16) Toda embroidery

Question 1

What is Toda embroidery ?

Answer 1

It is an embroidery work done on various clothes, sarees etc called as POHOR by Toda tribes. Traditional Toda dress is a type of shawl called PUTUKULI.

Question 2

Where do Toda tribes reside ?

Answer 2

Nilgiris – mainly in TN (they are notified tribes here)

Question 3

Are they pastoral in nature ?

Answer 3

YESS. Their main work is trading daily products and sometimes cane and bamboo articles

Question 4

Which language do they speak ? Tamil ?

Answer 4

NOO, they speak TODA language which is essentially a Dravidian language and is very unusual compared to other Dravidian languages

Question 5

Why is this in news ? GI ?

Answer 5

NOO, these Toda tribal women and other artisans are making masks for locals and policemen using this method and it is becoming very famous because of its longetivity

Question 6

So this does not have GI ?

Answer 6

It has, but it got it long back as its design of red and black with threaded geometric designs is a distinctive feature