188 



MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. IX, an old Toda to jail, it was found impossible to induce him to work 



PART I. with the convicts, and the authorities, unwilling to resort to hard 



' measures, were compelled to save appearances by making him an 

 y Ethnology. ,', -^ "^^ 



Dwellings. 



Besides their simple household duties, the women do a coarse 

 kind of embroidery in blue and white thread obtained from the 

 low country. They use Nilagiri nettle-thread for sewing their 

 cloths and English needles. 



Of late years some few Todas, impelled by the example of the 

 Badagas, whose industry is gradually making them rich, have 

 applied for employment on plantations, but neither they nor their 

 employers appear to have been much pleased with the experi- 

 ment. 



The houses of the Todas are well described by Dr. Shortt^ 

 as 



" A peculiar kind of oval pent-shaped construction, usually 10 feet 

 broad. The entrance or doorway into this building measures 32 

 inches in height and 18 in width, and is not provided with any door or 

 gate ; but the entrance is closed by means of a solid slab or plank of 

 wood from 4 to 6 inches thick and of sufficient dimension to entirely 

 block up the entrance. This sliding door is inside the hut, and so 

 arranged and fixed on two stout stakes buried in the earth and 

 standing to the height of 2| to 3 feet as to be easily moved to and fro. 

 There are no openings or outlets of any kind either for the escape of 

 smoke or for the free ingress and egress of atmospheric air. The 

 doorway itself is of such small dimensions, that to effect an entrance 

 one has to go down on all fours, and even then much wi-iggling is 

 necessary before an entrance can be effected. The houses are neat in 

 appearance and are built of bamboo closely laid together, fastened 

 with rattan and covered with thatch, which renders them water-tight. 

 Each building has an end wall before and behind, composed of solid 

 blocks of wood, which slopes down to the ground. The front wall or 

 planking contains the entrance or doorway. The inside of a hut is 

 from 8 to 15 feet square and is sufficiently high in the middle to 

 admit of a tall man moving about with comfort. On one side there is a 

 raised platform or pial formed of clay, about two feet high and covered 

 with sambar^ or buffalo skins, or sometimes with a mat. This 

 platform is used as a sleeping-place. On the opposite side is a 

 fire-place and a slight elevation on which the cooking utensils arc 

 placed. In this part of the building faggots of firewood are seen 

 piled up from floor to roof, and secured in their places by loops of 

 rattan. Here also the I'ice-pounder and pestle are fixed. The mortar is 

 formed by a hole dug in the ground 7 to 9 inches deep and rendered 

 hard by constant use. The other household goods consist of three 

 or four brass dishes or plates, several bamboo measures, and some- 

 times a hatchet." * # * # 



Tribes of the Neilgherries. — Shoktt. 

 Indian Elk. 



i 



