The People of the Blue Mountains
H.P. Blavatsky
Contents
Chapter I............ Page 7
Chapter II ............... 59
Chapter III ............. 107
Chapter IV ............. 149
Chapter V ............. 183
Chapter VI ............ 213
CHAPTER III
I Become Acquainted With the Todds
"The Truth which I uphold is imprinted on all the
monuments of the past. To understand history, it is necessary to
study the ancient symbols, the sacred signs of the priesthood, and the
art of healing in primitive times, an art which is now forgotten . . .
. " Baron du Potet.
The event takes place in Madras, in the first half
of July, 1883. The West wind blows, beginning at seven o'clock in the
morning, i.e., at sunrise, and blows incessantly till five o'clock in the
afternoon. This wind has been blowing for six weeks, and will last
until the end of August. The thermometer marks 128 degrees in the
shade. As it is little known in Russia what the West wind in the South
of India means, I shall try to depict this merciless enemy of the European.
All doors and windows which happen to be in the direction of this little
wind which is equable, continuous and velvety, are covered with thick "tattis,"
which means mats of kousi (fragrant herb); all chinks are stopped up.
The smallest opening is stopped with cotton-wool, a material which is believed
to be the best protector against this West wind. But nothing prevents
this wind from penetrating everything - even those objects which
are sufficiently impermeable to water. This wind infiltrates into
the walls and the following extraordinary phenomenon takes place as a result
of its equal and tranquil blowing: books, papers, and manuscripts,
all papers move as if they were alive. Leaf after leaf rises as if
taken by an invisible hand, then - under the pressure of this intolerably
hot and burning wind - every leaf rolls itself up into a tiny tube,
after which the paper only continues to tremble under the caresses of the
new zephyrs. Dust, at first hardly perceptible, then becoming very
thick, settles on furniture and other objects. If some cloth is covered
with it, no brush can ever take it off again. And if sofas and chairs
are not beaten every hour of the day, the layer of dust which will have
settled by evening, will be three-fourths of an inch thick.
There is only one salvation, the "punka:" to
open wide one's mouth, turning towards the East and to remain motionless,
either sitting or out-stretched, and breathing an artificially created freshness
by the movement of a giant fan spread across the room. When the sun
has gone down it is possible to breathe a pure though overheated air.
It is for this reason that, in March, the European
society people of Madras follow the local government and depart, until November,
for the "Blue Mountains." I also decided to leave, but not in the
spring: it was already the middle of July and the West-wind had had
time enough to dry me to the marrow of my bones. I accepted the invitation
of my good friends - the family of General Morgan. On July 17th,
half dead with heat, I rapidly packed my trunks and at six o'clock in the
evening I found myself in the compartment of a train. The next forenoon
I was at Metopolam, at the foot of the Nilguiri.
It was there that I came in direct contact with the
Anglo-India exploitation, which we call civilization, and where I also
met Mr. Sullivan, member of the Council and son of the deceased collector
of Kouimbatour. The "exploitation" presented itself under the aspect
of an abominable box on two wheels covered with a linen roof. I had
already paid for it at Madras where it was offered under the pseudonym of
a "closed carriage with springs, and very comfortable." As far as Mr.
Sullivan was concerned, I must say that he appeared to me as the guardian
angel of these mountains. He certainly had a very great influence
on these heights which rose before us to the sky, but he was as powerless
as myself against the exploitation of the private British speculators who
had settled at the foot of the Nilguiri. All he could do was to try
to console me by setting an example. After having introduced himself
he told me that he was on his way to the authorities who had sent for him
(he had left his plantation, situated I don't know where). Then he
sat down without protesting and we continued our way in this horrible box
on two wheels. The great ones of the "superior" race, who are so proud
with the Brahmans, become quite small and tremble before the inferiors of
their own people in India. I have noticed it more than once.
It may be that they are afraid of their disclosures, but perhaps they are
even more afraid of their poisonous tongues and their almighty slander.
Thus the member of the Council was afraid of saying
one word to the dirty employe," the agent in charge of the transportation
of travelers and luggage from Madras to the Nilguiri." When this agent
declared with insolence that owing to the rain in the mountains he was not
going to run the risk of spoiling the color and varnish of the "closed cars"
and that, therefore, the travelers were to depart in open cabs, neither
Mr. Sullivan nor the other English travelers had one of those Anglo-Hindu
gestures which reduce the natives of highest rank to nothingness.
There was nothing to be done. I sat in a stooped
position in this box on two wheels in comparison with which the Russian
Tonga on the road to Simla is like a royal compartment against a kennel
where the dogs are kept during a voyage. It was thus that we began
the ascent of the mountain. Two miserable worn-out nags dragged the
cabriolet. We had hardly made half a mile when one of these phantoms
reared on his hind legs and fell down, throwing over the cab which was rolling
with me to an abyss - fortunately not very deep - and into which,
moreover, I did not roll. I had a lucky escape, having only a disagreeable
surprise and a torn dress. One of the Englishmen very kindly rushed
to my assistance (his cab had got stuck in the red clay), then vented his
anger on the driver who was neither the owner of the two-wheeled box nor
of the nag which died on the road. The driver was a native, and we
knew that it would be useless to try to pacify the Englishman. I was
compelled to await the arrival of another cab and two other jades that were
expected to come from the depot. I was not sorry for losing this time.
Already I had made the acquaintance of one of the members of the council
- acquaintance made under the constraint of a common exploitation.
Then I also started a conversation with another Englishman. An hour
of waiting had gone but during this time I was able to learn many new details
on the discovery of the Nilguiri, the father of Mr. Sullivan, and the Todds.
Later, at Outti, I often had opportunity to see these two "dignitaries" again.
We finally continued our way, but my misfortune had
not ended. Another hour had gone by when it began to rain.
My cab was soon transformed into a bathtub with shower. Moreover,
the temperature fell in proportion to our ascent. At last we arrived
at Chotaguiri. I was freezing in my fur coat. There was one
more hour of traveling. There I was in the "Blue Mountain " at the
height of the rainy season. A stream of thick water, reddened by
the soaked ground, was rushing down toward us and the beautiful panorama
on both sides of the road was almost hidden by fog. Yet even under
these unpleasant conditions I enjoyed the journey. The brisk air was
delicious after the heavy atmosphere of Madras. Though filled with
humidity, it was impregnated with the perfume of violets and the fragrance
of pine trees. What were the mysteries these forests - covering
the slopes of the "Blue Mountains" - had witnessed in the long course
of their existence? What had they seen, these century-old trunks jealously
hiding scenes like those in "Macbeth"? Legends, in our days,
are no longer in style - they are called stories, which is natural.
"Legend is a flower unfolding only on the groundwork of faith." Faith,
however, has long since vanished in the hearts of the civilized Occident.
It is for that reason that these flowers perish under the murderous breath
of modern materialism and general incredulity.
This rapid transformation of climate, of the atmosphere
and all nature appeared miraculous to me. I forgot the cold, the
rain, the horrible box in which I was sitting on my trunks and suit-cases,
which were half broken and soiled with mud; I had only one desire:
to breathe, to drink this pure and beautiful air which I had not inhaled
for years.
We arrived at Outti at six o'clock in the evening.
It was a Sunday and we soon encountered a crowd returning from their evening
service. The majority of these people were Eurasians - Europeans
in whose veins flows the "black"
blood - ambulant passports with "particular marks" which they carry
from the cradle to the grave in their finger nails, profile, hair and complexion.
I know nothing more ridiculous than an Eurasian dressed in a stylish jacket,
his low forehead covered with a round hat. Perhaps more ridiculous
still is an Eurasian woman in her hat adorned with feathers. She resembles
a horse with a headdress of ostrich feathers put before a hearse.
No Englishman is capable of feeling and especially of manifesting such hatred
against the Hindus as the Eurasians. The depth of their hatred against
the aborigines grows with the quantity of blood that they assimilate from
the natives. The Hindus pay them back, and with usury. The
"gentle" heathen transforms himself into a cruel tiger when only the word
"Eurasian" is uttered in his presence.
However, I did not look at the creoles who sank up
to their knees in the heavy mud of Outtakamand, with which all the streets
of this little city were covered, as with blood. I did not look at
the newly shaven missionaries who preached in the wide open spaces under
their open umbrellas, gesticulating pathetically with their arms, whilst
the water was running from the trees. No, no. Those whom I
was looking for were not there. The Todds do not walk in those streets
- they rarely ever approach the city. My curiosity - this I
learned soon - could only be satisfied several days later.
The evening before, in the train, I was almost dying
- suffocating with intolerable heat. Now, not being used to this
climate, I trembled with cold under my blankets and had to have a fire
during the whole night.
For three months, until the end of October, I worked
in order to acquire new information about the Todds and the Kouroumbs.
I went as a Nomad to the former and made the acquaintance of almost all
the elders of these two extraordinary tribes. Mrs. Morgan and her
daughters, who were all born on these mountains and spoke the language of
the Baddagues, as well as Tamil,
were of great help to me, and assisted me in enriching every day my collection
of facts. I have put together here all that I could learn from them
personally and otherwise, and all that I could extract from manuscripts
which were entrusted to me. I hand these facts over to the reader
for his study.
There is indeed no tribe in the world resembling the
Todds. The discovery of the "Blue Mountains" was for Madras what the
discovery of America was to Europe. During these last fifty years numerous
books have been published on the Nilguiri and the Todds, and every one invariably
puts the question: "But who are the Todds?" Indeed, where have
they come from? From which country have they arrived - these
giants - real "Brobdingnags" of the land of Gulliver? From which
branch of humanity, dried up - dead since a long time - reduced
to dust, did this strange, unknown fruit fall on the "Blue Mountains"?
Now that the English have lived side by side with
the Todds for more than forty years, and have learned about them all which
is possible - that is to say, something like zero - the authorities
of Madras have calmed down a little and have changed their tactics.
"No mystery is attached to the Todds and it is for this reason that nobody
can penetrate it," say the officials. "There is and was nothing enigmatical
in them. . . . These men are like other men. Even their influence
on the Baddagues and the Kouroumbs, which is incomprehensible at first,
can easily be explained: it is the superstitious terror of ignorant
aborigines and of ugly dwarfs at the sight of physical beauty, great height
and moral power with which this other tribe is endowed. In other words,
the Todds are beautiful, though dirty, savages, irreligious and without
a conscious past. They represent simply a tribe that has forgotten
its origin, and is partly bestial, like all the other tribes of India."
However, all the officials, agriculturists, planters
and all those who have settled and lived for a long time at Outtakamand,
Kottaguiri and other little towns and villages on the slopes of the Nilguiri,
look differently at the problem. The sedentary inhabitants of the "Sanitariums",*
which grew like mushrooms during thirty years on the "Blue Mountains," know
things which the newly arrived English officials will not see even in their
dreams - and about which silence is kept. Who wishes to become
the object of ridicule for others? However, there are others who are
not afraid of speaking openly and with emphasis of that which they have recognized
to be true.
---------------------
*This name is given by the English to such towns as
Simla, Darjeeling, Mussoorie, and other towns in the mountains of India,
where officers and soldiers are sent for recovery.
---------------------
To these latter belongs the family who had invited
me and who had not left Outtakamand during forty years. This family
consisted of General Rhodes Morgan, his amiable and cultivated wife and their
eight daughters and married sons. They all have clear and firm opinions
established concerning the Todds and the Kouroumbs - especially in
regard to the latter. "My wife and myself have grown old on these
mountains" - this was an often-repeated saying of the honorable old
English general." My wife, myself, and our children speak the language
of the Baddagues and we understand the dialects of the other local tribes.
The Baddagues and the Kouroumbs work on our plantations by the hundreds.
They are used to us and like us and consider us as members of their families,
as their friends and faithful protectors. If, therefore, there is
anybody at all who knows them well, their domestic life, their customs,
their rites, their faith - it is only we: my wife, myself and
my eldest son who serves here as collector. It is thus that we come
in continual contact with them, and - fortified by facts which more
than once have been proven in the courts - I do not hesitate to declare
openly that the Todds and Kouroumbs really and unquestionably are possessed
of certain powers of which our savants have no conception. . . .
If I were superstitious* I could solve this problem
very simply. I would speak, for instance, like our missionaries:
'the Moulou-Kouroumbs are an infernal progeny; they are the direct
offspring of the devil. The Todds, though heathens, serve as an antidote
to the Kouroumbs; they represent the instrument of God to weaken
the power of the Kouroumbs and thwart their plans.' However, as I
do not believe in the devil, I have arrived, a long time ago, at another
conviction; we cannot deny that in man and in nature there are forces
which we do not understand. If our haughty science refuses to admit
their reality it is due to lack of wisdom and because science rejects what
it cannot understand or classify.**
-------------------------
*The honorable general is a "free-thinker" and very
appreciative of the scientific agnosticism of Herbert Spencer and other
philosophers of the same school.
**It is interesting to compare the opinions emitted
by the English skeptic with those of the priest Beliousine who has published
many articles in the magazines of our capital on the superstitions of the
Russian people in regard to sorcerers and witchcraft. We shall find
later that the attitude of mind of the English general approaches the attitude
taken by the Russian priest.
---------------------------
"Too often have I witnessed occurrences that were
unquestionable proofs of the existence of this unknown force, so that I
cannot but reject the skepticism of the scientists in this respect."*
----------------------------
*This is an extract of a report of the Major-General
Morgan addressed to the Committee which was organized by the General Council
of the Theosophical Society for the study of religions, customs, cults and
superstitions of the Dravidian Mountain tribes. This report, composed
by one of the principal members of the Council, and president of the Theosophical
Society of the Toddebet at Outtakamand, was read at a public meeting before
3,000 persons on the day of the annual assembly of the members, on December
27th, 1883, at Adyar (Madras). The family of General Morgan is well
known all over South-India. They enjoy the esteem of the authorities
and of the entire European society. It is with their express consent
that I reveal their names and take them to witness. The skeptics of
Russia are invited to address themselves for more complete information to
the General himself if they wish to know the opinion of an English savant
on the sorcery and witchcraft of the Moulou-Kouroumbs.
---------------------------
All that my honorable friend and host had seen and
heard from the Todds and the Kouroumbs would fill volumes. I shall
relate a fact, the authenticity of which has been certified by the General,
his wife and his children. This story will prove how much these cultivated
people believed in the witchcraft and devilish power of the Moulou-Kouroumbs.
"Having lived for many years, in the Nilguiri," writes
Mrs. Morgan* in her book, "Witchcraft on the Nilguiri," "I have been
in a position to study the lives and customs of hundreds of natives belonging
to different tribes working on our plantations. I know that they
often have recourse to demonology and witchcraft, especially the Kouroumbs.
This latter tribe is divided into three branches; first, the ordinary
Kouroumbs consisting of sedentary inhabitants of the forests who often
work as laborers; the second branch are the Teni-Kouroumbs (derived
from the word 'tein,' honey) who live upon honey and roots; the third
branch are the Moulou-Kouroumbs. These latter are more frequently
to be seen in the civilized parts of the mountains, i.e., in the European
villages, than the Teni-Kouroutnbs. They live in great numbers in
the woods near Viniade. They use bow and arrow and like to hunt the
elephant and the tiger. There exists a belief in the people
- and the facts often prove its justification - that the Moulou-Kouroumbs
(like the Todds) have power over all the wild animals, especially over elephants
and tigers. In certain cases they are even capable of assuming their
forms. Under cover of this lycanthropy the Moulou-Kouroumbs commit
many crimes without being punished; they are very vindictive and evil.
The other Kouroumbs always address themselves to them if they need help.......
If a native desires to take veneance on any enemy he calls on a Kouroumb.
-----------------------
*Wife of the General and daughter of the Governor-General
of Travankor, at Trivandroum, where she was born.
----------------------
"Amongst the laborers working on a plantation of Outtakamand
there was a whole company of Baddagues, thirty young and strong men who
all - without exception - had grown up on our territory where
their fathers and mothers had served before them. Suddenly, without
apparent cause, their number diminished. I noticed nearly every day
the absence of one laborer, then of another. Inquiries which were made
revealed that the absent man had suddenly fallen ill and shortly after had
died.
"One market-day I met a monegar (elder) of the village
to which my Baddague-laborers belonged. He saw me, stopped, then
approached me, greeting me with great deference.
"'Mother,' said he, 'I am sad, for a great misfortune
has come over me' - after which he sobbed desperately.
"'What is it? Speak quickly.....'
"'All my boys die one after the other and I am incapable
to render them assistance, powerless to stop the evil.... The
Kouroumbs
kill them.'
"I understood, and asked for the motive which induced
the Kouroumbs to commit these murders.
"'They always want more and more money. . . . We already
give them nearly all that we earn, but they remain dissatisfied.
Last winter I told them that we had no more money, that we could not give
them more." All right . ... do as you please..... but we shall have
what we want. . . ." If they answer in this fashion one knows in
advance what it means. Such words predict the inevitable death of
several members of our company........ At night when everything is
asleep around us, we are suddenly awakened and see a Kouroutnb in our midst.
Our entire company sleeps in a large bunkhouse. . . .'
"'Why don't you close your doors properly? Why
don't you lock them?' I questioned the elder.
"'We lock them, but of what avail! You may close
everything - the Kouroumb will penetrate any object. No stone
walls will be an obstacle to him. . . . After having been awakened one
looks at him in fear, he is there - in the midst of us he gazes at
us, at one after the other - then lifts his finger and points to
one, then to the other. . . . Madou, Kourirou, Djogui (the names of the
three last victims), he does not open his mouth - he is silent
- only points out, then vanishes suddenly without leaving any trace!
Several days later those toward whom he had pointed with his finger fall
ill; fever seizes them, their stomach swells - and the third,
often the thirteenth day, they die. It is thus that during these last
months eighteen young men out of thirty are dead among us. We are
now only a handful of men.....' And the monegar shed hot tears.
"'But why don't you lodge a complaint with the Government?'
I asked.
"'Are the saabs going to believe us? And
who could catch a Moulou-Kouroumb?'
"'Then give to these horrible dwarfs what they demand,
two hundred rupees, and have them promise to leave the others at peace.
....'
"'Yes, it will be necessary to do so,' sighed the
Baddague. Then, after another bow, he went away."
This story is one of the many happenings related to
me by Mrs. Morgan who is an intelligent and serious-minded woman, and is
a proof of how much the English people share the belief of the "superstitious
natives" in the magical occult power.
"I have lived amongst these tribes for over forty
years," said the General's wife many a time. "I have watched them
for a long, long time, and very closely. There was a time when I did not
believe in this 'power' and treated all things relating to it as absurdities.
However, persuaded by facts, I cannot help believing as many others do.
. .."
" Do you know that people laugh at your belief in
'witchcraft'?" I said one day.
"I know it. But the opinion of the masses who
judge superficially cannot change my conviction which is founded on facts."
"Last night at dinner, Mr. Betten told me laughingly
that two months ago he had encountered the Kouroumbs, and that in spite of
their threats he was still alive...."
"What did he tell you exactly?" asked Mrs. Morgan
vividly, taking off her eye-glasses and putting her work aside.
"While hunting, he had wounded an elephant, but the
animal disappeared in the thick forest. However, the elephant was
magnificent, and Mr. Betten did not wish to lose it. Eight Burgher-Baddagues
were with him; he ordered them to follow and find the wounded elephant.
But the animal forced them to go very far, and still farther. Then,
suddenly, when the Baddagues had declared that they were not going any
farther, as they were afraid of encountering the Kouroumbs, they saw the
lifeless body of the elephant. The Englishman, when approaching the
animal, found himself face to face with several Kouroumbs. They declared
that the elephant belonged to them, that they had just killed him, which
they proved by twelve arrows stuck into the body of the corpse. However,
Betten searched for the wound created by his bullet. According to him
the Kouroumbs had only put a finishing hand on the animal which had been
seriously wounded by him. The dwarfs, however, insisted on their rights
. Then - according to Mr. Betten's story - in spite of their
maledictions, he chased them away and returned home after having cut off
the paws and tusks of the elephant. 'I am still safe and sound,' said
he laughingly to me, 'while the Hindus in my office had already buried me
when they heard of my encounter with the Kouroumbs."'
Mrs. Morgan listened patiently to my story, then asked
me:
"Is that all he told you?"
"Yes."
After dinner there was a general discussion on the
subject.
"Now I shall tell you what Betten omitted to mention;
after which I shall call a witness, the only one who survived this dreadful
encounter. . . . Did Betten repeat to you the words which the Kouroumbs
uttered when he first tried to take the tusks of the animal? 'The
one who touches our elephant will see us at the hour of his death.'
This is the habitual formula of their menace. If Betten's Baddagues
had been of this country here they would rather have allowed their master
to kill them on the spot than to disregard the threat of the Kouroumbs.
But he had taken them from Maissour. Betten wounded the animal, but
he is too sensitive - he admits it himself - to cut the corpse
of an animal to pieces. He is only half a hunter - a 'cockney'
of London," Mrs. Morgan added with contempt. "These chicaris
of Maissour cut off the paws and the tusks of the animal and then carried
them away on their poles. They were eight, and do you wish to know
how many of them are still alive?"
The General's wife clapped her hands. It was
thus that she called her servant. She sent him to fetch Pourna.
Pourna was an old chicari of very poor health.
With his little dark bilious looking eyes he looked apprehensively at his
mistress, and at me. He certainly did not understand why he had been
called into the drawing room of the Saabs.
Mrs. Morgan, in a decided tone, said: "When hunting the elephant
two months ago with Betten-Saab, how many chicaris were you in all?"
"Eight men, Madam-Saab; Djotti, a child, was
the ninth," answered the old man, with a hoarse voice.
"And how many are you today?"
"I alone remain, Madam-Saab," sighed the old man.
"What!" I exclaimed with undisguised terror.
"All others, even the child, are dead?"
"Mourche, they are dead - all!" moaned the old
hunter.
"Tell Madam-Saab how and why they died," bade Mrs.
Morgan.
"The Moulou-Kouroumbs killed them; their stomachs
swelled, and they died, one after the other; the last man died five
weeks ago...."
"But how was this man saved?"
"I sent him right away to the Todds so that they might
cure him," explained Mrs. Morgan. "The Todds did not receive the
others. They never take it upon themselves to cure those who drink,
they send them back - that is why my good laborers died one after
the other, as many as twenty men," she added with a sigh. "There
you are - this old man is being cured - besides, he did not
touch the elephant - he only carried a gun. Betten had told
me, and others confirmed it afterwards, that he threatened the chicaris
to compel them to spend the whole night in the forest with the Kouroumbs
if they would not carry with them the remains of the elephant. Terrified,
they quickly cut off its paws and tusks and carried them away. Pourna,
who for a long time had been in my son's service at Maissour, rushed to my
house. I sent him and his comrades at once to the Todds. But
they received nobody except Pourna who never drinks. The others fell
ill the same day. They were walking among us like phantoms, green,
shrunken, but their stomachs heavily swollen. Before a month had gone
they were all dead with 'fever,' according to the diagnosis of the military
doctor."
"But a poor little child could not as yet be a drunkard?"
I asked. "Why did the Todds not save it?"
"Even our five-year-old children drink Mrs. Morgan
replied, with an expression of disgust." Before our arrival on the
mountains of the Nilguiri there was no smell of liquor; it is the gift
of grace bestowed by our civilization. And now...."
"Now? . . .
"Today alcohol kills as many men as are killed by
the Kouroumbs. It is their best ally. Otherwise, the Kouroumbs
would remain powerless owing to the proximity of the Todds."
Our conversation stopped at these words. Mrs.
Morgan gave orders to have two oxen yoked before a big carriage.
She invited me to go and see her village "behind the herbs." We left.
She spoke to me about the Todds and the Kouroumbs
throughout the ride.
Mrs. Morgan loves these mountains and is proud of
them. She considers herself as their child, and the Todds and even
the Baddague laborers are to her part of her family. The General's
wife cannot forgive her government for not recognizing sorcery and its disastrous
consequences.
"Our Government is just stupid," said Mrs. Morgan,
getting quite excited. "They refuse to constitute a committee for research,
and to believe in the facts admitted by the natives of all castes, while
a number of them make use of these horrible means for the purpose of committing
crimes that cannot be punished. These crimes are committed far more
often than is known. The terror of this occult power is so great among
our people that they prefer to kill a dozen innocent animals by means of
an entirely different kind of sorcery, rather than let a patient die whom
they believe to be the victim of the evil eye of a Kouroumb - being
convinced that in this way they can save him. One day I was riding
in the country. Suddenly my horse shied, reared, and bouncing sidewise
in an entirely unexpected manner, almost threw me out of my saddle.
I looked upon the road and saw something very strange. There was a
big flat basket on which was placed the cut-off head of a sheep, gazing at
the passers-by with its dull eyes; there were also a cocoanut on that
plate, ten silver rupees, some rice and flowers. This basket was placed
on top of three stakes arranged in the form of a triangle, and was attached
to this triangle by three very fine threads. The whole arrangement
was made in such a way that any person, coming from one side of the road
or the other, inevitably hit against these threads, tore them and thus received
a violent blow from the deadly 'Sounnioum,' as this kind of sorcery is called
here. This is the most ordinary means used by the natives to which
they very often have recourse in cases of illness, where death alone seems
to be the solution. Then they prepare the 'Sounniourn.' Whosoever
touches it, were it only one thread, catches the disease, while the sick
person gets cured. The 'Sounnioum' which I nearly hit that evening
had been placed on the road leading
to the club and where people always pass at a late hour. My horse
saved me, but I lost it; it died two days later. How is it possible
after such an experience not to believe in the 'Sounnioum' and in all this
sorcery! . . " And she continued: "It exasperates me that the
physicians attribute death, caused by sorcery, to a certain unknown fever.
Strange fever - which knows how to select its victims so unerringly
and so intelligently. It will never hit those who do not come in
conflict with the Kouroumbs. It is always the result of a disagreeable
encounter, of a fight with them and the result of their anger against their
victim. There is not, there never has been, any kind of fever in
Nilguiri. It is the most healthful place in the world. My children,
from the day of their birth, have never been ill for a single hour.
Look at Edith and Claire, at their strength and their clear complexion, Mrs.
Morgan added, pointing to her children.
She did not listen to my compliments. She continued
to rage against the doctors. Then, suddenly, she interrupted her
invectives and exclaimed: "Look, there is one of the most beautiful
mourrti of the villages of the Todds. Their saint Kapiloll, the oldest,
lives there."
The Todds, as I have told before, are partly nomadic.
The entire crest of the mountain chain from Rongassouam to Toddabet is
covered with their villages, if a group of three or four pyramidal habitations
can be called a village.
Such houses are erected one not far from the other,
and between them, distinguished by its grandeur and more careful construction,
shines a "Tiriri," sacred stable for the buffaloes. Behind the first
"chamber" serving as nocturnal refuge for the buffaloes and especially
their females, and which is a room of very large dimensions, is always
a second "chamber." An eternal obscurity reigns in this latter hall;
it has neither doors nor windows and its only entrance consists of a hole
not larger than one square archine.* This room must be the temple
of the Todds, their Sanctum Sanctorum, where the mysterious ceremonies take
place, known to no one. The entrance hole is placed in the darkest
part of the building. No woman or married Todd is allowed to enter
there; in other words; no Kout, i.e., person belonging to the
laic class. Only the "Terallis," the officiating priests, have free
access to the interior tiriri.
----------------------
*One archine - .712 meters.
----------------------
The entire building is always surrounded by a rather
high stone wall, and the court inside, or the Tou-el, is also considered
as sacred. At a distance the houses around the tiriri by their form
recall the tents of the Korghiz. But they are entirely made of stone
and coated with very solid cement. They are twelve to fifteen feet long,
eight to ten feet wide and not higher than ten feet, measured from the ground
to the pyramidal point.
The Todds do not stay in their habitations during
the day; they spend only the night there. Without regard to
the weather - during the most violent monsoons, during the torrential
rains - one can see them sitting in groups on the ground or walking
by twos. As soon as the sun goes down they disappear into the small
openings of their miniature pyramids. One large silhouette after the
other vanishes into the building. Then, by means of a thick wooden
shutter, they close this opening and only reappear the next morning.
After sunset no one can see them nor make them leave their retreat.
The Todds are divided into seven clans or tribes.
Every clan is composed of one hundred men and twenty-four women.
According to the statements of the Todds this number does not vary and
"cannot change"; since their arrival in the mountains it has always
remained the same. The statistics have indeed proven this for the
last fifty years. The English explain this regularity in the number
of births and deaths, which limits the Todds to the number of 700 men,
by their existing polyandry; the Todds have only one wife for all
brothers of one family, even if there are twelve of them.
The notable minority in the birth of female children
was at first attributed to the killing of the newly-born, a custom which
is quite prevalent in India. But this has never been proven. In
spite of all efforts and ceaseless spying, and not-withstanding all promised
compensations for denouncing those who could be caught in the very act of
delinquency (the English were burning with desire to catch them, one does
not know why) it has been impossible to find even the smallest trace of child-murder.
The Todds have only a smile of contempt for all these suspicions.
"Why kill these little mothers?" they said.
"If we had not need of them, they would not exist. We know the number
of men and the number of mothers we need; we shall not have more."
This strange argument induced the geographer and statistician,
Mr. Torn, to write angrily in his book on the Nilguiri: "They are
savages, idiots, and they mock at us." Those, however, who have known
the Todds for a long time and have watched them for years, think that the
Todds speak with gravity and believe in their affirmations. They even
go further and frankly express the opinion that the Todds, like many other
tribes living close to Nature, have penetrated into many of her mysteries,
and, as a result, are far better instructed in practical physiology than
our most learned doctors. The friends of the Todds are absolutely
convinced that the Todds have no need of recourse to infanticide, as they
can increase or decrease the number of their "mothers" as they please;
they, therefore, speak the truth, though their modus operandi in this obscure
physiological problem remains for all an impenetrable mystery.
The words "woman," "girl," and "virgin" do not exist
in the language of the Todds. The conception of the feminine sex is,
with them, indissolubly connected with maternity, nor do they recognize any
special term for the feminine sex, in whatever idiom they may express themselves.
Whether they speak of an old woman or of a one-year-old child, they always
say "mother," and if precision is necessary, they use the adjectives "old,"
"young" and "little." The Todds often declare: "Our buffaloes
have fixed our number once for all; also the number of the mothers."
The Todds never remain in a mourtti for a very long
time, but move from one to the other as they require new pasturage for
their buffaloes. Owing to the fecundity of the flora in these mountains
these pastures have not their equal elsewhere in India. It is, perhaps,
for this reason that the buffaloes of the Todds surpass in height and strength
all other animals belonging to that family, not only in this country but
all over the world. But there is another impenetrable mystery:
the Baddagues and the planters also have buffaloes that live on the same
fodder. Why are their animals smaller and weaker than the "sacred herds"
of the Todds? The gigantic stature of the sacred buffaloes leads one
to believe that they are the last survivors of antediluvian animals.
The animals of the planters can never compare in strength with those of the
Todds, and the Todds refuse categorically to lend their buffaloes for a crossing
of races.
Every clan of Todds - there are seven
- is divided into several big families. Every family, according to
the number of its members, possesses one, two or three houses in the mourrti
which are situated in several pastures. Thus every family always
has its habitation ready, wherever they may settle for the time, and their
domain often extends over several villages which belong to them alone,
with the inevitable tiriri, temple-stable for the buffaloes. Before
the arrival of the English and their spreading like a parasitic vegetation
on the slopes of the Nilguiri, the Todds, when leaving one mourrti for
another, left the tiriri empty, as well as the other structures.
But noticing the curiosity and indiscretion of the new arrivals from the
first day of their invasion, when they attempted to penetrate into their
sacred edifices, the Todds became very careful. They are distrustful
now, have lost their former confidence, and when moving to new pastures
leave behind them, in the tiriri a "Teralli"* priest, known today under
the name of Pollola,** his assistant Kapillol and two female buffaloes.
------------------------
*Ascetic, hermit.
*Pollola, guardian; and Kapillol, under-guardian.
------------------------
"For one hundred and ninety-seven generations we have
been living quietly on these mountains," said the Todds in their complaint
to the Government, "and none of us, except the Terallis, have ever crossed
the thrice-sacred threshold of the Tiriri. The buffaloes roar with
anger. . . . We ask you to prohibit the white brothers from approaching
the Tou-el [sacred barrier], otherwise a disaster will happen, a terrible
disaster....."
And the authorities were wise enough to forbid the
inhabitants of the valleys, especially the English and the curious and insolent
missionaries, to enter or even approach the Tou-el. But the English
only gave in completely when two of their countrymen had been killed at different
times; the buffaloes had lifted them tip on their enormous horns and
had crushed them under their heavy hoofs. Even the tiger, which is scorned
by the buffalo of the Todds, does not dare to try his strength against this
animal.
Thus no one has been able to uncover the mystery which
is hidden in the room behind the stable of the buffaloes. Even the
missionary Metz, who lived with the Todds for thirty years, did not succeed
in solving this enigma. The description and all the information given
on this subject by Major Frezer* and other ethnologists and writers, is
purely imaginary. The Major had "penetrated" into the room behind
the stable of the buffaloes and all he discovered in this temple in which
the whole world was interested, was a dirty and entirely empty room.
It is true that the Todds had just rented this village to the authorities
and had transported their penates to another and much larger pasture.
All that had been in the houses and the temple had been carried away;
the buildings themselves were to be burned.
---------------------
*"The Todds, What is Known of Them."
---------------------
The Todds do not occupy themselves with the rearing
of cattle; they have neither cows, sheep, horses, goats nor birds.
They have only their buffaloes. The Todds do not like poultry, as
the cocks would disturb the silence of the night and, with their crowing,
would wake the "tired buffaloes," one of the old men explained to me.
I have already told that the Todds have no dogs, but the Baddagues keep
them. The dog is indeed very useful and even necessary in the caverns
of the forests. The Todds have never performed labor of any kind
- either before or since the arrival of the English; they neither
sow nor do they reap. However, they have all they need, have no regard
for money, and none of them understand anything of material matters, with
the exception of some old men. Their women adorn their white drapes
- their only garment - with very beautiful embroidery; but the
men despise all manual labor. All their love, all their meditations,
all their pious sentiments are centered on their magnificent buffaloes.
The wives of the Todds are not allowed to approach the animals, only the
men take charge of milking the female buffaloes and of looking in every
way after these qacred animals.
Several days after my arrival, accompanied only by
women and children, I went to visit a mourrti situated about five miles from
the city. Several families of Todds were at that time living in the
village, also an old Teralli and a number of priests. I had had opportunity
to meet several Todds, but had not seen their women nor their "ceremony with
the buffaloes." We had gone with the intention of assisting, if possible,
at the "ceremony of the buffaloes entering the stable"; I had heard
much about it and was very anxious to see it.
It was already five o'clock in the afternoon and the
sun was disappearing behind the horizon, when we stopped at the edge of the
woods. We had left our carriage and were walking across a large glade.
The Todds were busy with their buffaloes and did not notice us, not even
when we were quite near them. But the buffaloes began to roar;
one of them, undoubtedly the "chief," decorated with silver bells on his
enormous coiled-up horns, left the herd and came as far as the edge of the
road. He turned his head toward us, glanced at us with flaming eyes,
then set up a roar as if to say: "Who are you?"
I had been told that the buffaloes were lazy and stupid
and that their eyes were expressionless. I had held the same opinion
before knowing the buffaloes of the Todds, especially before knowing this
buffalo who came toward us to speak to us in his animal language.
His eyes were burning like two fiery coals, and in the restlessness of his
slanting eyes I saw the expression of surprise and distrust.
"Do not approach him," my companions cried.
"This is the chief and most sacred animal of the entire herd. He
is very dangerous." I had no intention of approaching the buffalo.
On the contrary, I withdrew much quicker than I had advanced. At that
moment a tall youth, as beautiful as Hermes amongst the oxen of Jupiter,
with one leap jumped between the buffalo and ourselves. Crossing his
arms and bowing before the "sacred" head of the animal, he began to murmur
words into his ear which none of us understood. Then such a strange
phenomenon occurred that, had this fact not been confirmed by the others,
I would have considered it a simple hallucination aroused by all the stories
and anecdotes that had been told me about these sacred animals.
The buffalo, as soon as the young Teralli spoke his
first words to him, turned his head toward him as if he really listened
and understood. Then he looked at us as if he were examining us more
closely, shook his head and began to snort in short jerks, which seemed
like an intelligent answer to the respectful observations made by the Teralli.
Finally the buffalo threw another indifferent glance at us, turned his back
to the road and walked slowly toward his herd.
The scene appeared comical to me, and reminded me
so strongly of the popular conversation held by the Russion Moujik with
the chained bear "Mikhailo Ivanitich" that I almost burst out laughing.
However, seeing the solemn and intimidated faces of my companions, I restrained
myself.
"You have seen it - I told you the truth," said
a young girl of about fifteen years to me, in a low voice triumphantly
and at the same time apprehensively. "The buffalo and the Teralli
understand each other and speak to each other like men....."
To my great surprise, the mother did not contradict
her daughter; she made no comment. Somewhat bewildered by my
questioning, astonished look, she said: "The Todds are, in all things,
a strange tribe. They are born and live in the midst of the buffaloes.
They train them for years and one must indeed think that they converse with
them.
The wives of the Todds recognized amongst us Mrs.
T. and her family; they came out upon the road and surrounded us.
They were five; one carried her child which, in spite of the cold wind
and the rainy weather, was perfectly naked. Then there were three others,
quite young and extraordinarily beautiful, and an old woman, not bad looking,
but almost too dirty. This old woman approached me, asking -
I suppose in Kanaresian - who I was. I did not understand her
question and one of the young girls answered for me. When the question
and answer were translated to me the latter appeared to me very original,
though it did not quite correspond with the truth.
I was introduced as a "mother" coming from a strange
country and a woman "who loved the buffaloes," as my interpreter told me.
This declaration evidently pacified and even gladdened the old, dirty woman.
Without this recommendation, as I knew later, it would not have been possible
for me to assist, later in the evening, at the ceremony with the buffaloes.
The old woman ran toward one of the teralli, the eldest, who was surrounded
by a group of young priests and stood at some distance in a picturesque
attitude, leaning on the magnificent black back of the "chief" buffalo,
already known to us. He came at once toward us and addressed Mrs.
S., who spoke their language as well as the natives themselves.
What a beautiful, imposing old man! I could
not help comparing this ascetic of the mountains with the other Hindu or
Mussulman anchorets. These latter are weak and look like mummies,
while a Teralli is of amazing health, bodily strength and vigor, like an
ancient oak. His beard was beginning to look silvery, and his hair,
falling down in heavy locks, was white. Holding himself as straight
as an arrow, he approached us slowly, and it seemed to me as if the living
picture of Velisar had left its frame. The sight of this proud and
beautiful old man who resembled a king clad in rags, and who was surrounded
by six powerful and magnificent Kapilollis aroused in me a burning curiosity
and an irresistible desire to know all about this tribe and especially its
mysteries.
It was, however, impossible to satisfy my desire at
this moment. Like the great majority of Europeans, I did not speak
the language of the Todds. So I had to wait patiently and without
complaint. All I could do was watch and observe whatever I would be
allowed to see. That evening I assisted at the following strange ceremony
which the Todds perform daily.
The sun had gone down almost entirely behind the big
trees, when the Todds prepared their sacred animals for their return to the
stable. The buffaloes, about one hundred in number, were grazing quietly
in the field, the "chief," who never leaves his observation post, being
in their midst. Each buffalo had little bells fixed on his horns, but
while their bells were of copper, their chief was distinguished by bells of
pure silver and earrings of gold.
The ceremony commenced in this way: the children
of the buffaloes were separated from their mothers and locked up in a special
stable near the Tou-el, where they remained until morning. Then the
wide doors of a very low wall were opened. This wall was so low that,
from the road, we could see all that happened inside the Tou-el.
Their bells ringing, the buffaloes entered one after the other and ranged
in line. These were the male buffaloes. The females waited
their turn. Every buffalo was led to a cistern, or rather a pool;
there they were washed and dried with herbs; then, after quenching
their thirst, they were locked up in the Tiriri.
Now, wherein lies the interesting part of this ceremony?
As the buffaloes approach the doors, the "Laymen and women" (i.e., about
80 men and about two dozen women of different age) stand in line on each
side of the doors, the men on the right, and the "mothers" on the left.
They salute each buffalo as he passes. Moreover, every Todd of the
laic caste performs certain incomprehensible gestures which express profound
respect. The same ceremony is repeated for the female buffaloes.
Moreover, when saluting the female buffalo, they tender her some herbs and
bow to the ground. The "mother" whose offering has been accepted by
the "chief" female buffalo, believes herself very fortunate, as this is considered
a good omen.
After the male buffaloes have been taken care of and
locked up, the men begin to milk the female buffaloes, who will not allow
any of the women to approach them. This sacred ceremony lasts for two
hours; the vessels, which are made of bark, after having been filled
with milk are carried seven times around the female, and are then deposited
in the "dairy," a special building kept very clean. Only the "initiates,"
i.e., the Kapilolls, are allowed to milk the animals, and they perform this
duty under the supervision of the chief Teralli, or first priest.
After the milking of the buffaloes, the doors of the
Tou-el are closed and the initiates enter the stable of the buffaloes.
Then, according to the statement of the Baddagues, the room next to the stable
is illumined with many little lamps which burn until morning. This
chamber is the habitation of the initiates only. No one knows what
takes place in this secret sanctuary during the night, and there is no hope
that it ever will be known.
The Todds despise money; it is impossible to
bribe them as they have no need of anything and view with indifference the
"not mine," i.e., all that does not belong to them. As has been well
said by Captain Garkness and others who have lived with them for a long time
and have witnessed their daily actions: The Todds are "disinterested"*
in the fullest meaning of this term.
*H. P. B. uses a Russian word, "bezserebrennik," which means: bez, without; serebro, money, and means also "disinterested."
To Chapter 4
More by H.P. Blavatsky