1 88 THE OX AND ITS KINDRED 
now practised is a salutation, made partly to the sun 
and partly to the buffaloes, on the part of the herds- 
man when he leaves the dairy. 
"The milk," continues Mr. Rivers, "is undoubtedly 
regarded as a sacred substance. There are distinct 
restrictions on its use which become more onerous as 
one ascends in the scale of dairies [some of which are 
more sacred than others], and there is reason to 
believe that the whole complicated daily ritual of the 
dairy may be designed to neutralise the dangers 
attendant on the conversion of the milk into substances 
which may be used by the outside world. . . . 
" I think it is clear that at the present time none of 
the Toda buffaloes are so sacred that their milk in 
the form of ghi [butter] may not be used. . . . 
" In earlier days, when the Todas led simpler lives 
than at present, when the bazars of Ootacamund and 
Coonoor were not in existence to act as incentives to 
the acquirement of gain, it is possible that the Todas 
did not sell the ghi made from the more sacred of 
their buffaloes, and it is even possible that at one 
time they were content to allow these animals to 
suckle their calves and made no use of their milk. 
Even at the present time a sacred buffalo will not 
be milked unless it is provided with the appropriate 
dairy and dairyman. . . . 
" The various offerings of buffaloes made in con- 
nection with ceremonial are also not allowed to 
interfere with the economic value of the animals. 
In the irnortiti ceremony of the village, the offered 
buffalo simply passes from one division of a clan to 
another, and when a buffalo is said to be devoted to 
the gods, it does not mean that the owner profits a 
whit the less on account of the oblation, but only that 
