The procession then starts with the mòrol at its head. In some cases a halt is made when passing certain places, and prayer is offered by the palol. In going from Mòdr to Anto the procession stops first at Pòrstib near Tedshteiri village (belonging to the Nòdrsol), where the wars palol puts the staff carrying the mani on a stone and prays while touching the staff with his hands. The next halt is made at Ponvtüt, where the buffaloes separate from the palol and follow a slightly different route, and here the wars palol again prays. The procession halts for a third time at a place called Teirpül, near Anto, but this time it is the ti palol who prays after having placed the churning stick and bell on a stone.
On its way to Anto the procession passes near the village of Kiudr. When the buffaloes are seen to be coming, the women leave the house and go to the outskirts of the village, taking with them the pounder, sieve and broom, and wait there while the procession is going by. All the people of Kiudr fast on this day till after the buffaloes have passed.
It was said that on this day the palikartmokh of Kiudr used to rub clarified butter on the stones called neurzülnkars, but there was some doubt about this, and if the custom ever existed it seems to have fallen into disuse.
According to some accounts, certain clauses especially referring to the migration of the ti buffaloes are used in the prayer of the Kiudr dairy (see [Chap. X]).
On reaching the outskirts of the new place, the Todas who have accompanied the procession go away. The staff carried by the mòrol is taken off by the kaltmokh, who is again very careful that the vessels do not touch their bearer. Although the mòrol is allowed to carry some of the less sacred vessels, care is taken throughout that the vessels shall not be contaminated by touching his body or his clothing.
All the dairy vessels are taken off and laid by a stone called the perskars, and then follows the ceremony of peputi. Each palol has carried with him some milk in one of the persin. Some of this is poured into the peptòrzum[5] and given to certain buffaloes, one of each kind belonging to the ti; thus, at the Nòdrs ti, the milk is given to five buffaloes, to three by one palol [[136]]and to two by the other. The milk may be given to buffaloes directly from the tòrzum, or it may be poured into the hands of the palol from which the appointed buffaloes drink.
The next business is the purification of the dairy, called nòdrkorsi arspishpimi—i.e., we wash with nòdrkorsi. The palol goes to the dairy spring or kwoinir with the karitòrzum, carrying the kwoinörtpet under his left arm. He throws tudr bark into the spring, fills the karitòrzum and returns. He puts tudr bark into the karitòrzum and also into the idrkwoi and then pours the water from the karitòrzum into the idrkwoi, which he takes to the dairy and throws the water with his hands first over the dairy vessels and then well into the dairy itself so that it penetrates to the inner room. He throws the water first on the floor, then to the roof and to the sides, three times to each. Next he takes three sprigs of the plant ordinarily called kabudri (Euphorbia Rothiana), but at the ti called nòdrkorsi and ties it over the door of the dairy.
The dairy vessels, which have been untied and placed on the ground near the perskars, are then purified and put in their places. The palol first takes up the peptòrzum with the persinkudriki within it, the kòghlag, the kwoi and kwoinörtpet, all in the right hand, and carries them to the front of the dairy, where he repeats certain kwarzam of the prayer, then turns to the east and says the whole prayer of the dairy, salutes the dairy holding the four things to his forehead, enters, puts the things except the kwoinörtpet in their places, comes out with the kwoinörtpet under his left arm and without turning his back to the interior of the dairy, and shuts the door of the building. He then takes in the other vessels of the inner room, carrying the kwoinörtpet under his left arm and without repeating the prayer. One persin is taken in first, then the others, the karitòrzum and the tedshk. Then the mani is taken, being carried in the right hand and laid temporarily on the floor near the persin; when taking in the bell certain kwarzam are said.
The wand called pohvet is next taken in and laid in its place, and then the things intermediate between the inner and outer room—viz., the lamp, which is hung in its place, and [[137]]the idrkwoi, which is put exactly at the line of junction of the two rooms.
After this the things of the outer room are put in their places. Fire is made by friction, and the tòratthwaskal lighted, light transferred from this to the pelkkatitthwaskal, and with the fire so made the palol lights the lamp.