OF THE NILAGTRI DISTRICT. IxXV 



Notwitlistandiiip; this inronsistcncy, the Toduwars live very peaceably 

 together ; the partition of the boys begotten in this manner chiefly 

 depends on the seniority of the brothers, the eldest claiming the first 

 born, and so on consccntively ; the girls, left to the care of the mother, 

 arc generally betrothed when very young- In a connection of this 

 nature, when one woman is common to a plui-ality of husbands, it is 

 natui'al to suppose that the males must far exceed those of the females j 

 an investigation into the cause of this disparity in the sexes has led 

 to a supposition that they have been in the habit of destroying the- 

 females hitherto, at least those born on ominous days of the week, by- 

 some unnatural means, leaving them, as has been conjectured, at the- 

 door of the pen to be trampled by the buffaloes rushing out furiously 

 when liberated ; and if what is above stated be a matter of fact, wo- 

 have still to ascertain the cause from whence originates this unna- 

 tural deed. The duties of the women often lead them out to tend the 

 cattle when grazing ; they also attend to all domestic affairs, the dairy 

 excepted, and when at leisure amuse themselves with needle-work, 

 darning the hems of cloth with i-ed and blue thread ; in this perform- 

 ance they display some taste, and are by the Badagers, for whom 

 they work, recompensed with grain or small money according to 

 exigencies. In their migrations, the infirm and old women arc 

 removed on the shoulders of the men ; this circumstance gave rise to a 

 credulous report that they invariably transported their women in this 

 manner. It has been an ancient practice among them that one of the 

 males should devote himself to a life of pious solitude, such is denoted 

 a Teri'iara, and sometimes Pollon, who is reverenced as a priest ; this 

 anchorite resides perfectly secluded in the recess of some deep forest 

 in a state of nudity, a small hut being there prepared for him, seldom 

 communicating with the laity. Such of those who have any temporal 

 or spiritual business, accost him and hold a conference, taking care to 

 keep at a respectable distance. The Terriara is generally the most 

 wealthy of the tribe, having largo flocks of buffaloes presented to him 

 by the laity, the produce of which is chiefly distributed among the- 

 herdsmen, the anchorite reserving but a small part to himself ; he 

 however occasionally makes an eleemosynary excursion to the neigh- 

 bourhood of the munds. The dairy or milk-house (having no pagoda 

 or idol of worship) is consecrated annually in memory of departed 

 relatives. On this occasion they burn a lamp fed with butter, and 

 make offerings of milk, ghee, fruit, invoking the names of the 

 departed souls with supplication ; during the performance of these 

 ceremonies the Terriara is invited to officiate as high priest. The 

 ofiice of a Terriara is by no means permanent ; he may resign of him- 

 self, by signifying his intentions to the community at large, who 

 appoints some other individual to his room. From what is above 

 stated a conclusion may be drawn that they are not very zealous 

 idolaters, yet are superstitious enough to have their lucky and unlucky 

 days ; this has a powerful influence in all their concerns ; thus Thursday, 

 Saturday, and Sunday are reckoned good days, and vice versa with 

 the remainder of the week. A person dies on any of the ominous 



