208 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL* 
These Thodas are a pastoral people, subsisting 
entirely upon the produce of their buffaloes, which 
they keep in immense herds, migrating from place 
to place for the sake of pasture. Their villages are 
usually built in an open glade, sheltered above on 
two sides by a hanging wood, and the spots appear 
always to be selected with an eye to the beauties of 
the scenery. The huts are curious, — being built of 
small boughs of trees, interlaced in a form like the 
tilt of an English waggon, and then thatched ; the 
walls being woven with twigs, and plastered with 
mud. For the sake of warmth, the doors to these 
cabins are made so small, that it is difficult to 
imagine how the sturdy highlanders, even on their 
hands and knees, can creep into them. One large 
hut of this kind in the centre of the village serves 
the double purpose of a general dairy and a temple 
of worship. The Thoda women are comely in coun- 
tenance, and of a graceful figure. During the season 
of emigration, they visit Ootakamund and other 
European settlements, and perambulate the place 
with mountain fruits for sale. They are most 
amusingly inquisitive, and require little encourage- 
ment for the gratification of their curiosity. Among 
them, as indeed is the case in all the mountainous 
countries of India, polygamy prevails, without any 
appearance of jealousy or disunion. Whether this 
singular fact be referable to any disparity in the 
numbers of the respective sexes among the moun- 
taineers of India I am unable to say ; but surely it 
