Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c24.21

c24.21

Beside the above-mentioned four types there are other vessels, of which the *nembiliya* Earthen- (= *nambu* + *heliya*) is the most important. This is a shallow dish with a rim projecting ware; inwards and completely covered inside with an elegant arrangement of deep furrowings (Pl. XXV., 10). These are scored before firing by means of a rough wooden comb *Nembiliya* (*irigahana kaṭuva*), a process illustrated in Pl. V., 4. The *nembiliya* is used for washing rice to remove stones and dirt, very much as a gemming basket is used to separate the heavier gem minerals from the common lighter constituents of the gravel. The fragments of grit, &c., remain behind in the grooves of the *nembiliya*, or are held back by its inwardly projecting rim, as the rice is stirred up in the water and gently poured over the edge; this vessel is in daily use in every household. A similar vessel made to stand by the addition of a ring foot is called a *koraha*; the ring foot is not made in one piece with the rest of the vessel, but is added after the completion of the underside of the vessel as if for a *nembiliya*; this vessel in this stage is inverted on the wheel and the ring of fresh clay added to form a foot.