186 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. IX, of the head, and the head of the Tuda does not differ in any material 

 PART I. point from that of the low-conntry Dravidian." ' 

 Ethnology. Though it cannot be denied that their facial pecnliarities are 



not so marked as they at first appear^ and that a good deal is due 



to their long beards and way of cutting their hair and to the 

 absence of the turban, there is still something in the fearless 

 manners and independent bearing of the Todas, which makes 

 ' them very attractive. They thoroughly enjoy a joke and never 

 scruple to laugh heartily at anything which amuses them, showing 

 no servile fear of Europeans, but rather treating them as equals 

 if not inferiors. This fearlessness may in part arise from the 

 superstitious awe with which other tribes regard them, which 

 has enabled them to hold their own without the aid of arms or 

 numbers. The Badaga regards the Toda of the hills as a grand 

 counterpoise in the art of necromancy to the malicious Kurumba 

 of the slopes. 

 Dress, Ac. The dress of the Toda is simple in the extreme, but not ungrace- 



ful. It consists of a coarse species of cloth woven at Coimbatore, 

 and white when new, having one or two bars of colour, generally 

 red, woven into it at each end. By the men it is worn 

 wound round the body, so as to form a kilt or petticoat, leaving 

 the legs nearly bare ; then it is brought under the right arm and 

 the end is thrown over the left shoulder. In general effect it is 

 not unlike a Roman toga. The men also wear the lingiiti or 

 waistcloth called by them kuvu or konu. 



The female dress consists of the same kind of cloth, but it is 

 merely thrown over the shoulders and held together in front, and 

 is not worn so gracefully as by the men. Women also wear heavy 

 brass armlets, generally two on one arm, called Tuwagi} They 

 have necklaces of twisted Iiair or black thread with silver clasps, 

 and here and there a bead or a bunch of cowrie shells, and some- 

 times a silver chain. They wear silver bracelets of rather a pretty 

 pattern, and silver rings on their fingers and thumbs, also iron 

 bracelets of peculiar design, one like a snake. Sometimes a 

 silver chain is worn round the waist, to which is attached a 

 small silver box opening with a screw, and used for carrying 

 small coins. 

 / Their ideas of cleanliness are extremely limited ; but, like most 

 Natives, they clean their teeth. Their hair-dressing is by far the 

 most elaborate feature of their toilette : according to Mr. Metz, 

 who was well acquainted with their habits, the curling of their 

 ringlets on long sticks occupies a considerable time every 

 evening. 



1 Orammar of Dravidian Languages, Appendix, page 557. 



2 Weight about 5 lb. 



