I gather from the notes, which Bishop Whitehead has kindly placed at my disposal, that "when the Badagas wish to take a very solemn oath, they go to the temple of Mariamma at Sigur, and, after bathing in the stream and putting on only one cloth, offer fruits, cocoanuts, etc., and kill a sheep or fowl. They put the head of the animal on the step of the shrine, and make a line on the ground just in front of it. The person who is taking the oath then walks from seven feet off in seven steps, putting one foot immediately in front of the other, up to the line, crosses it, goes inside the shrine, and puts out a lamp that is burning in front of the image. If the oath is true, the man will walk without any difficulty straight to the shrine. But, if the oath is not true, his eyes will be blinded, and he will not be able to walk straight to the shrine, or see the lamp. It is a common saying among Badagas, when a man tells lies, 'Will you go to Sigur, and take an oath?' Oaths are taken in much the same way at the temple of Mariamma at Ootacamund. When a Hindu gives evidence in the Court at Ootacamund, he is often asked by the Judge whether he will take an oath at the Mariamma temple. If he agrees, he is sent off to the temple with a Court official. The party for whom he gives evidence supplies a goat or sheep, which is killed at the temple, the head and carcase being placed in front of the image. The witness steps over the carcase, and this forms the oath. If the evidence is false, it is believed that some evil will happen to him."
The name Badaga or Vadugan means northerner, and the Badagas are believed to be descended from Canarese colonists from the Mysore country, who migrated to the Nilgiris three centuries ago owing to famine, political turmoil, or local oppression in their own country. It is worthy of notice, in this connection, that the head of the Badagas, like that of the Todas and Kotas, is dolichocephalic, and not of the mesaticephalic or sub-brachycephalic type, which prevails throughout Mysore, as in other Canarese areas.
Cephalic Cephalic Cephalic length. breadth. index. cm. cm.
Badaga 18.9 13.6 71.7 Toda 19.4 14.2 73.3 Kota 19.2 14.2 74.1
Of the Mysorean heads, the following are a few typical examples:--