The Todas are a small tribe that live in the isolated Nilgiris Hills and are often called “children of buffalo.” Although the origin of the Todas is unknown, we know that Todas are one of the aboriginal tribes that have inhabited the Nilgiris hills for a very long time. The existence of Toda people was initially known through their interactions with other tribes and cultural groups within the area. The Toda society is primarily male driven. There is typically a greater proportion of males to females in the tribes due to the presence of female infanticide, child marriage, and polyandry (which has not been outlawed. It has been reported that Toda people are 85% Hindu and 13% Christian. The Bible is one of the main sources of translations or scripts that document the Toda language; however, thus far I have not been able to find much evidence of its existence.
The Toda people live in small huts called “Todas Hamlets” or locally “munds” in close proximity to one another (Goran). The Toda huts are constructed to be about 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall with a small entrance door so that people must bend over in order to enter the huts (Goran). The structure also does not have any windows and tends to be made out of traditional materials used to build huts. The front side of the hut is heavily decorated with Toda symbols and artistic styles that creates its unique look as in the above image.
On the side of the hut, there is a raised platform or bench area, which is called the “verandah” and is present in many houses in Tamil Nadu’s Tamil speaking regions (Goran). Historically, this area has been known to be a place of gathering, talking, and social activity among those in the South Indian community.
Toda temples, shown in the above image, also called “paluvarsh” are also built in a similar fashion to the huts they live in, but with slight differences in its shape (Goran). The Toda temples are typically built to have a “long [cylindrical] conical roof” and its perimeter is lined with stones to form a circular pit (Goran). Many of the Toda people’s religious festivals are held within the temple, where the priest enters the temple structure while other worshippers sit outside. The temples are also used as a storage place for the sacred buffalo milk (Goran).
In addition, the Toda people are considered to be pure vegetarians, who do not eat meat due to their pastoral community setting and their ritualization of dairy. The society highly values buffalos, embroidery, and art, which is evident in the vocabulary charts composed by Sakthivel and Nara and Bhaskararao. Todas have come to heavily rely on buffalos for their livelihood, including drinking buffalo milk, herding buffalo to aid in agriculture, for trade, and more (New World Encyclopedia). In addition, Todas increasing participate in prayers and religious rites, which essentially provide the source of their poetic compositions. The Todas also heavily value dancing and music, especially the flute or “Pooheeri” (Indian Mirror).
The Toda’s clothing typically consists of a single piece of cloth wrapped around their body. However, that has evolved very much over the years to include sarees and stitched clothing along with the origination of Toda women’s embroidered shawls, known as the “pukoor” (Wikipedia). The women in the Toda villages spend several waking hours and months creating this traditional embroidered shawl which contains black and red embroidery patterns on a white cotton cloth (Wikipedia). Each shawl is unique to its owner’s design and pattern, which leaves lots of room for innovation to each individual woman. The embroidery on the cloth is reversible such that both sides are perfect and do not have extra hanging threads. This “pukoor” is also considered to be a traditional and ethnic wear of the people, and both men and women in the society wear it.
Above is an image of a traditional Toda woman who has curled her hair according to the traditional style and is wearing a beautifully embroidered “pukoor.”
The above picture showcases the traditional Toda dancing circle, of women, during a religious or marital ceremony – all wearing their uniquely embroidered shawls.
In present day, Toda people still live in the Nilgiris hills and maintain their cultural practices and linguistic traditions. It is possible to visit the Toda tribes, as many have done in the audio and video recordings linked in the “Audio” section of this website. The Todas are an extremely unique tribe of people and their traditions are fascinating. Though this page covers the basics of the Toda’s existence and history, there is still tons we do not know. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next visitor to the Toda villages on your trip to India!
REFERENCES:
Goran, David. “Toda Huts: The Original Homes of the Toda People, an Ancient Indian Tribe.”The Vintage News, 1 Aug. 2017, http://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/18/toda-huts-the-original-homes-of-the-toda-people-an-ancient-indian-tribe/?utm_source=penultimate.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Toda.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 May 2014, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Toda-people-India.
Toda people. (2017, December 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:32, December 13, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toda_people&oldid=815000049
Toda Embroidery. (2016, December 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:37, December 13, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toda_Embroidery&oldid=752513474
Toda people. (2015, December 10). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 18:38, December 13, 2017 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Toda_people&oldid=992604.
Walker, Anthony. “The Truth about the Todas.” THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TODAS, 24 Mar. 2004, http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2105/stories/20040312000206600.htm.
Images obtained from Google Images and http://ullhasa.blogspot.com/2015/
Toda Language 