Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c29.s1.1

c29.s1.1

THE well-known Dumbara mats, called *kalālaya* (Pl. XXXIV.), are made by men and women of the Kinnaraya caste, practically the lowest of Kandyan castes, excepting the Roḍiyo. The fibre of which the mats are made is *niyanda*, the bowstring hemp, *Sansevieria zeylanica*. The rounded green leaves of this common xerophytic plant are gathered, and scraped against a log (*niyanda pōruva*) with a wooden tool (*ge-valla*) shaped like a spokeshave. This scraping removes the fleshy part of the leaf, leaving the white fibre, which is oiled and brushed, and then ready for use almost immediately. Part of the material is left white, the rest dyed red, yellow, or black in the manner explained below.