MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 65
by the name of vina . This instrument has a rather agreeable tone , and would be still more pleasing if the sounds extracted from it were more varied . It has always been a favourite amongst the better classes ; and its invention must date from an extremely remote period , for it is often mentioned in Hindu books , where the gods themselves are represented as playing on the vina to soothe themselves with its sweet melodies . It is generally taught by Brahmins ; and as their lessons are very expensive , and they
persuade their pupils that a great many are necessary in order to attain proficiency , it is obvious that none but the rich can afford themselves this pleasure .
The vina of the Hindus is probably the same as the cithara l , or harp , of the Jews , in playing which King
David excelled , and with which he produced those melodies which soothed and calmed his unfortunate master Saul , after God had given Saul up as a prey to his evil passions .
Besides the vina , the Brahmins have another stringed instrument called Icinnahra , which is something like a
guitar , and the tone of which is not unpleasant .
The Hindus do not use gut for the strings of their instruments , as Europeans do . They would not dare to touch anything so impure , for if they did they would consider themselves defiled by the contact . To avoid such a serious impurity they use metal strings .
I will now turn to the nomadic castes , which swell the number of wretched and degraded beings amongst the nation I am describing . Without any fixed abode , wandering about from one country to another , the individuals of which these vagabond tribes are composed pay little or no attention to the various customs which are obligatory on every respectable Hindu
; and this is why they are so cordially detested .
One of the largest of these castes is that which is known in the south by the name of Kuravers or Kurumarus .
This is subdivided into two branches , one of which carries on a trade in salt . Gangs of men bring this article from the coast and distribute it in the interior of the country , using asses , of which they possess considerable numbers ,
1
The Mahomedans of Northern India have a stringed instrument known as cithar .— Ed .
DUBOIS
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