamboo called kôli, which is large enough for the dairy vessels. The bamboo is taken by the kaltmokh to the ti, and the new vessels are manufactured by the palol.
It is possible for the kaltmokh to go to Ebenput and back in one day, but if unable to do this he may stay the night at Taradr, the nearest etudmad to Musinigudi. The bamboo for the new vessels, however, must not be taken to Taradr, but must be left in a wood near the village, and taken on to the ti mad on the following day.
Any new vessels or implements must be purified before being used. The earthenware vessels of the inner room are taken from the Badagas who bring them, and are rubbed over, inside and out, with the bark of the tudr tree, after which the bark is put inside the vessel, water is poured in three times, saying “Oñ,” and the contents rinsed round and poured out. Water is then put in the vessel, which is placed for a time on the fireplace to make it look old, the fireplace used being the pelkkatitthwaskal. The kòghlag or churning stick is purified by rubbing tudr bark over it and pouring water all over it three times. The churning stick and the earthenware vessels of the inner room are both purified in the outer room of the dairy, and the purification must be performed on a Sunday.
The kwoi is purified on the same day of the week in front of the buffalo enclosure or tu. After churning, the palol takes the new kwoi, and a tòrzum full of water, and purifies the former with tudr bark and water three times in the way already described. He then milks into the new kwoi for the first time, and on this occasion he must be careful not to fill the vessel completely.
The idrkwoi is purified in the same manner as the other vessels and also on a Sunday, but the purification is performed at the junction of the inner and outer rooms of the dairy.
New vessels and other objects belonging to the outer room are purified with the same procedure in their own room, but on a Tuesday or Wednesday. [[110]]
The kwoi or milking vessel is the only vessel which is not purified inside the dairy. With the exception of this vessel all the other objects used in the dairy are purified in the outer room or at the junction of the inner and outer rooms.