1848.] 



The NeilgJierry Mountains, 



55 



and demand, in their right as temporary husbands of women of the 

 naad, the " goodoo," which, strange to say, is paid ; and thus the same 

 man perhaps who has laid a whole village in his own naad under con- 

 tribution, goes the round of the other two naads appropriating the 

 fruits of the Burghers' labour and industry, and carrying off enough 

 grain to support his v/hole community in idleness and plenty until 

 the arrival of the next year's harvest time — and to produce by sale in 

 the nearest bazaar, sufficient money to pay the tax or " piilooverry," 

 which is levied yearly on their tribe. I should have refused credence 

 to such a statement had I not received it on the best authority, that 

 of the Tahsildar of the district. 



Migrate from mund to The habits of the Todars are migratory, al~ 

 most every community or particular group of fa- 

 milies consorting together, having two or more munds or villages 

 belonging to them, between which they divide their time according 

 to custom, fancy, the state of the weather, or other circumstances, 

 such as the death of one of their body, upon which occurrence they 

 immediately migrate to another mund. The grass upon which they 

 pasture their buffaloes is of a coarse rank description, fit only for 

 those hardy and powerful animals ; but by burning it down, as is their 

 practice, just before the rains set in, when they are about to migrate 

 to another mund, a fine tender young grass, highly nutritious as pas- 

 ture, has replaced the ashes of the old grass by the time they return 

 to the mund, round which they had run their fires. 



Fine breed of buffa- According to their own statements, the fine 

 loes decreasing. breed of buffaloes which seem peculiar to the 

 district is rapidly decreasing, murrain and other diseases having of 

 late years carried them ofi", in far greater numbers than are bred to 

 supply their places. Doubtless the system of perpetual inbreeding 

 aids in their deterioration. There are some Todar munds on the 

 " Koondah" mountains, but as that range is not in this talook, no 

 information relating to them can be gained until the survey has been 

 extended in that direction. While speaking of the Todar buffaloes, 

 I should mention that a few only of the small calves brought forth by 

 their cows are preserved for perpetuating their stock, and all the rest 

 killed while young, and eaten by the Todars themselves. If these 

 calves were castrated and reared, they would be most admirably 

 suited from their great strength, to drag proper iron ploughs over 



