364 THE TODARS. Chap. XXII. 



quarter of a mile from our hotel, almost daily, but I never 

 remember having seen a Todar engaged in any occupation 

 whatever. 



The women become the wives of all the brothers into 

 whose families they marry, the children being apportioned to 

 husbands according to seniority. This pernicious custom is 

 also common among the Coorg, and the Tiars of Malabar. 

 The Todars, formerly, only allowed one female child to live 

 in each family, the rest being strangled ; but the autho- 

 rities have lately interfered to put a stop to this custom. 

 When a Todar bride is given away, she is brought to the 

 dwelUng of her husbands, who each put theu' feet upon her 

 head ; she is then sent to fetch water for cooking, and the 

 ceremony is considered to be complete. 



The German missionaries, who have had a good deal of 

 intercourse with these people, say that they worship the 

 " sacred buffalo bell," as a representation of Hiridea, or the 

 chief God, before which they pour libations of milk ; and 

 when there is a dispute about wives or buffaloes it is decided 

 by the priest, who becomes possessed by the Bell God, rushes 

 frantically about, and pronounces in favour of the richest. 

 Formerly there were seven holy munds, each inhabited by a 

 recluse called palaul (milkman), attended upon by a kavilaul 

 (herdsman) ; but three of these are now deserted, and the 

 fourth is rarely frequented. The rest have a herd of holy 

 buffaloes attached to them for the use of the sanctified occu- 

 pants, and no women may aj)proach them. The only reli- 

 gious festival of any kind celebrated by the Todars, and that 

 scarcely deserves the name, takes place on the occasion of a 

 funeral, when there is much dancing and music. The body 

 is bui-nt, and buffaloes are slaughtered to go with the spirit, 

 and supply it with milk. This is called the green funeral. 

 A year afterwai'ds there is another ceremony called the dry 

 funeral, when forty or fifty buffaloes were hunted down, and 



