000			02650nam a22002177a 4500
999			_c38122 _d38122
020			_a9788125061601
041			_aeng.
082			_a304.208994881 _bCHH-T
100			_aChhabra, Tarun _eauthor
245			_aThe Toda landscape : _bexplorations in cultural ecology / _cTarun Chhabra ; with a foreword by Anthony R. Walker.
260			_aNew Delhi : _bOrient BlackSwa, _c2017.
300			_axxiii, 543p. _billustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white) ; 27 cm
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aThe Toda people of the Nilgiris District in south India are one of the oldest indigenous groups in South Asia; they are also reportedly among the most studied and written-about in the region. While the field was dominated by Western scholars in the beginning, Indian researchers and writers began contributing to Toda studies from the early twentieth century. The Toda Landscape: Explorations in Cultural Ecology represents a major breakthrough in Toda studies. From his interactions with the Todas from 1990 onwards, the author, Tarun Chhabra, has collected and analysed ethnographic data that had eluded even the greatest of Western ethnographers. Through his first-hand narrative accounts of important Toda rituals, ceremonies and routines, all accompanied by visual documentation in the form of photographs and maps, he provides new data that will significantly aid the preservation of Toda traditional culture. The Toda Landscape highlights previously unknown aspects of Toda cultural heritage: Their sacred geography—sacred waters, sacred hills, and sacred trees and rocks. Some sacred institutions, which have their own distinct, hitherto undocumented, rituals, and the intricacies of their traditional attire and embroidery motifs. The entire domain of Toda ethnobotany. The complex interweaving of myth and reality in Toda lives, evidenced in the routes Toda spirits are said to follow to their afterworld. With its detailed descriptions of sparsely documented aspects of Toda life, all complemented with stunning photographs, The Toda Landscape is an invaluable addition to the field of social anthropology and cultural studies. Its focus on ethnobotany and the flora and fauna of the Nilgiris region will also greatly help students and scholars of environmental studies and botany.
546			_aEnglish.
650			_aToda (Indic people).
650			_aHuman ecology _zIndia _zNīlgiri (District).
650			_aSocial ecology _zIndia _zNīlgiri (District).
650			_aToda (Indic people) _z India _zNīlgiri (District) _xEthnobotany
942			_2ddc _cBK