The Toda Relationship with Wild Nature
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of the day. One prominent example of this is the six o’clock flower (Oenothera tetraptera) that blooms at almost exactly that time in the evening regardless of weather conditions.
• Certain species mark time and a person’s age. The Todas have knowledge of flowering cycles and the medicinal qualities of several Strobilanthes species. The general class is called katt, with tehrrverykatt flowering once in six years, pelil(zh)ykatt every twelve years, and pyoofkatt every eighteen years. This is also used to denote a man’s age and wisdom; a man is said to be extremely wise if he has witnessed several flowering cycles of pyoofkatt. In the past, this species was present around every hamlet, and therefore people who had seen it flower twice would know that they were thirty-six years old, and so on. Now, with rapid alteration in the ecosystem and changes in climate, a Toda cannot rely on this as an age indicator.
• Certain species indicate the presence of specific pollinators. As noted, this is primarily related to honey gathering. But this knowledge also led to a Toda understanding that an absence or decrease of a particular pollinator would mean that the corresponding plant species would also diminish in the following season. The absence of the pollinator is typically due to alteration of habitat, use of pesticides, or climate change. • Some species, like the bark of the Meliosma wightii tree,
are sacred temple species that can only be used by a priest. Several thorny plant species are used during ordination ceremonies of the priest to purify him.
• Mass flowering indicates the upcoming wild fruit season.