194 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRl DISTRICT. 



CHAP. IX, and there are but few traces of the joyous nature worship of Vedic 

 PART I. times, still less any connection between its vague ideas of deity 



Ethnology, ^•nd its notions of right and wrong. " Some old men/' Mr. Breeks 



writes, '^ of devout turn of mind, make salaam to the rising sun 



(Birsch) and at some seasons to the moon (Tiggul) and fast at 

 eclipses, and occasionally they may prostrate themselves at the 

 door of the Pdltchi,^ but no one except the pujari attempts 

 any thing beyond this. " May all be well," " May the buffaloes 

 be well " is the only form of prayer." * * * " They do not appeal 

 to their mund god by name, nor do they seem to expect that he 

 will show them any especial favor ; in fact the names of their 

 gods, like some of their funeral ceremonies, seem more like fossil 

 remains of an extinct religion than parts of a living creed." It 

 is also a curious fact that the Toda does not pray by deputy. 

 His priest, so far from offering up prayers for the people, regards 

 himself as a god who needs not to pray. 

 Priests. In spite of this apparent apathy, one division of the Todas, the 



Peikis, is devoted to the priesthood, or rather resembles a tribe of 

 Levites. . There are five kinds of priests. The highest are the 

 Palais,'^ a mixture of herdsmen and priests. They live iu 

 isolated holy mands or groves called Tirieri. No female may 

 approach the mand, and no man may converse with the Pdldl 

 except from a distance, much less touch him. His own father 

 must bow down before him. He is attended by a herdsman 

 called the KdvalaP or watchman, who is also an ascetic, but by 

 no means so holy as the Palal, being merely his servant. He 

 may converse with the Palal, but may not touch him. 



" Great sanctity attaches to the person of the Palal in the eyes of 

 his Toda brethren, and he exerts a powerful influence over their 

 minds. They believe that God dwells in him, and makes known 

 His will through him to those who come to him for coiinsel." * 



Both Pdldl and Kdvaldl are generally married men, and only 

 lead a celibate life during their term of office. The preparation 

 which a Pdldl must undergo is by no means light. The aspirant 

 is expected to retii'e to the jungles and there to live for eight 

 days without any clothing to protect him from the severity of 

 the weather and with hardly any food. Each day he strips some 

 bark off the Tude tree {Meliosma simplicifolia or MUling- 

 tonia) ; and three times every day he performs the following 



' Sacred Dairy or Temple. 



2 Pal = milk, M = a. person, Man— appellative 



3 KAi'al = watch, guard, and dl = person. 

 * Mr. Metz. 



^ Marshall. 



