Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Sindhu

by Edgar Thurston

Sindhu. — The Sindhuvāllu (drummers) are Mādigas, who go about acting scenes from the Ramāyana or Mahābhāratha, and the story of Ankamma. Sindhu also occurs as a gōtra of Kurni. The beating of the drum called sindhu is, I gather, sometimes a nuisance, for a missionary writes to the paper enquiring whether there is any order of Government against it, as the practice "causes much crime, and creates extra work for police and magistrates. Village officials believe they have no authority to suppress it, but there are some who assert that it is nominally forbidden."