dagurs, Curumbars, and Kofhurs, The former are supposed
to be tbe aborigines. They are thus described :—
1. “ The Thodaurs are a very manly and noble race,
their visages presenting all the features of the Roman
countenance'finely and strongly marked; they®, tail and
athletic figures at the same timei-correspond with the lineaments
of the face, many of . the men standing- upwards of
six feet high.” Mr. Scot in speaking of them says, they
are erect, firm, and museular^their bfir short and curled
their complexions brown, their beards bushy, and so,, pleas«
ing are they in aspect that in a whole village/it would be
difficult to find one man who was not handsomer They,
are besides by every account extremely cheerful, frank,
playful, powerfully strong, and in their deportment free
from anything like servility. The women, Hough-ebse*rWesv
have handsome features, and their complexion is finer, than
that of the men ; their teeth are beautiful; their hair,' of
which they are proud, redundant.; theirpfee.t small^and
their children healthy and active.
The people called Thodaurs by Mr. Hough .arA the Tudag,
of other writers. We have several account^of the^tppo-
graphy of the Nilagiri Hillsand of their inhabitants^* one.
of the latest of which is a description of thels Tildas*.by
Captain Harkness. It seems , from all thcpe. statements
that these mountains are the abode of five different tribes.
They are enumerated as follows ||sf§flp
TheTudas are generally allowed to be the original inhabitants
of these Hills. Their appearance, according^ Captain
Harkness, is “ very prepossessing: they are generally above
the common height, athletic and well-made; their bold
expressive countenances declare them to be of a different
race, from their neighbours. They are bare-headed, wear
their hair six or seven inches long, parted from the crown
into bushy circles and of a jet black,—their beards likewise
grow; a large full expressive eye, Roman nose, and pleas-;
ing contour, gravity varying into cheerfulness, distinguish
them from other natives of India. They wear rings of
silver and gold,—wear only a light short garment. The
women are somewhat fairer than the men; have the same
expressive features, but with a feminine cast, and wear long
tresses>6f~black hair.
They are a pastoral people, have no towns or villages,
but live in solitary houses and feed sheep and cattle.
Their language is* considered as distinct. It has perhaps
some»resemblance to the vernacular idioms of the Peninsula
and principally^ to the Tamil. There are two sounds, the
ZKa and Uffii, which are of constant occurrence in the
Tuda and which, among the idioms of the low country, are
peculiar to the Tamil and its4 sister-dialect the Malaydlma.
The pronouns, the plural, the honorary terminations of
verbs; are nearest to the Tamil. With these, exceptions it
differs widely from the Tamil and all other known languages.
It is .merely an oral dialect.
On the mountains the Tudas have erected temples consisting;
of large stone^i In someipof these are numerous
urns and figures of animals, such as the buffalo, the tiger,
the* peacock, the antelope. Their religion has no resemblance
tchthose of the Buddhists, the Muslims, or any other
phople. They 'salute th^un'Ah'its rising, and believe that
after death their souls? go tO^Huma-norr or Om-norr, a
country1 respecting which they ask for information.
2. The most numerous, wealthy, and civilised people of
the Nilagiri Hiltt^ are the-Buddngur; termed, by Harkness,
Burghers. They are Hindoos of the, Saiva sect, who came
fromdhe north," as some say;jif©ur hundred years ago, but
in the opinion' of HarknesSp during the troubles in the
Mysore which followed the fall of the. empire of Yijaya-
nagara, about six generations ago. Their language is
principally the Karnataca, having a slight mixture of the
Tuda. They are an agricultural people. In physical character
they differ from the Tudas, are of shorter stature, more
slender form, straight and well-made; but of small limbs.
In complexion both sexea are some shades lighter that the
Tudas; but their features are quite of another cast, and
are devoid of that lively and changeful., expression which
indicates freedom of thought. They have much of the
manner and appearance of the Hind6 cultivators of tha
Mysore : their wives are domestic slaves,
VOL. IV. Y