Doma (caste)

The Doma (Sanskrit: डोम, romanized: ḍoma, IPA: [ɖoːmɐ]), also known as Dom, Domra, Domba, Domaka, Dombara and Dombari, are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the occupations of singing and playing music. Historically, they were considered one of the untouchable castes, known as Dalits, and their traditional occupation was the disposal and cremation of dead bodies. The Doma were formerly classified as a criminal tribe under the 1870s Criminal Tribes Acts of the British Raj. They are in the list of Scheduled Castes for Reservation in India in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.