Chapter XVI Funeral Ceremonies — Continued
The Marvainolkedr
The second funeral may be held little more than a month after the etvainolkedr, or there may be an interval of a year or more, and in the case of a child both funeral ceremonies may be performed on one day. In the old days the marvainolkedr was a great occasion. The proceedings lasted for two whole days, and were prolonged till daybreak of the third. Many buffaloes were slaughtered; they were caught on the first day, when they were shut up in the circular pen and bells put on their necks. On the second day they were taken from the pen to the slaughtering place, and various ceremonies took place in connexion with and after their deaths. This kind of funeral was called tuütthkedr, meaning “the putting in buffalo-pen funeral.” In the old days this putting into the pen was sometimes omitted, especially in the case of poor or unimportant people, and the catching and killing of the buffaloes were both carried out on one day, and this kind of funeral was known as marppitkedr. At the present time the Todas only have the marppitkedr, owing to the restrictions on the number of buffaloes killed. The Todas seem now to believe that the Government have actually prohibited them from putting the buffaloes into the pen at the funerals, but I could not find that this was the case.
It is now the custom, and seems long to have been so, to hold the marvainolkedr of several people at the same time. The Government allows two buffaloes to be killed for each person, and if two or more funerals are held simultaneously it gives an appearance of the olden times. So far as I could ascertain, however, the funerals of two or more people only take place together when they belong to the same clan.
In some cases, however, the funeral places of two or more clans are very near one another. In such a case there might be a certain amount of combination of the different ceremonies, but some of the rites would be carried out at different spots for each clan. Something of this kind appears to have happened at the funeral ceremonies recorded by Mr. Thurston (Bull. i., p. 176). Similarly the marvainolkedr of a man or woman of the same clan may be held simultaneously owing to the fact that the funeral places for the two sexes are usually close to one another. The buffaloes would, however, be killed at different places, and the remains would not be burnt and buried at the same azaram.
Owing to the custom of having the marvainolkedr of several people simultaneously, it has often been supposed that the Todas have a kind of anniversary ceremony for all those who have died during the year, but there is no doubt that this is wrong. There was a large marvainolkedr soon after I left the hills (in January, 1903), but it was a ceremony for two women only, Narskuti (63 and 56), and Tersveli (63 and 52), both belonging to the Kuudrol, and it was held at Kurkalmut, the proper funeral place for the women of Kuudr. It is quite possible that owing to the restrictions on the slaughter of buffaloes it may become more and more the custom to hold several marvainolkedr simultaneously, and that this custom may develop into an anniversary ceremony. This could only come about, however, by throwing over the custom that the funerals of each clan should be held at a definitely appointed place, and there is no doubt that this has not yet happened.
At the second funeral ceremony the relics are placed in a special hut, and at a man’s funeral the hut has the same name as at the etvainolkedr, and apparently it may sometimes happen that the same hut is used at both ceremonies. The second funeral is not always held, however, at the same place as the first, and the interval between the two ceremonies may be so great that it may have become necessary to rebuild the hut. At the only marvainolkedr at which I was present a new hut had been built for the occasion.
The hut at the second funeral of a woman differs in name from that of the first funeral, being called kursars instead of nersars. After the second funeral the kursars is burnt down, but my notes do not make it clear whether the nersars is always burnt down after the first funeral, or whether it may not sometimes be kept for the second ceremony. The difference of name, however, makes this improbable.
If the marvainolkedr of two or more people are held simultaneously, a hut is built for the remains of each; thus, at the ceremony in January, 1903, there were two huts, one for Narskuti and the other for Tersveli.
The relics, now called the narskedr, are brought to the funeral place on a bier made of bamboo, and called kailpedrkudr instead of mänpedrkudr (wood bier) as at the first funeral. The narskedr is wrapped in an embroidered mantle (pukuruputkuli) and placed in the hut, and then all the women of the dead person’s division who are present cry together, forehead to forehead, in the usual manner. The chief things to be burnt with the remains are also placed within the hut.
At a funeral witnessed by Mr. Thurston the relics were taken from a hole cut at the base of a tree, and the hair was unwrapped from off the skull, burnt in an iron ladle, and anointed with clarified butter before being placed in its cloth. This was probably a ceremony which should have been performed on the following morning at the azaramkedr (see p. 379).
As on the former occasion, a man’s funeral begins with the ceremony of earth-throwing, which is carried out in the same way as at the elvainolkedr. The narskedr is laid at the entrance of the buffalo pen, and earth is thrown into the pen and on the remains in the manner already described. There is nothing corresponding to the tiveri tur ceremony of the woman’s first funeral.
At the present time the driving, catching, and killing of the buffaloes are carried out in very much the same way as at the etvainolkedr. At the funerals of Teivaliol the buffaloes are caught by Tartharol and killed by Teivaliol of a clan different to that of the deceased. At the funerals of the Tartharol the buffaloes are caught by Teivaliol, and killed by the wursol or by a Tarthar man of a different clan, according as they are of the sacred or ordinary kind.
As the buffalo dies, the narskedr is brought up and laid by the head of the animal, and the lamenting and saluting take place around the buffalo and the remains, exactly as at the first funeral.
Sometimes a ceremony occurs immediately before the buffalo is caught. A man takes a ring of the creeper called kakhudri and throws it at one of the driven buffaloes. It should fall on the horns or neck of one of the buffaloes, but it does not matter whether on a buffalo which is to be killed or on another.
This throwing of the creeper, which is called kakhudri erspimi, or kudri erspimi,1 “we throw the creeper,” is done by the wursol at a Tarthar funeral, while at the funeral of the Teivaliol it is done by a palikartmokh of the same clan as the deceased. This ceremony used not to be performed at those funerals which lasted two days, when the buffaloes were shut into a pen on one day and killed on the next, but it should always be performed when the funeral ceremonies are limited to one day. It seems possible that the circular ring of creeper may be intended to represent the act of putting the animals in the circular pen, but the Todas could give me no information on this point. It seemed clear that it is only done at those funerals in which the buffaloes are not put into the pen.
The Koòtiti Ceremony
Among the Tartharol, with the exception of the people of Melgars, a ceremony is performed at the funeral of a male which is called koòtiti. In this ceremony blood is used which in the present day is drawn from one of the slaughtered buffaloes, but formerly a special buffalo was killed for this purpose.
According to the old custom the buffaloes were killed about four o’clock in the afternoon. About an hour later another buffalo of the ordinary kind was brought to the funeral place and killed by striking it on the head with a stone, and not with the back of an axe, as in the case of the other buffaloes. It might be killed by any Tarthar man, and then the wursol made a cut in the right side of the animal at the part called kegampkwûdr (over the ribs near the forelegs). The blood which ran from the wound was received into a cup made of tudr leaves, and powdered tudr bark was mixed with the blood in the cup. It is to this part of the ceremony that the name koòtiti (“blood he takes”) is properly applied. At the present time the blood is drawn from one of the buffaloes killed in the ordinary course of the ceremony. However the blood may be obtained, the next step is to bring a female buffalo calf less than one year old. The mantle with which the remains have been covered is taken off, and is worn by a Teivali man who has adorned himself with many ornaments, including those ordinarily worn by women, such as the chain (tagars), necklace (keiveli), earrings (kevthveli), and bracelet (pulthi). He also holds a long pole called tadri. The remains, which are now covered with a loincloth (tadrp) only, are carried by two women to the place where the calf is standing.
The wursol and Teivali man then walk to the calf, the former throwing before and behind him as he walks the mixed blood and tudr bark from the cup. When the wursol comes to the calf he throws down the leaf cup, and the Teivali man then hangs on the neck of the calf a bell of the kind called tukulir mani, and, taking a bow and arrow in his hand, he says three times to the Tartharol, “purs adikina?”—“Shall I touch with the bow?” Each time the Tartharol reply, “Purs ad!” The Teivali man then touches the remains with the bow and arrow. He puts down the tadri on the ground, and the calf is driven away from the spot on which it had been standing. As soon as it begins to move all present, Tartharol and Teivaliol, cry out, “ua! ua!” and fall down and touch the earth with their foreheads. The bell is then removed from the calf, which is not killed, but is allowed to go free. The bell (tukulir mani) is kept by the Kotas or Badagas till it is required by the Todas for another funeral.
The assumption of the cloak covering the remains by the Teivali man is called ârtûrverutiti, and the throwing of the mixed blood and bark by the wursol is called kedrkarchiti—i.e., funeral (or remains) purifying. Either at this stage or later the blood and tudr bark are rubbed on the piece of skull and hair which form the narskedr.
One of the most important features of this koòtiti ceremony is that the sacred tudr bark is used. The ceremony is not performed at the funerals of the Teivaliol or of the Melgarsol, because they may use tudr in the ordination ceremonies for the offices of palol, wursol, or kaltmokh.
The object of the ceremony appears to be that members of those clans who have no chance of being purified with tudr during life shall be purified with this substance before they go finally to Amnòdr. A Teivali or Melgars man, however, has only used tudr if he has been ordained to one of the three offices above mentioned. If the dead man has not been through an ordination ceremony, however, the purification does not take place at his second funeral, but a Tarthar man puts a piece of tudr bark into his right hand at the first funeral (see p. 367).
In the account which Breeks gives of this ceremony he states that certain formulæ are said, including “Karma odi pona,” “May the sin run away.” I could not confirm this, and I do not believe that karma is a Toda word. It is probable that the use of these or other formulæ is an innovation.
The Badagas of the Nilgiris let loose a calf at a funeral to bear the sins of the deceased.2 It is possible that the calf in this Toda ceremony may have the same significance. If so, the practice has not improbably been borrowed, and the fact that the bell which is hung on the neck of the calf is kept by Kotas or Badagas suggests that the whole incident may have been borrowed by the Todas from one or other of these races.
After the buffalo is killed dancing takes place at the funeral of a male. The men only dance and they may begin soon after the killing of the buffalo, while other ceremonies are still in progress. In the dancing the same tall pole (tadri or tadrsi) is used as is carried by the Teivali man who wears the cloak of the narskedr. It is a tall pole which, it was said, might sometimes be as much as 39 feet in length. I only saw a tadri at one funeral, when it was much smaller. It is decorated with rings of cowries, which are called nîrpul, the ornaments in general being called tadri asteram (see Fig. 67).
The pole is procured from Malabar through the Kurumbas. It is used at the funeral of males only of both the Teivaliol and Tartharol, and is burnt at the end of the azaramkedr.
In the only dance which I had the opportunity of seeing, the men danced within the circular wall surrounding the funeral hut. In this case the floor of the enclosure was below the general level of the ground. The men formed a circle and danced round in slow step; one man said the name of the slaughtered buffalo—in this case, Purkirsi—and another repeated this name; then the first man said “hau! hau!” which was repeated by the second man.
After a time one of the men took the tadri and they danced round in a similar way, taking the pole with them as they danced (i.e., they did not dance round the pole).
After the dancing is over, food is distributed to all the people present and most return to their homes, while the remainder wait at the funeral place till the following morning, when are held the final ceremonies, which are known as the azaramkedr.
The Azaramkedr
This is the name applied to the ceremonies connected with the final burning of the remains and burial of the ashes. After food has been distributed at the marvainolkedr, many of those attending the funeral return home. The remainder stay at the spot during the evening, those nearly related to the deceased lamenting in the usual fashion almost continuously. At a funeral attended by Samuel, the people took the setting of Kadsht and the appearance of Keirt3 as the indications that the final ceremonies were to begin, and this was about two o’clock on the following morning.
At every funeral place used for the marvainolkedr, there is a circle of stones, smaller than that in which the hut is built, with an opening which in some cases faces the east. This circle of stones is the azaram, and before the ceremonies begin, a man digs a hole by the opening in its side. The various objects to be burnt with the remains are now brought from the hut in which they had been placed on the previous day, and are laid outside the azaram and the narskedr is laid by their side. As the remains are removed from the hut, the wailing becomes louder and the people cry bitterly. Outside the stone circle a fire is made of the wood called kidmän,4 upon which clarified butter is poured. This fire, which is known as the puntüt, is lighted by a man of the same clan as the deceased. At the funeral of a male, there is burnt on this fire the dairy vessel called ertatpun which had belonged to the dead man, and the imitation buffalo horns called petkuter, about ten in number for a man and five for a boy. At the funeral of a woman, I think that a majpatitthpun is burnt, viz., a vessel used for fetching buttermilk from the dairy, but I am not certain of this.
There now follows the ceremony called narsatipimi, i.e. “the nars we rub,” in which the leading part is taken by a person of the same sex as the deceased. I only have a full record of this ceremony at a woman’s funeral, and in this case a woman took the relics out of their covering, and threw away the pieces of bark in which they had been enclosed. She rubbed butter on the pieces of skull and the hair, put the hair between two pieces of skull, tied them together with thread, and replaced them in the ornamented cloak (pukuruputkuli). She then bowed down and touched the remains with her forehead, and then this salutation was performed by all those present.
At a funeral seen by Mr. Thurston,5 this ceremony was performed on the previous day at the marvainolkedr, and in this case the hair was burnt in an iron ladle before the clarified butter was applied.
This ceremony of narsatipimi is performed by the daughter-in-law of a woman, or by the mother-in-law of a girl or woman who has no daughter-in-law. At the funeral of Narskuti (56 and 63) it was performed by Piliurs, the wife of Tüliners (56), the son of the dead woman. At the funeral of Tersveli (52 and 63), a much younger woman, who had no daughter-in-law, the relics were anointed by Muteimi (52 and 69), the mother of Teitnir, Tersveli’s husband. I have no record of the person who performs this ceremony at the funeral of a man.
The next step in the proceedings is to light a fire within the circle of stones, this fire being called the azaramtüt. Firewood is put within the azaram and the narskedr in its covering is placed on the wood. If the azaramkedr is being held for two or more people simultaneously, the remains of all are put on the wood together.6 In the pockets of the mantles forming the coverings are placed grain, jaggery, and coins. The azaramtüt is then lighted by taking three firebrands in succession from the puntüt. The firebrands are placed on the firewood and on the remains by the daughter-in-law or mother-in-law of a female as in the last ceremony.7 Then all the people take up the burning wood from the puntüt and place it within the azaram over the remains. The various objects previously brought from the funeral hut are now placed on the fire and burnt, and the special food known as ashkkarthpimi may be thrown into the fire. Then all the people cry together, forehead to forehead.
The following are the objects burnt with the remains on the azaramtüt, at the funeral of a male:—
(a) In the pocket of the cloak, jaggery, the husked grain called patcherski, husked barley (kodjerski), and rupees in two bags, one called tinkani, made by the Todas themselves, and the other called katshiram, procured from Hindus.
(b) Sticks of the following kinds of wood: pars, karneizi tavat, kali, toarsmitch, kar.
(c) A nanmakud, a club or stick cut from the pars tree (Fig. 67).
(d) A tadri, or long pole used in the dance and in the koòtiti ceremony of the previous day.
(e) Several wak, bamboo vessels filled with grain, butter, ghi, honey, &c., usually ten in number for adults and five for children.
(f) A tek, a basket made by the Kotas in which barley or poppy heads are put.
(g) A bow (purs) and three arrows (ab) (Fig. 67).
(h) A kafkati, or knife, called on ordinary occasions kudrval.
(i) A masth, the axe used to kill the buffaloes on the previous day, called on this occasion îrkîpmasth.
(j) A miturkwadr, the palm-leaf umbrella, so called because procured from Mitur in the Wainad.
(k) A kudshmurn, a special kind of sieve made by the Kotas and not used in ordinary life.
At the funeral of a woman boxes called pettei or miturpettei are burnt instead of the wak. These are small boxes made of rattan, covered with cloth and adorned with cowries. There are also burnt the three objects especially connected with women, the pounder (wask), sieve (murn), and broom (kip), but the pounder is only burnt after the following ceremony has taken place.
As soon as the things have been placed on the fire, there follows the ceremony8 called îrsankâti. At the funeral of a male, the matchuni, or cousin, of the dead man puts on the woman’s ornaments known as tagars, keiveli, and pulthi, and stands at the opening in the circle of stones with his right arm outside his cloak (kevenarut). He is joined there by the man who has lighted the fire, and they cry together, both standing at the entrance of the azaram, where they remain till the fire is extinguished. Owing to the fact that the fire is lighted by a man of the same clan as the deceased, the two men who cry together will also be matchuni—thus, at the funeral of Karspisti (12), the fire was lighted by his half-brother Karzo. Pakhwar (16), who performed the irsankati ceremony, was the matchuni of both Karzo and Karspisti, being the son of the brother of Tedjveli, the mother of Karzo and stepmother of Karspisti.
At the funeral of a female, the woman who stands at the entrance should also be a matchuni of the deceased. She is decorated with ornaments, in this case proper to her own sex, and she stands at the entrance of the azaram holding the pounder. She is joined by a woman closely related to the deceased and the two women cry together. After crying together for a while, they go round the circle and then put the pounder on the fire, after which they take off their ornaments.
At the funeral of Narskuti (56 and 63), Mutkadrk (56 and 72) stood in front of the circle holding the pounder, and was joined by Munat, the daughter of the dead woman.
At the funeral of Tersveli (52 and 63), Edjog (56) stood at the entrance; she was the matchuni of the dead woman, being the daughter of Tüliners, the brother of Tersveli’s mother. She was joined by Teimidz (52), the sister of the dead woman’s husbands.
The fire is now extinguished by pouring on water (kêdr tüt ârs kudrchi). Some of the food put into the pocket of the putkuli and in the various vessels may now be taken out9 and given to the Kotas, who up to this time have been playing the special funeral tunes called sagerthkwelv.
The ashes are now swept into the hole which had been dug at the opening in the stone circle. They are covered with earth dug from elsewhere and the spot is covered with a stone.
At the funeral of a male, a man of the same clan as the deceased then brings a bell (kwungg) and goes round the burial-place three times ringing the bell, while another man goes with him holding him by the waist. The man who rings the bell then takes a new pot, ordinarily used for carrying water, and, raising it over his head, brings it down and breaks it on the stone covering the ashes. He bows down and touches the stone with his forehead, gets up, and goes away to the funeral hut without looking back toward the azaram. All the others present bow down to the stone in the same way and go away from the spot without looking back. The ceremony of bell-ringing and stone-saluting is called kwungg tûki kârs nersatiti, “bell lift, stone he salutes.”
At the funeral of a woman, the bell is rung and the pot broken by her husband or by one of his brothers if he be dead. If it is the husband, he will have been wearing the cloak over his head10 up to this time, and he takes it off just before he bows down to salute the stone. At the funeral of her husband, a widow will similarly remove the cloak from her head before she salutes the stone.
After saluting at the azaram, all go to the funeral hut, where they take food, having fasted during the night. Each person cuts a lock of hair from the head as a sign of mourning and then all return home.
At the funeral of a woman, the funeral hut is burnt before the people leave, this being called ars pon atipimi, “house up we send.” It is the duty of the woman who first lighted the azaramtüt to set fire to the hut.
The foregoing account of the second funeral ceremonies is that of the proceedings at the present time. When the marvainolkedr was prolonged over two days, the proceedings of the first day opened with the capture of the buffaloes, which were put in the pen, and then followed a scene in which the Todas entered the pen, flourishing heavy clubs. The animals were belaboured and driven round and round the pen, and at intervals several men would catch and hold down a buffalo. According to some accounts the bells were hung round the necks of the buffaloes during this performance, but at a funeral witnessed by Mr. Walhouse11 this was not done, and he believed that the object of the fray was that the men might exhibit their agility and skill. There is little doubt, however, that the bells were put on the buffaloes at some time on this day. The remainder of the first day was occupied with dancing, singing, and feasting. On the second day, the proceedings began again in the middle of the day with more dances and with a repetition of the driving and catching within the pen. In the afternoon, after the earth-throwing ceremony, the buffaloes, now wearied and subdued, were dragged from the pen and killed, and then followed the ceremonies which have already been described.
At the funeral witnessed by Mr. Walhouse, part of the second day was occupied by the proceedings of a diviner, and divination seems to be a frequent feature of funerals, having been also seen both by Mr. Thurston and myself. In the latter case, the occasion of the divination arose directly out of the proceedings, but it is probable that the gatherings are used as opportunities of consulting the gods on other matters. A funeral may also be used as an occasion for settling disputes, especially those which concern the people especially connected with the funeral.
Funeral Laments
At some stage in both funeral ceremonies laments for the dead may be sung or said which consist of sentences praising the virtues of the deceased and recounting incidents of his or her life. To these sentences the same term kwarzam is applied which is used for the words and clauses of the prayers. I am not certain at what stage of the proceedings the recital of these laments takes place, but it is certainly after the killing of the buffaloes, probably in many cases during the general wailing round the buffalo and the remains. At the second funeral of a male, however, I believe that the lament is recited during the dancing.
I did not succeed in obtaining any examples during my visit, but soon after my departure Samuel sent me two laments, one composed by Teitnir (52) and uttered by him at the second funeral ceremony for his wife Tersveli. The other was also composed by Teitnir for the first funeral ceremony of Pidrvan (9) of Kars.
The Toda name for these laments is kunedstkin or kunedsti, and certain men have great reputations as composers both for funerals and on other occasions, and Teitnir was one of these. The following is the lament for Tersveli:—
Iza O kûgh woman ia,12 oh! iza O kutei, woman, atâth not born before atia, you were born, pervoth renowned perpia, you were born, pûv flower îrsimitch lime ia oh! pûv flower elet (a bush) ia, oh! kavath proper husband (?) kud found katethik, you married, patath proper wife kud found patiathenk, I married, tevukhk (kwarzam of Piedr) to nurs beautiful îr buffalo notei looked kadrthenk, I gave, âtthkark (kwarzam of Kuudr) to nurs beautiful mokh woman notei looked patiathenk, I married, kuteia built mun house kutenathuk, we built, kokiji13 imitation bracelets kis made narsiathûk we played, kûter imitation buffalo horns kis made narsiathûk, we played, âr six mokh children puchiathûk, we would produce, âr six îr buffalo tû pen odethûk, we would enjoy, orppasan (?) liberal oithîk you were, pudrkwadr umbrella tree ners shade oithîk, you were, irom we will live ed that ithotkûk, we thought, pukkom we will go together ed that peithûk, we went, kalav strong îr buffalo kadathûk, we bought, pûa? tadri pole pusiathûk we beat, tudm fine athi it is ed that kadrtethûk, we gave, udi have athi it is ed that kadrtethûk, we gave, kutei ath built kotei bungalow peithûk, we went, keirtith running waters keir reservoir peithûk, we went, ö seven katcheri courts (law) peithûk, we went, ö seven kapel ships peithûk we went, pedrk Tamil to muri complaints ituthûk, we spoke, pash words it spoke pudth prize kisthûk we won (made), pudth prize it spoke pudth prize kisthûk, we won, ûkudrem we will not be shaken ed that thûk, we said, kan eye udjem we will not fear ed that thûk, we said, mûn face ânem? ed that thûk, we said, en me it here puchvînia, keep you went, en me it here pîshvînia, leave you went, purs right kan eye nîr water pîrevînen, I shed, purs right metûvi nostril kurseivînen, I smart, patnenk I bewailed kanânen, I could not find, pesoduthenk I called out kanânen, I could not find, enk to me ud one swâmi god aivînen.14 I have.
The free translation of this is as follows:—
“O woman of wonderful birth, renowned were you born, O flower, lime, O flower, tree. Having found a proper husband you married; having found a proper wife I married. I gave my best buffalo to Piedr for you. I took you as a beauty to Kuudr. A house we built, bracelets and buffalo horns we made in sport. I thought we should have had many children and many buffaloes should we have enjoyed. Liberal you were and refreshing like the shade of the umbrella tree. We thought that we should live long. We went together as we willed. We bought strong buffaloes and we prevailed over injustice. Peacefully we paid our fine. We lent to those that had not. We went to see the bungalows and the reservoir. Many courts we visited and ships also. We laid complaints before the native magistrate; we made bets and we won. We said that we would not be shaken and would fear the eye of no one. We thought to live together, but you have left me alone, you have forsaken me. My right eye sheds tears, my right nostril smarts with sorrow. I bewailed but could not find you. I called out for you and could not find you. There is one God for me.”
This translation is based partly on the literal meanings of the kwarzam, partly on explanations and renderings given to Samuel by Teitnir. The dead wife was a Piedr woman and the husband a Kuudr man. The mention of injustice refers to trouble which arose when other men wished to take his wife from Teitnir. The visits to bungalows, &c., probably refers to a time when Teitnir and his wife lived in Ootacamund under the protection of the Zenana Mission. The ships must be purely imaginary on Teitnir’s part, unless he is referring to boats on the lake at Ootacamund. The numbers six and seven are those generally used for ‘many’ under ordinary conditions, and there is a clause towards the end which probably refers to the evil eye. Teitnir was under, or pretended to be under, missionary influence, and his reference to “one God” at the end is certainly due to this.
The following is the lament composed by Teitnir for Pidrvan:—
Epukers Kwarzam of maiir ia! oh! elipukers kwarzam of maiir ia! oh! Pedth rattan tedshk ring îr buffalo ia! oh! Pekh? kudeik? kinim plate ia! oh! peivalei? muk? ia! oh! keiveli necklace mêdr neck ia! oh! kapasth trousers kal leg ia! oh! kûdukatith car kûdr horn ia! oh! âna elephant metu foot ia! oh! arshan European mudr walk ia! oh! etamâv sambhar ia! oh! nurs beautiful îrk buffalo to kan eye âkithenk, I kept, kalochikum old woman to (?) ed that thînk, they said, kalòlkum old man to (?) ed that thînk they said, inâtvidshti kwarzam of inâtvan, Kars clan, iza O kâra chief ö seven vûr village kada, chief, pûrvunkâra! conqueror oh! pudrvantol15 peace-loving man ia! oh! kavatkâra! strong man oh! Kavanadi Kavanadi pali dairy put carried oia! oh! tû pen vut carried tüli posts ia! oh! atâth not born before ud one atithîk, you were born, pervoth renowned ud one pertithîk, you were born, pûa? kûtm council paneithîk you held, saver money fine òkithîk, you imposed, ter buffalo fine ud one òlk man to edstethîk you told, mokh girl ud one òlk to man kisethîk, you made, maiîr barren buffaloes kodtk in the midst peithîk, you went, pîrer buffalo nòdik to the neck peithîk you went, pudr chosen number òdichi beat peithîk, you went, pan chosen number ertevîthîk, you ran before, kal leg òt dance òdithîk you danced peiveli? pileidik? ninth your ud one kalvi new things kisethîk, you made, ninth your ud one kek invention kisethîk, you made, id to-day kan eye mûn face âvini, I saw, Kars Kars kazun kazun podstha? has it come? parsners kwarzam of kazun podstha? has it come? methkûdis burning-place at mai ashes kooisivini heaped, âzâratrs azaram at kargh grass patevini.16 grew up.
The first part of this lament begins with the kwarzam of the maiir, or barren buffalo, slaughtered at the funeral. It is not quite clear which of the clauses at the beginning refer to the buffalo and which to the man. I do not know the meaning of the second clause. The free rendering of the third and fourth was said to be, “Your horns crept so well; your horns crept well to the front.” The general sense of the other clauses was said to be as follows: “O, your leg like trousers, your horns like a car, your foot is like that of an elephant, you walk with a step like a European soldier, your appearance is like that of a sambhar. I saw you were the most beautiful buffalo of all.” It seems probable that the lament so far refers altogether to the buffalo. Then follows, “They said that you would be the parent of the dead, but now you are dead yourself”; or, “When old people are yet alive, why are young ones taken?” Then follows the kwarzam of the Kars clan, and the rest obviously refers to Pidrvan himself: “O chief of many villages, conqueror, peace-loving and yet strong man. You were like Kavanadi, who carried the posts of the buffalo-pen.17 O man of wonderful birth, renowned you were born; you held councils; you fined some by money and some by buffaloes; you settled who should marry the women. In the midst of barren buffaloes you went; you caught the throats of the buffaloes; you ran first and caught the buffaloes before the chosen men; well you danced and shouted finely; you invented new things. To-day for the last time I saw your face. Has the angel of death come to you? I see nothing but ashes in your burning-place. In your azaram place I see nothing but grass growing.”
Purification Ceremonies
Certain further ceremonies are performed about the time of the first new moon after the marvainolkedr.
At one or both of the funerals of a Tarthar man a sacred buffalo will have been killed by the wursol and the sacred bell (mani) will have been used. By his acts at the funeral the wursol loses his office, and by its use on the same occasion the mani is defiled. On the day before the new moon following the funeral all the things in the dairy of the wursol are thrown away. Either a new dairyman is appointed and goes through the usual rites, or the old wursol is re-appointed and has to repeat his ordination ceremonies. This is done on the Sunday after the new moon, which is the proper day for the ordination of a wursol, exactly the same ceremonies being performed as those described in Chapter VII. The old wursol puts the mani in the dairy stream (pali nipa), and if he is not re-appointed, his duties then cease. The new wursol, or the old wursol who has undergone new ordination ceremonies, takes the mani from the stream and purifies it by rubbing it all over with pounded tudr bark and water. He then takes the bell to the dairy, which is now empty, finds a new stick on which to hang it, and puts both stick and bell in their proper place on the patatmar. Then the new dairy vessels are purified and put in their places in the usual manner.
This purification of the dairy is not done by the Teivaliol, and seems to be only necessary when the mani and the dairyman who looks after it have been defiled by the funeral ceremonies. In the case of the Nòdrsol, the mani between the two funeral ceremonies is kept at Nòdrs, and is taken back to Òdr on the Sunday after the new moon following the second funeral, and it is at Òdr that the purification takes place.
Similarly the Kars mani is returned from Taradrkirsi to Kars on this day. I was told that the pepkaricha ceremony of making new pep is performed after the funeral of a man among the Tartharol, and it seems as if this new appointment of a dairyman and this use and purification of new dairy vessels are regarded as a form of the pepkaricha ceremony.
Another ceremony which takes place after the marvainolkedr is designed to purify the places used during the funeral rites and especially the azaram. This ceremony is called kertnòdrkarchpimi “funeral place we purify,” or mutnolnòdrvusthpimi, “new moon day place (or ceremony) we keep.” On the day of the new moon following the second funeral two men of the same clan as the deceased take a buffalo in the early morning from the pen to a spot about half a mile from the village. They wait there till about eleven o’clock, and then kill the buffalo by striking it on the head with a stone. They draw blood from one side of the animal and mix the blood with earth in a basket. The Teivaliol and Melgarsol add tudr bark to the earth and blood. The mixture is then taken to the funeral places and scattered over the spots where the buffalo was caught and killed, where the dead body or the narskedr had lain at the two funerals, at the methkudi and the azaram. If the places for the etvainol- and marvainol-kedr are different and far distant from one another, the spots used at the former may be omitted, but the most important place which must always be purified in this way is the azaram. In any case this place is the last to be purified, and the men then throw away the basket and go straight back to their village, where they bathe and take food, having fasted till this time.
This ceremony is only performed after the funerals of males. The buffalo killed is called the nòdrvusthpir. The Teivaliol and Melgarsol use a male buffalo calf for the purpose; the Tartharol, other than the Melgarsol, use an adult female buffalo.
No use is made of the flesh of the animal; the body is left where it falls and is not given to the Kotas.
After a funeral, the members of the Tarthar clans, except the Melgarsol, shave their heads, but this is not done either by the Melgarsol or Teivaliol. I did not inquire fully into this matter, and do not know what regulations there are in connexion with the practice, or whether it is regarded as purificatory.
The Funerals of Children
The body of a still-born child is buried at the same time as, and together with, the afterbirth, without any ceremonial. In one case which occurred during my visit, this was done by the woman who assisted at the delivery. The body was buried in the early morning on the day on which the mother underwent the ceremonies attending removal to the seclusion-hut.
If a child less than two years of age dies, both funerals are held on one day. The etvainolkedr takes place in the morning, the marvainolkedr in the afternoon; a buffalo is killed at each, and the azaramkedr is held on the following morning as usual. If the child is very young, less than a month old, a male buffalo only may be killed, but if the father chooses, two buffaloes may be killed as at the funeral of an adult.
Thus, the child of Piliag and Sintagars (52) died while the mother was in the seclusion-hut, and two ordinary buffaloes were killed. On this occasion, the two funerals were held on the same day as that on which the child died, owing to the death having taken place on one of the appointed days for a funeral of the clan. When the youngest child of Podners (47) died, only one male buffalo was killed for both ceremonies.
When a male child dies who has not cut his teeth nor been through the ear-piercing ceremony, the funeral is not held at the usual funeral place for males, but at another. Thus the Karsol do not take the body of such a child to Taradrkirsi but to a place called Punpali.
When I attended the funeral of a girl named Sinerani (52), the daughter of Kuriolv of Kuudr, both ceremonies were performed on the same day, and a number of incidents occurred which were very interesting as illustrations of many of the practices which have been described throughout this chapter. The child was about two years old and had not yet been betrothed, but as soon as she was dead it was arranged that she should marry her matchuni, Keinba (68), a little boy about four years of age, the son of her mother’s brother, and this boy occupied a prominent position among those taking part in the funeral rites. Owing to the marriage of the dead child to this boy, the dead child would come to be one of his clan, the Keadrol, and there seemed to be no doubt that, according to strict custom, the funeral should have been held at the funeral place of this clan. Kuriolv, however, arranged that the funeral should take place at Kurkalmut, the funeral place for women of the Kuudrol, but as the girl did not properly belong to this clan the funeral hut was not erected within the circle of stones at this place, but outside it.
The beginning of the funeral ceremonies was delayed for some time because the little boy, Keinba (Fig. 57), had to be taken by his father, Perpakh, in search of the wood and grass out of which to make the bow and arrow to be used in the pursütpimi ceremony, and they had to go far to find the proper plants for the manufacture of the mimic weapon.
After this delay the ceremonial took its natural course till the buffalo which had been caught by the Taradr men was being taken to the place appointed for its slaughter by the side of the funeral hut. The people had great difficulty in making the buffalo move, and at last it lay down on a boggy piece of ground, and the efforts of all failed to make it go further. The diviners, Midjkudr and Mongudrvan, were then called upon to ascertain the cause of the obstinacy of the buffalo, and then followed the performance which I have already described (see p. 252).
The reasons given by Midjkudr were not very clear, and there seemed to be a good deal of doubt as to what he had really said, but the following appeared to be the chief reasons given:—
The buffalo, Kursi, which had delayed the proceedings, was the property of Kuriolv and was descended from a buffalo which had belonged to Teitchi, Kuriolv’s grandfather. Since this buffalo was thus family property, it should go to the sons, and ought not to be killed for a daughter, and especially for one who now belonged to another clan. Kuriolv ought to have used a buffalo which he had acquired in his own lifetime. Midjkudr went on to say that Kuriolv, having done wrong, must pay compensation to the dead, and told him to give the buffalo named Perov. As a sign that he would do so, Kuriolv performed the kalmelpudithti salutation to Perner, the grandfather of Keinba and also through Sintharap, of the dead girl.
Another reason given was that the buffalo had been caught at the wrong place—viz., at the place where it ought to be caught at the funeral of a male. I only heard of this reason a few days later, and I do not know whether it was one of the reasons given by Midjkudr or whether it was a later surmise. A third reason was that Perner and Tebner, his brother, had been on bad terms; and to put this right Tebner, the younger, performed the kalmelpudithti salutation to Perner.
The next special feature of the ceremony took place after the buffalo had been killed and before the kachütthti ceremony. Keinba knelt down before Kuriolv and Piliag and the two men touched the head of the boy with their feet, thus accepting him as the husband of Sinerani. Then followed the pursütpimi ceremony. The mantle covering the dead child was opened, her right hand unclenched, and Keinba placed the little bow and arrow in the hand, and the fingers of the dead child were closed over the bow so that they held it as they would have done in life. Then the bow was taken out of the hand, placed on the breast of the child, and the mantle was again folded over her. Teitnir, the half-brother of Kuriolv, who had now become the paiol of Keinba, came up and covered the head of the boy with his putkuli as a sign that he was a widower, and then Teitnir and Keinba put their foreheads together and cried. After crying together for a while, Teitnir touched Keinba’s head with his foot. Then Sintharap, the mother of Sinerani, gave grain and jaggery and limes to Keinba, who put them in the pocket of the mantle of the dead child. Sintharap and Keinba then cried together, and Sintharap touched Keinba’s head with her foot.
After the cloth-giving ceremony, the body was taken to the burning place, and Keinba mixed honey and grain in a metal bowl; when Keinba began to stir the grain and honey he put his right arm out from above his cloak as usual, but was speedily corrected and made to put out his hand from below the cloak in the manner proper for a widower.
The wrists of the girl were burnt as in the urvatpimi ceremony, the burning being done by Silkidz (53), the wife of a younger brother of Perpakh, Keinba’s father, and, before her marriage, like Sinerani, one of the Kuudrol. Silkidz also lighted the pyre.
In spite of the results of his previous infringement of funeral law, Kuriolv made a further departure from orthodox custom in burning on the pyre imitation buffalo horns, which should only be burnt at the funerals of males. Then after being swung over the flames as usual, the body was placed on the pyre.
Less than half an hour later, and long before the body could have been consumed, the marvainolkedr began, and passed off without any special incident. Another buffalo was caught and killed and laid by the side of a mantle containing hair which had been cut from the head of the dead child by Keinba. The mantle should also have contained a piece of skull, but the body had not been sufficiently consumed to procure this, and so the hair alone was held to be sufficient.
Later a distribution of grain took place, and those who were to take no part in the azaramkedr on the following morning went to their homes.
At another funeral of an unmarried girl, Olidzeimi (21), the ceremony of pursütpimi was performed by the boy Pulgudr (38), who had been married in infancy to the girl. He was her matchuni, being the son of Teijer, the sister of Parkeidi, Olidzeimi’s father. On this occasion Pulgudr said to his father-in-law, Parkeidi, three times, “pursadikina?”—“Shall I touch (with the) bow?” and Parkeidi replied each time, “Pursad!”—“Touch with the bow!” Then Pulgudr put the bow and arrow into the hand of the dead girl, and Parkeidi covered Pulgudr’s head with the cloak, and the boy put grain, jaggery, and limes into the pocket of the cloak of Olidzeimi. At the funeral of Sinerani, Keinba did not say the proper formula, probably because he was too young.
Funeral Contributions
In the old days, when a large number of buffaloes were slaughtered at the funerals, and especially at the marvainolkedr, it was the rule that every manmokh, or sister’s son, should supply a buffalo, while in the case of a child it seemed that buffaloes were sometimes given by the mun or mother’s brother.
Buffaloes were also given by the husbands of the daughters of a man, whether they were the manmokh of the man or not. They might be given by other relatives, but it seemed that the gift was especially a duty of the manmokh and paiol. The mokhthodvaiol of a woman should also contribute a buffalo for her second funeral.
At the present time the limitation of the number of buffaloes which may be slaughtered has removed the necessity for these gifts, but it still remains the custom for one of the buffaloes to be supplied by the manmokh or some corresponding relative, or, at any rate, it seems to be usual for one buffalo to be supplied by relatives of a man on the male side, and the other by relatives on the female side; thus, at the funeral of Sinerani (52) one buffalo was given by Kuriolv, the father of the dead child, and the other by Perner (68), the father of the child’s mother, and also the grandfather of her husband.
Contributions in money may be made by any relative, and all those who have married into the family of the deceased, even if only boys, should contribute eight annas or a rupee towards the general expenses, this custom being called tinkanik panm ûtpimi. The mokhthodvaiol of a woman should contribute at least five rupees to the expenses of the second funeral.
The ceremony of kachütthti (see p. 358) also involves a payment from his sons-in-law to a man of the same clan as the dead man. The money is not paid, however, till the woman who places the cloths on the body has attended twenty funerals and is, therefore, probably not paid at all in many cases, but it may be regarded as tribute from those who have married into a family at each death in the family.
The contributions of buffaloes and money from a man to the relatives of his wife are called pòdri.
Contributions of food are received from various relatives, who also contribute certain of the objects used for the adornment of the body. Each relative gives a waist-string called pennar, made of black and white thread, which is put round the body of the corpse. That given by a manmokh is exceptionally honoured in that it is tied round the body inside the mantle together with that given by the son of the deceased, those given by other relatives being put outside the mantle.
Many of the necessaries for the funerals are provided by the Kotas. The part they take as the musicians has been already mentioned. In addition they provide for the first funeral the cloak (putkuli) in which the body is wrapped, and grain (patm or samai) to the amount of five to ten kwa. They give one or two rupees towards the expenses, and if they should have no grain their contribution of money is increased.
At the marvainolkedr their contributions are more extensive. They provide the putkuli, together with a sum of eight annas for the decoration of the cloak by the Toda women. They give two to five rupees towards the general expenses and provide the bow and arrow, basket (tek), knife (kafkati), and the sieve called kudshmurn. The Kotas receive at each funeral the bodies of the slaughtered buffaloes, and are also usually given food. The method by which these contributions from the Kotas to the Todas are regulated will be considered in Chapter XXVII.
Amnòdr
Amnòdr18 is the other world of the Todas to which the dead go. It lies to the west and is lighted by the same sun as this world. The sun goes there when it sinks to the west so that when it is dark on the Nilgiris it is light in Amnòdr, and when it is dark in Amnòdr it is light on the Nilgiris. When Kwoto tied down the sun it was dark in both worlds and the people of Amnòdr complained (see p. 206) and joined with those of this world in the request that the sun should be restored to its proper place. Amnòdr is considered to be below this world, and this was given as the reason why the dead used to be burnt face downwards. It will be remembered also that Ön was looking downwards when he saw his son Püv in Amnòdr (see p. 185).
Amnòdr is presided over by the god Ön, who went there after the death of his son Püv, and it is often called Önnòdr after him, while this world, presided over by the goddess Teikirzi, is known as Inanòdr or Eikirzinòdr.19 The people of Amnòdr or Önnòdr are known as the Amatol. Formerly the Todas used to go freely to and fro between Amnòdr and Eikirzinòdr, but this was stopped owing to the behaviour of Kwoto, and since his time only the dead go to Amnòdr and they do not return.
The Amatol live in much the same way as the inhabitants of this world. They have their buffaloes and their dairies, and the daily life of the people appears to be much like that of the living Todas. As the people walk about, however, they wear down their legs. They have to walk every day, and when a man has worn down his legs as far as the knees Ön sends him back to this world as another man.
Ön will not allow any pigs or rats to enter Amnòdr, as they would root up and spoil the country.
Dead people travel to Amnòdr by well-defined routes, which are different for Tartharol and Teivaliol, while the Taradrol have a separate Amnòdr for their clan.
The dead do not set out for Amnòdr till after the second funeral, taking with them the things burnt at the azaramkedr. Both Tartharol and Teivaliol journey westwards towards the Kundahs and cross the Pakhwar or Avalanche river at the same spot.
The paths for the two divisions then diverge. The Tartharol go by a place called Katchâr, while the Teivaliol go by Kusheigûdr, situated by the bridle path now leading from Avalanche Bungalow to Avalanche Top. Whenever a Teivali man passes this spot for the first time he throws three stones called oviônikârs. Similarly, a Tarthar man passing Katchâr for the first time throws three stones in the same way. At the top of the hill there is a spot at which every Toda salutes (kaimukhti) in all directions.
The two paths meet again at a stone called Nidzmûtkârs (hot knock stone). When the dead Todas reach this stone they knock on it, and in so doing lose all their love of this world. They proceed and reach the stone called Panîpikârs, on which also they knock, and by so doing lose all their diseases and become strong again, so that they are sound and vigorous when they reach Amnòdr.
After knocking on Panîpikârs, the dead pass a wood called Katiârnpül, in which there is a tree called main, and as they go they make a cut on this tree with the kafkati or knife burnt with them, and Todas who pass by Katiârnpül on the day after a funeral have often seen the newly made cut on the main tree. For women there is another place in the wood called Patkadipem, and here the woman pounds with the wask burnt at her azaramkedr.
On proceeding the dead Todas come to a ravine and river called Püvûrkin, near Sisapara. Across this river there is a thread bridge, and those who have been bad Todas during life fall into the river and are bitten by leeches (püv or püf). The people who cross the thread bridge successfully go straight to Amnòdr, but those who fall are helped out of the river by the people of Padrmukhteir (crowd plain swamp), who belong to all tribes and live on the further bank of Püvûrkin. The people of Padrmukhteir may keep the offending Todas in their country for some time. The greater their offences, the longer are they kept, but all, however bad, reach Amnòdr sooner or later.
The following are the people who fall into Püvûrkin:—(a) the karainol, selfish people; (b) the kashtvainol, jealous and grudging people; (c) the kaspivainol, those who have committed any offences against the dairy, whether pali or poh.
The danger of falling into Püvûrkin does not seem to have much influence on the people. It has been spoken of as the Toda Hell, but it is rather a mild variety of Purgatory, and only involves some discomfort and delay on the journey to the next world. The people of Kavidi in the Wainad may travel direct to Amnòdr without going over Püvûrkin at all, and they run no danger from this source, however bad they may have been.
The people of Taradr are said to have a separate Amnòdr near Külvari or Perithi, and they do not travel by Nidzmûtkârs or by Panîpikârs, nor do they cross Püvûrkin. They have no dangers by the way, and however wicked they may have been they go to their Amnòdr in security. Men, women and buffaloes all follow the same path.
Origin of Funeral Customs
The various funeral customs are said to have been partly ordained by Teikirzi. The following story is given as the account of their origin:—
At first no Toda died. After a time a Piedr man died at the village of Erparskòdr. He died in his hut and the Todas took his body to the funeral place, but on the way they laid it by a heap of stones between Erparskòdr and Umgas. The stones are still to be seen, and are called Möditikars.20 While the body lay by these stones, some of the people were weeping bitterly; others were dancing and singing, and others were going to drive buffaloes. Teikirzi, who saw the people weeping, took pity and came to bring the dead man back to life. When she came to the place she found that though some of the people were crying, others seemed quite happy. She liked what she saw, and decided not to raise the dead man, so she went away and ordained that in the future some should cry at funerals and others should be happy, and her laws as to the conduct of the funeral ceremonies have been followed ever since.
Then the people took up the dead body and went on to Kûrûvòrs, near Umgas, where they performed the funeral ceremonies.
In the various complicated ceremonies described in this chapter there are certain features which may be briefly discussed.
There is no doubt that the buffaloes killed at the funeral are supposed to go to Amnòdr with the dead person. Sacred buffaloes are only killed at the funerals of men, for they would be useless to women, who, in the next world as in this, have nothing to do with dairies at which the sacred buffaloes must be tended. There is no evidence that the slaughter of buffaloes is in any way a propitiatory sacrifice, and there seems to be a very marked absence of anything resembling prayer or other forms of appeal to higher powers in the funeral ceremonies.21
Dairymen take part in the funeral ceremonies, but chiefly in connexion with the sacred buffaloes. The highest kind of dairyman, the palol, has no duties whatever, and loses his office if he takes part merely as a visitor. At Tarthar funerals the wursol has important duties, chiefly connected with the sacred buffaloes and with the mani, which is hung round their necks. He also takes the chief part in the koòtiti and accompanying ceremonies of the second funeral, probably because the sacred tudr bark is used. In one rite there is no obvious reason why the wursol should play a part—viz., in that of throwing earth. As this ceremony, however, is of especial importance, it suggests that formerly dairymen may have had more to do with funeral ceremonies than is the case at present.
Among the Teivaliol, the palikartmokh has less important functions. He probably kills the sacred buffaloes, though on this point I am not certain. Only one Teivali clan possesses a mani which is used at a funeral, and it is noteworthy that, though the bell is removed from its hiding place (see p. 354) by the palikartmokh, it is taken to the funeral and hung on the neck of the buffalo by a Tarthar man belonging to the Nòdrs clan.
The facts that the wursol takes part in the funerals of men; that sacred buffaloes are killed; that dairies are used in these funerals, and that the funeral hut of a man is always called pali or dairy, even when built for the occasion, all bring the funeral ceremonies of men into connexion with the religious dairy ceremonial of the Todas. On the other hand, even in those cases in which a dairy is used as a funeral hut, the dairyman of that dairy has nothing to do with the funeral ceremonies; thus, at Nòdrs the dairy in which the body of a dead man is laid is the tarvali, but the tarvalikartmokh has no duties in connexion with the funeral, and does his dairy work as usual, while it is the dairyman of the conical poh, the wursol who takes an active part in the funeral rites.
The earth-throwing ceremony is of especial interest, because it would seem to be a relic of burial. Earth is thrown three times on the corpse before it is burnt. In connexion with the idea that the ceremony is a relic of a previous stage, in which the Todas buried their dead, it may be mentioned that a ceremony with some points of similarity is performed at the funerals of the Hill Arrians of the Western Ghats,22 who bury their dead. A man of the same clan as the deceased takes a new cloth and tears from it a narrow strip which he fastens upon himself. He then goes backwards to the place fixed for the grave and digs with a hoe, removing three hoes full of earth. In this ceremony he is said to be calling on the earth to give up six feet for the dead. There is a suggestive resemblance between the ceremonies performed by these two hill tribes of South-west India, which lends some support to the view that the earth-throwing ceremony of the Todas is a relic of inhumation.
It perhaps may be regarded as a fact inconsistent with this view that the earth-throwing ceremony is performed at both funerals, and again the throwing of earth into a buffalo pen is so essential a feature that it is possible the whole ceremony may have some other meaning.
It is tempting to extend the conjecture by supposing that the dead were at one time buried in the tu or buffalo pen, but there is, as far as I know, no evidence that this was ever done by the Todas or by any other Indian tribe. Unless, indeed, the azaram is the representative of a tu, in which case the burial of the ashes at the entrance of the azaram may be a survival of a time when the body was buried at the entrance of a pen.
The custom of burning the hut at a woman’s funeral is probably a survival of the common custom of burning the house of a dead person, but it is possible that in the case of the Todas this may have been associated with the belief that the hut would be useful in the next world. The funeral hut of a man is not burnt, and this is almost certainly because it is, or represents, a dairy. The motive for the burning of the house of a dead person is probably to remove a place which the ghost may haunt, and the sanctity of the dairy was probably such as to render this precaution unnecessary after the death of a man.
The Toda custom of cremating their dead is accompanied by a belief that the dead go to a distant spirit-world. It seems quite certain that the Todas believe that the dead do not set out on their journey to the next world till after the second funeral ceremonies, but I am not at all clear what is supposed to become of the spirits of the dead in the interval between the two ceremonies. The spirit of a Melgars man during the interval is said to be a kazun or malignant spirit, but I was unable to obtain a full account of the Toda belief about the kazun, nor was I able to find out whether there is any belief in the malignity of the spirits of the dead of other clans.23 That such spirits are impure is, I think, shown conclusively by the impurity of the relics of the dead and of all those who have been in contact with them. The intense objection to the sacred ti buffaloes or their guardians coming into relation, however indirectly, with the relics is evidence of the belief in the impurity, if not in the malignity, of the spirits of the dead between the two funeral ceremonies.
There is one rite which seems to point to the influence of the spirits of the dead on the living, and this is the obscure ceremony of tersamptpimi, which is performed on the day after the marvainolkedr of a Tarthar man (see p. 333). The ceremony consists in cutting a lock of hair from a young child. One obvious explanation would be furnished if we supposed that the spirits of the dead are malignant and that the ceremony was postponed till after the spirit had set out on his journey to Amnòdr, but there are two objections to this explanation. If the Todas had had this in their minds, they would have said that the ceremony might not be performed while there was kedr among the Tartharol, i.e., while the funeral ceremonies of a Tarthar man were still incomplete. For the tersamptpimi ceremony, however, it seems that a child has to wait till after a marvainolkedr even if there has been no recent death among the Tartharol. Further, if the proposed explanation had been correct, there is no reason why the karvnol, or day immediately after the funeral, should have been appointed for the ceremony. The fact that this day is prescribed points rather to some beneficial influence which it is hoped may emanate from the dead.
Notes
1 Kûdri is the generic word for creeper.
2 See Thurston, Bull., ii. p. 4.
3 See Chap. XXV.
4 Probably Olea robusta.
5 Bull., i. 176.
6 As I have already pointed out, this would only happen if the people were of the same clan and sex.
7 My notes do not make it absolutely clear who lights the fire at the funeral of a male. The puntüt is lighted by a man of the same clan, and this is probably also the case with the azaramtüt. Owing to the fact that a woman becomes a member of her husband’s clan, the daughter-in-law who lights the fire at a woman’s funeral will also be of the same clan as the deceased.
8 There was some question as to whether the ceremony did not begin as soon as the fire was lighted.
9 This would seem to indicate that when the fire is extinguished, the objects burnt with the relics are far from being consumed by the fire.
10 See p. 365.
11 Ind. Antiq., 1874, vol. iii. p 35.
12 This is also the usual vocative termination.
13 Kakoji is the Kota name for a toe-ring worn on the second toe of the right foot by Kota women (see Breeks, p. 123). A similar word is used for bracelets of vine made by the Todas as a game.
14 In some cases Samuel could not give the literal meanings, and has only given the general sense of the kwarzam.
15 A play on Pidrvan’s name.
16 As both these funeral laments were obtained from Samuel, I cannot guarantee that the method of spelling adopted is the same as that used elsewhere in the book; this is especially the case with the sign ‘th,’ which, in agreement with the practice customary in South India, was used by Samuel for the lingual ‘ṭ,’ and sometimes for a sound for which I have used the letter d.
17 For the story to which this refers, see Chapter XXVIII.
18 This may possibly be the world of Yama, the Todas rarely, if ever, using the letter y. The word was often pronounced Amanòdr.
19 This is one of several instances in which the initial t of a word is omitted in compound forms.
20 Möditi is the name applied to all the women of other tribes. It is perhaps suggestive that this name should be used for a stone connected with the goddess Teikirzi.
21 Several of those who have witnessed Toda funerals have noticed that barren buffaloes are killed on these occasions, and I believe that it is a recognised custom to use such animals. Pidrvan’s funeral lament begins with a reference to barren buffaloes, and the clause, “in the midst of barren buffaloes you went,” evidently refers to Pidrvan’s skill in catching buffaloes at the funeral ceremonies.
22 See Fawcett, Journ. Anthrop. Soc. Bombay, 1890, vol. ii., p. 146.
23 In Teitnir’s lament for Pidrvan (see p. 387) he speaks of a Kars kazun, which suggests that each clan has its own kazun.