Note 18 — Chapter XIV · BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD CEREMONIES

I could obtain no explanation of the meaning of the word pülpali, used for the imitation dairy made in the Tarthar ceremonies. Püli means tamarind, and in a ceremony of the Nairs of Malabar called pulikati, performed in the ninth month of pregnancy, the woman drinks tamarind juice.18 It is possible that the two ceremonies have a common origin, the only indication of which in the Toda ceremony lingers in the name of ‘tamarind dairy.’ It is, however, possible that the dairy is so called because it is made on the outskirts of the village, though I do not know definitely that the word pül would be used for outskirts in this special sense.