Todas

Polyandry. Pastoral herders. Buffalo herders.
Nilgiri hills. Plateau. Surrounded by toda, kota, kurumba, badaga irula.
Egalitarian status with badagas. Apardan kurumba, Kota and badaga. Stratification among tribals.
Brown complexion. Black wavy hair. Dolichocephalic. Long oval face. Medium nose tall stature. Different from everyone around
Depend on domestication of buffalo.
Badaga agri and pay tribute to the todas because of their sorcery, also today's are original owners of land.
Kota pottery, metal work. Receive animal flash and dairy products and return. Reciprocity.
Irula provide forest produce and dairy products in return. Reciprocity
Kurumbas sorcerer. Feared.
Make dairy products and vegetable use. It
Village located at elevation and surrounded by stone wall. 6 or 7 huts in the village. Fire inside the house. Thatched roofs.
Wear cotton course clothing. Head and feet are naked. children have their heads shaved. Women wear ornaments. Adult women have tattoos.
Music and dancing restricted to ceremony occasions. Little attention to recreation activities. Lifting and jumping contests. Very fond of riddles.
Social organisation. Moeity tarthar and teivali. Strictly androgamers. Tarthar has ownership to sacred herds and consider themselves superior to teivali. Others supply dairy men and take care of their title. Both consists of exogamous clans. Like melgar
Each clan has its name from the chief. Each clan has informal had man. Not determined by heredity but personal attributes and courage. in family authority with the oldest mail. Adult male do the herding milking churning trading and cooking. Females fetch water make clothes sifting the grains sweeping the floor and cleaning. Women have subordinate status.
Unwanted children specially girls are suffocated at birth and buried in the ground. After childbirth mother goes into seclusion hat for a month. Name is given when the ear is pierced and lock of hair is cut. Fraternal polyandry is common. But polygyny is not rare
Do not allow parallel or cousin marriage of their parents.
most preferred marriage is between cross cousins. Classificatory kinship terminology. Practice infant marriage by negotiation.
Before marriage bride is deflowered by the man of another clan. The girl receives dowry from parents. Diverse for laziness and foolishness. Tractors widow remarriage.
Funeral types green and dry. Buffalo sacrifice on the funeral. Skull and ashes recovered and wrapped with a lock of hair and relics are kept in the chief village until the dry funeral takes place. Dry funeral berries the relique. The grave is surrounded by stone and people cut their hair for morning.
classification terminology but descriptive for sister son. Do not take the name of father in law mother in law. Do not mention the names of deceased persons. Very reluctant to say their own names and nicknames. definite salutations for the meeting like women salutes the older mail by kneeling and raising his foot to her forehead. Descent is patrilineal. fatherhood decided by bow and arrow ceremony. Property is owned by individuals family and clan. Dress ornaments and utensils begin belong to the individuals. Sacred buffaloes belong to individual or family but the herds of most sacred buffaloes belong to the clan only. Land and chief villages owned by the clan. It legal sons share the property.
Naim is the political council of five members. 3 from tarthar, 1 badaga 1 teivali. First man appeared on earth by clinging to the tale of last buffalo. woman was created from the ribs of this man. River gods with two chief rivers. Little attention to the omen. Faith in the divine. divine people different from medicine man but they operate in their. Decision is given in the state of hypnosis. Misfortune is due to so sorry for sins. Sin against secret buffalo and fairies. They have the concept of one soul which leaves the body when a person dies. It remains on earth till dry funeral. Strong belief in sorcery. Practice homoeopathy magic rivers studied them and observed that worship has been transferred from gods to the bulls and dairy vessels.