Evening star., 1895-10-25
EVILS OF POLYANDRY.
Visit of M. Levalle, . French Traveller
to the TOdas of India.

Visit of M. Leva11e, Frencn lFnSeAeEs
to the TOdas Of India.
London Cor. obe-Democrat.
M, H. Levalle, the noted French traveller,
has arrived here from India, which ne
visited in search of anthropological phe-
nomena, and on his return to France Will
prepare a book on the most extraordinary
tribe of human beings ever discovered, the
Todas, who live in a mountainous district
in the presidency of Madras. on almost in
accessible mountain tops and precipices,
and have never before been visited by
sayant. They are dying out fast, only 511
being alive now of this people, which Is
supposed to be descended from colony OF
Roman soldiers, or from soldiers belonging
to the armies of Alexander the Great
"I have lived for some time among these
people," said NJ. Levalle, STUDIED their
morals and habits, their present mode OF
living and history, and came to the con-
clusion that polyandry is the reason Tor
the astonishing and unprecedented degen
Grafton of this race. At the beginning OF
this century they numbered a hundred
thousand or thereabouts. Now they are
almost wiped out, and, as l nave learned,
neither flood. nor war, nor epidemics helpeo
to hasten the process Of defamation. This
race of warriors succumbed to the physical
consequences of law made severa! nun
dred years before Christ, with necessity for
its parent.
'sWhen the ancestors of the Todas first
settled on the mountain tops of Nilgtri,
about 1000 feet above the level OF the sea,
there was doubtless some reason for the
cruel rule that a girl, given in marriage,
shall be wife not only to her husband, but
also to that husbands brothers. Tradition
among the people says that their fore
fathers belonged to the army of Alexander
the Great, who entered India 327 B. c.;
other legends claim Roman soldiers as the
Todas' grandsires-in either case these
earliest settlers were probably as hard up
for wives as the ancient Romans, who had
to steal their female companions among
the Sabines.
I'm the interest of race propaganda, then,
1t was decreed in the old community that
no man should be allowed the monopoly
of one woman's love or affection, but, on
the contrary, should allow his brothers. or,
in case he had none, his other near rela-
tives to participate in his conjugal bliss.
THAT was very well for the time, being
a practice that must have prevailed, in one
form or another, with our biblical fore
fathers, too, but why it should be practiced
to this day, or rather for what other rea-
son than race prejudice it was revived at
the beginning of the present century, after
the Todas had become strong and numer-
Gus people, I cannot imagine; neither was
able to gather information on that point.
From observation, know that every Toda
woman has four, five or even more hus-
bands.
1.-The male children from this union, or
NumDeT OIL UNIONS, are al CFeUiteu u lHc
chief husband, or the original husband
The Oldest female child is supposed to be
the offspring of the husbands eldest
brother; the second girl baby calls the Sec
ond Oldest papa, etc.
Il spoke at the beginning of our talk"
continued NJ. Levalle, ''of the degeneration
of the race; this, however, manifested it
self solely in the decrease of population;
individually, the Todas appear healthy,
beautiful of face and limb. Men and wo-
men wear the same single garment,
square piece of white or gray linen, in
which they drape their muscular form with
dignity and coquetry. Up to the time of
the interference of the Madras British gov
ernment the women We're dressed solely in
their crowning glory-mantle of beautiful
black tresses, which they wore loose around
their shoulders, and a girdle or a metal
chain around their naked waist. Today
they braid their hair and let 1t fall grace
fully upon their nude neck; as of old, silver
or gold links encircle their waist, but the
official linen cloth does not in the least in
terfere with the display Of their charms.
| The faces of men and women seem to in
dicate European origin; they have little in
common with the race characteristics of
the people of India"