Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Dandu
Dandu (army). — A sub-division of Īdiga, and an exogamous sept of Bōya and Kāpu. It has been suggested that the name is not Dandu but Dandē, meaning pole, in reference to the apparatus used by the Īdigas in climbing palm trees for the extraction of toddy. Dandu Agasa, indicating army washerman, occurs as a name for some Marātha Dhōbis in Mysore, whose forefathers probably accompanied armies in times of war.