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Toda (Tribe)The Toda (Tudavar) people are a tribe living in the Nilgiri Mountains of Tamil Nadu in southern India. They are nature worshipers and have a language ("Drawida") and culture separate from that of other ethnic groups in India, (they e.g. do have polyandry). "In the days of old, the Todas had a tradition. They believe they are descendants of the Pandavas. True to that belief, they followed polyandry. Just like Draupadi, one woman would be married off to all the male members of the family, and they would all become her husbands. As a result, only around a few thousands of them still remain in the mountainous terrains, facing the threat of complete extinction. Some place their numbers at around three thousand, while others are not as optimistic. Yet, there is hope, as the polyandry tradition has been slowly replaced by monogamy. These buffalo breeders worship the Pandavas. The language they speak is passed on from one generation to the next by sheer practice, as it has no script and sounds oddly melodious to the untrained ear, like mine definitely was. I could not follow a single word, yet found myself listening attentively as my interpreter did his job." http://www.bharatmatrimony.com/matchmaker/articlefeb14l.html The Toda have a rich art heritage that is highly collectible. There are some claims that they are the direct descendants of the remnants, of Alexander the Great's Macedonian army, which invaded India about 327 B.C.
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