Modhweth Festival

Prelims – Festivals

• The Modhweth Festival, celebrated by the Toda tribe, is a significant event held at the Moonpo temple in Muthanadu Mund, Nilgiri district in Tamil Nadu.
• It occurs on the last Sunday of December or the first Sunday of January. The festival involves offering prayers to the deity Thenkish Amman for good health, rain, and harvests.
• A highlight of the celebration is the Toda youth lifting a greased boulder to display their strength.
• The Toda tribe, known for their cattle-herding and dairy work, lives in settlements called mund, and they follow vegetarian practices. Their religious beliefs are centered around a pantheon of gods. The Toda tribe is classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Tamil Nadu.