INDIA 



189 



by a wall of loose stones. The dairy is situated at some distance from the inhabited huts, 

 and strangers never attempt to approach too near, for fear of incurring the ill-will of the god 

 or spirit believed to preside therein. The herd of buffaloes retreats at night to a circular 

 enclosure with a wall of loose stones. The writer is indebted to Mr. R. Lydekker, F.R.S., who 

 is arranging the Anthropological Collection at the Museum of Natural History, for kindly 

 lending the photograph of two Toda girls on page 186. It is by Mr. E. Thurston. 



THE KOTAS. 



PROBABLY the Todas and the Kotas lived near to each other before the latter settled on the 

 Nilgiri Hills. The Kotas number about 1,200. Each village consists of from thirty to sixty 

 huts, arranged in rows along the street. There is no caste; the people are divided according 

 to the streets in which they live; people belonging to the same street may not marry. They 

 are, unfortunately, very fond of intoxicating liquors. They are universally looked down upon as 

 unclean feeders and eaters of carrion, a custom which is to them no more repulsive than 

 eating "high" game is to ourselves. However, they make excellent artisans. The Kota 

 women have none of the fearlessness and friendliness of the Todas, and on the approach of a 

 European to their domain bolt out of sight, like frightened rabbits in a warren, and hide 

 within the inmost recesses of their huts. As a rule they are clad in filthy dirty clothes, all 

 tattered and torn, and frequently not reaching nearly as low as the knees. They fetch water, 

 collect firewood, and make baskets and earthen pots. They worship rude images of wood or 

 stone, a rock, or a tree in some secluded place. Both the Todas and Kotas have long 

 (dolichocephalic) heads. 



From " The Primitive Tribes of the Nilayiris," by ./. IV. Breeks (by permission of the Vnder-Secretury of Stale for India). 



KURUMBAS, WITH HOUSE. 



