- Toda people
The Toda people are a small
pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri plateau of SouthernIndia . Prior to the late eighteenth century, the Toda coexisted locally with other communities, including theBadaga ,Kota , andKurumba , in a loosecaste -like community organization in which the Toda were the top ranking.Harv|Emeneau|1984|pp=1-2] The Toda population has hovered in the range 700 to 900 during the last century. Although an insignificant fraction of the large population of India, the Toda have attracted (since the late eighteenth century), "a most disproportionate amount of attention because of their ethnological aberrancy" and "their unlikeness to their neighbours in appearance, manners, and customs." The study of their culture by anthropologists and linguists would prove important in the creation of the fields ofSocial Anthropology andEthnomusicology .The Toda traditionally live in settlements consisting of three to seven small thatched houses, constructed in the shape of half-barrels and spread across the slopes of the pasture.Encyclopædia Britannica. (2007) [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9072718 Toda] ] They traditionally trade
dairy product s with their Nilgiri neighbour peoples. Toda religion centres on the buffalo; consequently, rituals are performed for all dairy activities as well as for the ordination of dairymen-priests. The religious andfunerary rites provide the social context in which complex poetic songs about the cult of the buffalo are composed and chanted. Fraternalpolyandry in traditional Toda society was fairly common; however, this has now largely been abandoned. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, some Toda pasture land was lost due to agriculture by outsiders or afforestation by the State Government ofTamil Nadu . This has threatened to undermine Toda culture by greatly diminishing the buffalo herds; however during the last decade both Toda society and culture have also become the focus of an international effort at culturally sensitive environmental restoration. [Harvnb|Chhabra|2006] The Toda lands are now a part of TheNilgiri Biosphere Reserve , aUNESCO -designatedInternational Biosphere Reserve and is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as aWorld Heritage Site . [http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2103/ World Heritage sites, Tentative lists, April 2007] ]Population
According to M. B. Emeneau, the successive decennial
Census of India figures for the Toda are: 1871 (693), 1881 (675), 1891 (739), 1901 (807), 1911 (676) (corrected from 748), 1951 (879), 1961 (759), 1971 (812). These in his judgment, "justifies concluding that a figure between 700 and 800 is likely to be near the norm, and that variation in either direction is due on the one hand to epidemic disaster and slow recovery thereafter (1921 (640), 1931 (597), 1941 (630)) or on the other hand to an excess of double enumeration (suggested already by census officers for 1901 and 1911, and possibly for 1951). Another factor in the uncertainty in the figures is the declared or undeclared inclusion or exclusion of Christian Todas by the various enumerators ... Giving a figure between 700 and 800 is highly impressionistic, and may for the immediate present and future be pessimistic, sincepublic health efforts applied to the community seem to be resulting in an increasedbirth rate and consequently, one would expect, in an increased population figure. However, earlier predictions that the community was declining were overly pessimistic and probably never well-founded."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 Collector of
Coimbatore , John Sullivan, took a fancy to their land and bought it from them for a mere one rupee. He established a town at the place named Udagamandalam on this land. The interaction withwestern civilisation caused many changes in the lifestyle of the Todas.Culture and society
The Toda dress consists of a single piece of cloth, which is worn like the plaid of a Scottish highlander. Their sole occupation is cattle-herding and dairy-work. They once practiced
fraternal polyandry , a practice in which a woman marries all the brothers of a family, but no longer do so.Harv|Walker|2004] [Harv|Walker|1998] 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. SeeW. H. R. Rivers , "The Todas" (1906).Religion
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. The Toda religion also forbids them from walking across bridges, rivers must be crossed on foot, or swimming.
Curiously, while the Todas revere the
Pandava s they do not believe in the rest of theHindu mythology .Fact|date=October 2007Toda temples are constructed in a circular pit lined with stones and are quite similar in appearance and construction to Toda huts.
From Frazer's "
Golden Bough ", 1922:Language
The
Toda language is a member of the Dravidian family.Like their ethnology, the language is aberrant and difficult phonologically. It is now recognized that Toda (along with its neighbor Kota) is a member of the southern subgroup of the historical family proto-South-Dravidian; it split off from South Dravidian, after Kannada and Telegu, but before Malayam. In modern linguistic terms, the aberrancy of Toda results from disproportionately numerous rules, both early and recent in their ordering, which are not shared by the other South Dravidian languages (and shared only to a small extent by Kota)Toda dwellings and lifestyle
The Todas live in small hamlets called "munds". The Toda huts, of an oval, pent-shaped construction, are usually 10 feet (3 m) high, 18 feet (5.5 m) long and 9 feet (2.7 m) wide. They are built of bamboo fastened with rattan and thatched. Each hut is enclosed within a wall of loose stones. The front and back of the hut are usually made of dressed stones (mostly granite). Hut has only a tiny entrance at the front – about 3 feet (90 cm) wide, 3 feet (90 cm) tall. This unusually small entrance is a means of protection from wild animals. The front portion of the hut is decorated with the Toda art forms, a kind of rock mural painting. Thicker bamboo canes are arched to give the hut its basic pent shape. Thinner bamboo canes are tied close and parallel to each other over this frame. Dried grass is stacked over this as thatch.
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. Although many Toda have abandoned their traditional distinctive huts for concrete houses, a movement is now afoot to build tradition barrel-vaulted huts and during the last decade forty new huts have been built and many Toda sacred dairies renovated. [Harv|Chhabra|2005 Quote: "... over the past ten years, we have approached government and private agencies for sponsoring traditional houses. Today, we have been able to assist in funding over forty barrel-vaulted houses. Added to these are the scores of existing temples – two are conical and the rest barrel-vaulted."]
Notes
References
;Classic Ethnographies
*Harvard reference
last1=Marshall
first1=William E.
authorlink=
year=1873
title=Travels amongst the Toda, or the study of a primitive tribe in South India
place=
publisher=London: Longmans, Green, and Co. Pp. xx, 269
isbn=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wM02AAAAMAAJ .
*Harvard reference
last1=Rivers
first1=W. H. R.
authorlink=W. H. R. Rivers
year=1906
title=The Todas
place=
publisher=London: Mcmillan and Company. Pp. xviii, 755
isbn=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=h70tAAAAMAAJ .
*Rivers, William H. R.. 1909. [http://orion.oac.uci.edu/~dbell/Toda.pdf The Todas] . "Anthropological Publications", Oosterhout N.B.;Toda Music, Linguistics, Ethnomusicology
*Harvard reference| last=Emeneau| first=M. B.| authorlink=Murray Barnson Emeneau| title=Oral Poets of South India: Todas| journal=Journal of American Folklore| volume=71| issue=281| year=1958| pages=312-324| url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8715(195807%2F09)71%3A281%3C312%3AOPOSIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N .
*Harvard reference| last=Emeneau| first=M. B.| authorlink=Murray Barnson Emeneau| title=Toda Songs|publisher=Oxford: Clarendon Press. Pp. xvii, 1003.|year=1971|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118%28197202%2931%3A2%3C446%3ATS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D
*Harvard reference | last = Hocking | first = Paul | title = Reviewed Work(s): "Toda Songs", by M. B. Emeneau | journal = The Journal of Asian Studies | volume = 31 | issue = 2 | pages = 446 | url =http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118%28197202%2931%3A2%3C446%3ATS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D
*Harvard reference| last1=Emeneau| first1=Murray B.| title=Ritual Structure and Language Structure of the Todas| publisher=Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, Pp. 103| place=| year=1974| isbn=0871696460| url=.
*Harvard reference| last=Tyler| first=Stephen A.| title=Reviewed Work(s): "Ritual Structure and Language Structure of the Todas" by M. B. Emeneau| journal=American Anthropologist| volume=77| issue=4| year=1975| pages=758-759| url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7294%28197512%292%3A77%3A4%3C958%3ARSALSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3 .
*Harvard reference| last1=Emeneau| first1=Murray B.| title=Toda Grammar and Texts
publisher=Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, Pp. xiii, 410, index (16)| place=
year=1984| isbn=0871691558| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-B94uj2p4hQC.
*Nara, Tsuyoshi and Bhaskararao, Peri. 2003. "Songs of the Toda". Osaka : ELPR Series A3-011.91pp [+3CDs with sound files of the songs] .
*Harvard reference| last1=Nettl| first1=Bruno| last2=Bohlman| first2=Phillip Vilas
title=Comparative Musicology and Anthropology of Music: Essays on the History of Ethnomusicology| publisher=Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, Pp. 396| place=
year=1991| pages=438-449| isbn=0226574091| url=.
*Shalev, M. Ladefoged, P. and Bhaskararao, P. 1994. "Phonetics of Toda." "PILC Journal of Dravidic Studies", 4:1. 19-56pp. (Earlier version in: University of California Working Papers in Phonetics. 84. 89-126 pp.). 1993.
*Spajic', S. Ladefoged, P. and Bhaskararao, P. 1996. "The Trills of Toda." "Journal of International Phonetic Association", 26:1. 1-22pp.;Modern Anthropology, Sociology, History
*Harvard reference
last=Barnard
first=Alan
title=Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology
publisher=London: Routledge, Pp. 688
place=
issue=
year=2002
pages=
isbn=0415285585
url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3433%28199803%2935%3A2%3C261%3AEOSACA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23 .
*Harvard reference
last=Walker
first=Anthony
title=Between Tradition and Modernity, and Other Essays on the Toda of South India
publisher=Delhi: B. R. Publishing Corporation
place=
issue=
year=1998
pages=
isbn=
url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2081/is_200210/ai_n9206528 .
*Harvard reference
last1=Emeneau
first1=M. B.
last2=
first2=
title=A Century of Toda Studies: Review of 'The Toda of South India: A New Look' by Anthony R. Walker; M. N. Srinivas
journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society
volume=108
issue=4
year=1988
pages=605-609
url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0279%28198810%2F12%29108%3A4%3C605%3AACOTS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 .
*Harvard reference
last1=Sutton
first1=Deborah
chapter='In this the land of the Todas': Imaginary Landscapes and Colonial Policy in Nineteenth-Century Southern India
date=
year=2003
editor1-last=Dorrian
editor1-first=M.
editor2-last=Rose
editor2-first=G.
title=Deterritorialisations, Revisioning Landscape and Politics
volume=
place=
publisher=London: Black Dog Press
publication-year=2003
isbn= .
*Harvard reference
last=Sutton
first=Deborah
title='Horrid Sights and Customary Rights': The Toda Funeral on the Colonial Nilgiris
journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review
volume=39
issue=1
year=2002
pages=45-70
url= .
*Harvard reference
last=Walker
first=Anthony R.
title=The Truth About The Toda
journal=Frontline, The Hindu
volume=
issue=
year=2004
pages=
url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2105/stories/20040312000206600.htm .;Toda Traditional Knowledge, Environment, and Modern Science
*From: Chhabra, Tarun. August 15, 2002. [http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20020815&filename=life&sec_id=8&sid=1 "Toda's Traditions In Peril"] , "Down to Earth". Quote: cquote| Toda’s quaint barrel vaulted houses, which symbolise the Nilgiris, are today hard to spot. These images have been dry transfered on T-shirts and other products as logos. Seven years ago, there were just a couple of traditional houses remaining in the permanent hamlets. One day, a Toda wanted to build a traditional house for his ailing father. The administration agreed to provide the funds. Quite soon, it was ready and one Sunday morning, the Collector, additional Collector and the Superintendent of police inaugurated the house. The construction was so impressive that advances were paid on the spot for two more houses. Nine houses came up that year. Today, over 35 traditional houses have been constructed.|Chhabra, Tarun
*Harvard reference
last=Chhabra
first=Tarun
title=How Traditional Ecological Knowledge addresses Global Climate change: the perspective of the Todas - the indigenous people of the Nilgiri hills of South India
journal=Proceedings of the Earth in Transition: First World Conference
volume=
issue=
year=2005
pages=
url=http://www.ser.org/iprn/pdf/Tarun_Chhabra.pdf .
*The Society for Ecological Restoration and Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network. [http://www.ser.org/iprn/eitproject.asp EIT PROJECT SHOWCASE: The Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR)]
*Harvard reference
last=Chhabra
first=Tarun
title=How Traditional Ecological Knowledge addresses Global Climate change: the perspective of the Todas - the indigenous people of the Nilgiri hills of South India
journal=Proceedings of the Earth in Transition: First World Conference (ppt)
volume=
issue=
year=2005
pages=
url=http://www.ser.org/files/ppt/Tarun%20Chhabra%20PPT.pdf .(Pictures of a new house being built on pages 57-60, and new house, with decorative art, being blessed on page 70)
*Harvard reference
last=Chhabra
first=Tarun
title=Restoring the Toda Landscapes of the Nilgiri Hills in South India
journal=Plant Talk
volume=44
issue=
year=2006
pages=
url=http://www.plant-talk.org/stories/44toda.html .
* [http://www.india-environment-trust.org.uk/index.shtml India Environmental Trust] . 2005. [http://www.india-environment-trust.org.uk/projects.shtml Supported Projects: Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR) - Reforestation in a Tribal Area]
* [http://www.nciucn.nl/homepagenciucn.htm National Committee for the Netherlands for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN-NL)] . 2006. [http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/purchase/engels/projecten_eng.htm Funded Projects:] , [http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/purchase/engels/projecten_eng.htm#in06 India: Nilgiri Hills, NGO (EBR), 8 Hectares] .
*Harvard reference
last1=Rajan
first1=S.
last2=Sethuraman
first2=M.
last3=Mukherjii
first3=Pulok K.
title=Ethnobiology of the Nilgiri Hills, India
journal=Phytotherapy Research
volume=16
issue=2
year=2002
pages=98-116
url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1098 .External links
*The Society for Ecological Restoration and Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network. [http://www.ser.org/iprn/eitproject.asp EIT PROJECT SHOWCASE: The Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR)]
* [http://www.india-environment-trust.org.uk/index.shtml India Environmental Trust] . 2005. [http://www.india-environment-trust.org.uk/projects.shtml Supported Projects: Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR) - Reforestation in a Tribal Area]
* [http://www.nciucn.nl/homepagenciucn.htm National Committee for the Netherlands for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN-NL)] . 2006. [http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/purchase/engels/projecten_eng.htm Funded Projects:] , [http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/purchase/engels/projecten_eng.htm#in06 India: Nilgiri Hills, NGO (EBR), 8 Hectares] .
* [http://www.ooty.com/todas.htm Ooty.com - Todas] — A short introduction to the Todas.
* [http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2105/stories/20040312000206600.htm Frontlineonnet.com - Todas] — "The Truth about the Todas".
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=tcx Ethnologue: Toda, A language of India]
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