Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c26.6

c26.6

It should be borne in mind that Eastern garments are not as a rule needle-made, but consist of whole pieces of cloth as woven on the loom; hence the necessity for making cloths of different shapes and sizes. The following different kinds of cloth were made: napkins or towels (*indul kaḍa*), wearing cloths for men (*tuppoṭi*) and women (*paḍa, hela*), aprons or bathing drawers for men (*diya kacci*), kerchiefs or shawls (*lensu, ura māla*), belts (*paṭi*), mats, quilts, or sheets (*etirili*), carpets (*paramadāna*), covers for chatties as carried on yokes (*gahōni*), and pillow cases (koṭṭa ura); besides plain white, blue, or red material for other purposes, as Weaving to be cut up for priests’ robes, jackets, caps, pillow cases and betel bags; a variety of narrow braids were also made on small looms. No fine muslins or cloths with gold thread were made by the village weavers. The plain material was measured as to width by the span (lakaya), and as to length by the carpenters’ cubit (vaḍu-riyana). Of these cloths, some may be more particularly described. A tuppoṭiya is a white cloth, Tuppoṭiya eight or nine cubits long, made in two pieces neatly joined up the middle; single widths are called paḍaya, and measure six or seven cubits in length, and four to six spans in breadth, which varied according to the owner’s caste, persons of low caste being only allowed to wear narrow cloths. Women of low caste were obliged to substitute for the ohoriya, or the skirt and bodice, of the higher castes, two short cloths, one to be wrapped round the loins, and the other to be thrown over the shoulder.