Next the palol takes the stick called parkul, which has a sharpened end, and makes small holes called upunkudi as in the mòrup ceremony. At the Kars ti only two upunkudi are made; at the Nòdrs ti one palol makes three and the other two holes. Tudr bark is thrown three times into the holes and into the water of the spring. Water is taken from the [[180]]spring in the karpun, salt is put into the water three times and the salt and water are poured into the holes, and the buffaloes previously set apart are led to the holes and drink three times, one buffalo from each hole. The leaf vessels previously made (püvup) are then given to the buffaloes, and are eaten by them. Care is taken to give the leaf vessels in such a way that the end of the leaf corresponding to the petiole enters the mouth of the buffalo first.
The palol takes Anto’s leaf from the teukwoi and puts it in the karpun with water, then faces towards the place where Anto lives (Anto’s hill) and pours in that direction, saying “Antok,” “to Anto.” This is repeated with the other leaves, the palol in each case turning and pouring towards the place where the god lives.
Then follows the ceremony called tafkeirpudrti, i.e., “fern pool he strokes.” The palol takes the bundle of fern which he has brought with him and goes to the stream, which is blocked up, so that the water accumulates and forms a pool. He waits till the pool is so deep that the water would come half-way up his thighs, when he steps in with the bundle of fern in his right hand and strokes the bundle over the water, saying the kwarzam, or prayer names of certain gods and buffaloes (at the Nòdrs ti the palol says, “Anto idith, Kûlinkârs idith, Nòtîrzi idith, Kûlâdrvan idith, Kuzkârv idith, Mûv idith, Mòrs idith, Pan idith, Kûdreij tîdj idith”: see [Chapter X]). The palol then buries the fern at the bottom of the pool, so that there is no chance that it may come up again, and throws the grass called kargh into each upunkudi once only.
The palol then goes to the buffaloes and knocks one of the ordinary kind called punir to one side with a bush called pîrskwadriktûr and pours a little water on its back. This is called punîr ûvk nîr atiti, i.e., “he pours water on the back of the punir.”
Finally the palol goes to a stream near the upunkudi and washes there from the hands to the elbows. This final washing is called peiaspiti. Pei is the Tamil word for ‘demon,’ and the word suggested that there was an idea of warding off the influence of some kind of evil spirit, but it [[181]]seemed that peiaspiti was merely the ti form of kaiaspiti, “he washes the hands.”
The following day is called ûpkârvnol. On this day small Badaga children go to the ti mad and the palol gives them clarified butter on a leaf. On this day also any one who has been a palol (patol) may go to the ti mad and receive food unless the funeral ceremonies for one of his clan should still be uncompleted.
The ceremonies of ponup were said to be designed to invite the gods to be present by means of the clay vessels. The tudr bark and leaves were said to be used in order to purify these vessels after their defilement by human hands in the process of making. [[182]]
[1] This is the only occasion on which this cream is used by the Todas. It is used because there are now neither butter nor ghi at the dairy. Its use here is an indication that the process of coagulation is less rapid than usual. [↑]