A community whose drumming is associated with Chola, Chera and the Pandya kings – Tamil Nadu

Thudumbattam Performance by Seran Thudumbattam Kuzhu
Adiperukku & Ayyanar Festival July 31st – Aug 4th, 2019
DakshinaChitra Museum >>

Learn more about this art by typing Thudumbar, Thudumbattam or Thudumbu into the search field seen below!

Thudumbu © The Hindu >>

Thudumbu and Thudumbattam are played at temple festivals in and around Coimbatore.

We went to Coimbatore for a concert but decided to stay back for a short holiday and ended up doing research on the instrument thudumbu, locally known as jamab.

Thudumbu belongs to the Kovai (Coimbatore) region. It is also known as kidumutti, thidumam, uruti and chera thudumbu.

The origin of the name thudumbu has been attributed to the Thudumbars, a tribal community living in Pollachi, Mettupalayam, Karamadai, Nilgris and Kovai areas. It is learnt that the members of this community used to serve and entertain the Chola, Chera and the Pandya kings and feudal lords,who went for ‘vana bhojana’ in the forests. The thudumbu was also played to chase away the wild animals. […]

Source: Rhythm of celebration – The Hindu, Friday Review, 3 November 2016
Address: https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/Rhythm-of-celebration/article16091741.ece
Date Visited: 26 July 2021

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“The great diversity of music in India is a direct manifestation of the diversity and fragmentation of the population in terms of race, religion, language, and other aspects of culture. […] The songs vary in detail, not only from one region to another, but also within a region among the different strata of society.” – NA Jairazbhoy in “Tribal, Folk and Devotional Music” >>

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