Toda community members in the Nilgiris sensitised to the need to preserve their culture

Project aims to revitalize Toda language and culture through traditional dress, rituals, and embroidery techniques in Tamil Nadu.

More than 20 members of the indigenous Toda community took part in a project aimed at the “Revitalisation of the Toda language in prose, song and cultural ecology.” As part of the initiative, the members were given an overview of their traditional dress and rituals and how over time, many techniques are being lost.

Speaking at the event, held with the involvement of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu’s Tholkudi scheme, Dr. Tarun Chhabra, founder of the Nilgiris Kuttawady Center, said that the scheme by the government was launched to preserve the culture and tradition of indigenous communities from across Tamil Nadu.

“There are four major distinguishing features that characterise each community, their physical characteristics, their language, dress and culture,” he said, emphasising the importance of preserving the traditional Toda language.

Mr. Chhabra, who is the author of the book, “The Toda Landscape : Explorations in Cultural Ecology,” is an eminent expert on the Toda community, and spoke of the need for the community to take pride in their language. “I also see that Todas are now adopting non-Toda second names to fit in with the mainstream. Each of you is named after a mountain, peak, temple, stream or other facet that comprises Toda life. It is important that the community takes pride in its culture, traditions and its languages,” he said.

He then made a presentation about Toda dress and their rituals and spoke of the different embroidery techniques used in traditional Toda garments such as embroidered cloaks, known as poothkull(zh)y and kefehnaarr in the Toda tongue. The workshop, which will give the Todas a training course on their traditional embroidery techniques, was also used as a tool to speak about quickly disappearing Toda practices such as body-tattooing.

Also present at the event was Nilgiris Collector, Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru. Speaking at the event, the Collector told members of the community that it was imperative that their culture and traditions were passed down to future generations. “Despite the huge changes that are transpiring, the Todas are an ever-present entity in the Nilgiris,” said Ms. Tanneeru, adding that it was the responsibility of the community to help in its preservation. She appealed to the community to bring their children to future workshops so that they too would learn about their culture and traditions.