Madras, where this instrument was made, is now known as Chennai, the capital of the Tamil Nadu state, and sometimes referred to as the “Gateway to South India.” Madras was first established in 1639, when Britain’s East India Company bought land along the coast. The use of a gong in regional religious rituals, however, came before Madras, possibly tracing all the way back to the origins of Hinduism.

In Hinduism, this gong, called a “semakkalam,” represents the Hindu god Shiva, or Siva, also known as the “somangalam” or “soman kalam,” as “soman” is another name for the moon. It can be heard at temples or during processions, while in Buddhist temples it is used to announce waking and bedding times for monks.

Andis monks, beggars who belong to the Saiva faith, hold semakkalams in their left hands and hit them with sticks in thier right hands, for ceremonial purposes. Saivism came about due to cross-cultural exchange between Christian missionaries and Hindu believers in the Tamil Nadu region between the 12th and 14th centuries. The Andis have been directly linked to the revival of ancient Tamil music, which originated during the Sangam period from 500 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.