.dombii as scavenger woman

[Bharat Gupt]

Ven. Tantra wrote:
> 
> Could any list members help me out?
> 
> The Sanskrit term .dombii has been translated (Eliade
> and Walker) as “washer woman.” But I cannot understand
> how they get “washer woman” from .dombii. One list
> member has suggested that .dombii actually refers to a
> female member of the .Dom community. They are workers
> at cremation places, scavengers, or weavers of ropes
> and baskets. 

The association of .dom with music is well known in India. They have provided 
some good musicians in the last century. Over the centuries their
poverty seems to have restricted them to scavenging, a case of downward caste mobility.
Many medieval works refer to raagas called .dombakriti, .dombakriyaa, .dombakrii,
.dombi, and .dombikaa. A taala called .dombuli is recorded as a popular (desii) one.

A medieval history (cant recall which, right now)  also name them  as a caste making a 
living out of music.

Bharat Gupt
Assoc. Prof Delhi Univ.