158 
ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS 
They also do not show much interest in the old cairns, 
kistvains, sepulchral structures, and other remains that are 
found scattered all over these mountains, though they claim 
some as their own. It is, therefore, still a matter of some 
doubt whether these relics ought to be assigned to them in 
preference to the Kurumbas^ who may perhaps have a more 
legitimate title to their possession. From many indications 
it would appear that the people who erected these stone 
buildings must have been agriculturists. The Todas, on the 
natives of Hindustan, and their singular characteristics and strange habits 
have given rise to much speculation as to their origin and historj-. As no 
clue has however yet been discovered either in the form of monuments, coins, 
or even in their own traditions, by which research could be directed, all 
theories broached apon the subject cannot be otherwise than vain and illusory, 
especially those which have been based upon the assumption that the 
images, bones, and other relics which are found in the remarkable ' cairns.' 
discovered in such numbers all over the Hills, belonged to the ancestors of 
the Todars. . . (On p. 63.) Their occupation is purely pastoral; their only 
manual labor being the milking of the buffaloes, and converting portions of 
their milk into butter and ghee." Consult An Accoioit of the Primitive Tribes 
and Monuments of the Nllagiris, by th« late James Wilkinson Breeks. edited 
by his widow ; London, 1873, pp. 26 and 27 : "The burning at funerals 
of a mimic bow and aiTow together with the daily-used implements of 
the deceased, and the importance assigned to the bow in the marriage cere- 
mony, seem to me inexplicable, except on the theory that the bow was 
once the chief weapon of the Todas, although they are ignorant of its use 
now. This view is in a measure confirmed by the Todas' admission that 
their ancestors ate samber flesh, and that they would gladly do so now if they 
could obtain it ; and by the fact that they still recog-nise, and make offerings 
to, a hunting God under the nanie of Betikhan, who, though he now resides 
in a temple at Nambilicote beyond GudalOr, is, they say, the son of their 
ancestor, Dirkish. The question then arises : how, and when did the bow fall 
into disuse with the Todas?. .The answer could seem to be found in the 
tradition mentioned by Colonel Ouchterlony, viz. — that before the Badagas 
and Kotas came to the Hills, the Todas lived only by theii- herds, and wore 
leaves. As far as the leaf dresses go, the story seems apociyphal. If the 
Todas had only adopted clothes after the arrival of the Badagas and Kotas, 
their garments would probably h,Tve Badaga or Kota names, whereas 
jiutkuli, t/inrp, konii, ^-c, are among the few Toda words which 'Mx. Metz caa 
trace to no Dr.avidian roots. Besides, a hunting race would certainly wear 
skins : however, the story probably contains some truth. Before the culti- 
vating tribes settled in the Hills, the Todas, unless they killed their cattle, 
■would have no means of obtaining solid food except by hunting, for their 
traffic with the Western Co;ist must have been too intenuittent and insigni- 
ficant to bo depended on for subsistence. Probably they were then expert 
in the use of the bow." Eead fuither A FfirenoloffUt amongst the Tod<is, by 
