| Toda People |
Article Index for Toda |
Website Links For Toda |
Information AboutToda People |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT TODA PEOPLE | |
| ethnic groups in india | |
| indigenous peoples of south asia | |
| dravidian people | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
The Toda people are a small pastoral tribe of Southern India who reside in the Nilgiri Hills . The Toda number less than 1,000 and are an isolated people who speak Toda , a Dravidian Language . CULTURE AND SOCIETY The Toda dress consists of a single piece of cloth, which is worn like the plaid of a Scottish highlander. The women cover their whole body with this mantle. Their sole occupation is cattle-herding and dairy-work. They practice Polyandry , a practice in which a woman marries all the brothers of a family. The ratio of females to males is about three to five. The Toda are most closely related to the Kota both ethnically and linguistically. The Todas worship their dairy-buffaloes, but they have a whole pantheon of other gods. The only purely religious ceremony they have is Kona Shastra, the annual sacrifice of a male buffalo calf. Toda villages, called munds, usually consist of five buildings or huts, three of which are used as dwellings, one as a dairy and the other as a shelter for the calves at night. The inhabitants of a mund are generally related and consider themselves one family. The Todas numbered 807 in 1901 and their current population stands at around 1,100. See W. H. R. Rivers , ''The Todas'' (1906). HISTORY The origin of the Todas is not very clear. They are one of the original tribes inhabiting the highest regions of The Nilgiris mountain range and have remained secluded for a very long time. Around 1823, the then collector of Coimbatore John Sullivan took a fancy to their land and bought it from them for a mere one rupee. He established a city named Ooty on this land. The interaction with civilisation caused many changes in the lifestyle of the Todas. MYTHOLOGY According to the Todas, the goddess Teikirshy and her brother first created the sacred buffalo and then the first Toda man. The first Toda woman was created from the right rib of the first Toda man. Curiously, while the Todas revere the Pandavas they do not believe in the rest of the Hindu mythology. Toda temples are constructed in a circular pit lined with stones and are quite similar in appearance and construction to Toda huts. LANGUAGE The Toda Language sounds quite unlike most other Dravidian Languages . It also does not have a script. CULTURE The Todas used to be polyandrous but are increasingly becoming monogamous. Toda women are usually quite skilled in embroidery and their work usually features red and black patterns on white cloth. LIFESTYLE The Todas live in small villages called ''munds''. The forced interaction with civilisation has caused a lot of changes in the lifestyle of the Todas. The Todas used to be a pastoral people but are now increasingly venturing into agriculture and other occupations. They used to be strict vegetarians but some can be now be seen eating non-vegetarian food. They used to be polyandrous but are now becoming increasingly monogamous. Many of them have abandoned their traditional distinctive huts for concrete houses. EXTERNAL LINKS
REFERENCES |