Somewhere beyond the plain sight of Tourists, amidst the Nilgiris Hills lives these pristine community, Toda tribes.

Want a peek into their vibrant culture? Well! You have come to the right place.

For those uninitiated, Toda tribes are a tribal community who lives in Nilgiris hill. The name Toda has been derived from a Kannada word ‘Tudavar’ which means those who live at the top!

It’s a bright summer morning and we have just drove past the green field estate, to enter a terrain devoid of any roads or to be specific, road made with just specks of stones and sands. As our jeep made its way through the rough roads, we could see a glimpse of Toda hut on top of a small hill parallel to the road. When we asked the driver about the hut, he told us that hut is part of Kotagiri Eco-tourism project.

Toda Mund
As our jeep yanked to a halt near a stream, we started the little trek to reach the Toda settlement in Koduduni mund. We went past vegetations to enter a small settlement of ten families. A person whom we met in NAWA, has been guiding us to this mund.

By the way, the word ‘Mund’ is basically a name given to the settlement of Toda Tribes. A mund may have three to twenty families, who are mostly found near the valleys where there is scope of grazing for their cattle.

Upon entering the pink painted house, we saw an elderly men lying in the bed and were greeted by a middle aged man who was watching National geographic Wild channel.

Our guide has greeted and introduced us to the middle aged man in Toda language. Upon our request, he started narrating about the culture, livelihood & festivals of Toda tribes. We sat there sipping buffalo milk and listening to the stories of Toda tribes.

“We were primarily cattle herders and were making living through trading dairy products to the Nilgiris neighbor.” He said and added. “Because of this, our religion is centered on the buffalo and rituals are performed for all dairy activities.”

“With decrease in grazing ground, we started learning vegetation to make our living.”

Toda hut
If I have to mention one thing which made me want to know more about Toda tribes, it was the peculiar eco-friendly hut of Toda tribes. Toda huts called dogles are built of bamboo fastened together with dried indigenous grass constructed in the shape of half barrels. While thicker bamboos are arched to give the hut its shape, the thinner bamboo canes are tied close to the thicker bamboos to give support. Over which dried grass are thatched. The front and back of the hut are made of granite slabs which are decorated with art forms with a small entrance in the front portion.

When I asked him about the unusual small entrance of their huts, he said with a sheepish grin. “Entrance was made unusually small to make sure the British who entered the house had to bend down before entering it.” After a sarcastic smile, he added that the entrance was made small to protect wild animals from entering the hut. He pointed at a nearby temple’s entrance and said. “Look! The front of the temple is decorated with paintings of buffalo!”

Toda embroidery
Toda tribes are an incredibly skilled group known for the red and black embroidery on white fabrics. Their dress consists of this embroidered cloth worn like a wrap over the dhoti or skirt.

This traditional embroidery practices of Toda have been passed from one generation to another, that has indeed earned a Geographical indication by the government. This red and black embroidery on white fabrics are sure eye-catchy and comes in various patterns to make it a perfect souvenir.
Keeping the Tradition alive
The interesting fact about Toda is that no one really know how they got here or where they came from. It has been inferred that the Toda people must have come as conquerors or immigrants from the sea. Toda tribes are basically vegetarians.

The advancement in technologies, government initiatives have caused a lot of changes in the lifestyle of Toda. Though many Toda abandoned their traditional distinctive huts for concrete houses, they still take pride in their roots. Although youngsters have gone outside(even abroad) for jobs, they all join together for festivals to keep their traditions alive.

When we started to Kotagiri, we never thought we would visit a Toda mund and have conversations with Toda people. Thanks to NAWA(Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association) for agreeing to our request and taking us to a Toda mund to experience it fully.