5^ 



The Neilgherry Moimtai?tS. 



[No. 34, 



Revenue Department, course of time they may be induced so far to 

 No. 13 of 1843, para 11. change their habits as to bring the lands in the 

 vicinity of their miinds into cultivation." I fear as long as this prac- 

 tice of receiving their grain from the Burghers and Kothers remains 

 in force, there is but little chance of this desire being realized, and the 

 only inducement, in my opinion, by which they would ever be brought 

 to condescend to yoke their powerful buffaloes to a plough, and take 

 the handles in their hands, would be that promoted by the stoppage 

 of their supplies by the removal of the " Goodoo" imposition, and 

 their consequent reduction to the primitive state of life, which, by 

 their own account, their forefathers led before the Burghers came to 

 settle on the Hills. 



Their own idea of their history is that " their 



Traditionary history. 



ancestors came irom no where ; that they were 

 created on these mountains, and that for ages no other living soul 

 approached them : that their dress was of leaves and their food the 

 produce of their cattle and the roots and fruits of the forest. That 

 at length some Kothers found their way to the neighbourhood of 

 their munds and craved permission to cultivate land and build their 

 huts, which was given, on condition of their making offerings to them 

 (the Todars) of a portion of their produce. That soon after this. 

 Institution of the ^ome Burghers or " Buddaghars" came up the 

 " Goodoo." Hills and observing the success which had re- 



warded the adventure of the Kothers, asked permission to settle also 

 and obtained it on condition of the payment of the " goodoo" or tri- 

 bute of Uh of their entire harvest. More Burghers soon followed 

 the first comers : the amount of the " goodoo"' became extensive ; the 

 habits of the Todars changed; the cotton embroidered toga took the 

 place of the mantle of leaves, and messes of grains of many descriptions 

 pampered the appetites of beings, who were before as primitive in all 

 things as their native hills. With increase of numbers however the 

 deference of the Burghers for them diminished, and with it the amount 

 of the "goodoo," which received a great acceleration in its decline by 

 the coming of Europeans to the district ; when the Burghers observing 

 their indifference to the alleged claims of sovereignty of their hitherto 

 feudal landlords, gradually assumed the position of donors of the 

 " goodoo"' of free will, and as a charity ; and hence reduced its amount 

 as the circumstances of an abundant or poor harvest, or their own 

 wants and inclinations, directed. Upon this footing, as far as I have 



