Note 30 — Chapter XXX · THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE TODAS

The hairiness of the Toda is perhaps the feature in which he differs most obviously from the races of Malabar, while the robustness of his physique and general bearing are perhaps almost as striking. The latter qualities may be entirely due to his environment, to his free life in the comparatively bracing climate of the Nilgiris, and, so far as we know, the development of hair may have a similar cause. Of all the castes or tribes of Malabar, the Nambutiris perhaps shows the greatest number of resemblances to the customs of the Todas,30 and it is therefore interesting to note that Mr. Fawcett describes these people as the hairiest of all the races of Malabar and especially notes that one individual he examined was like a Toda.