Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c29.s2.5

c29.s2.5

On the first day two handfuls of korakaha leaves (Memecylon umbellatum, Burm.) are pounded in a mortar, squeezed out in water by hand, and the resulting liquid, resembling pea soup, strained; two handfuls of patangi chips are added and the whole left to stand. On the second day the solution has become red. The patangi chips are removed, pounded, and replaced, and the whole boiled with the indi-kola which is to be dyed, tied up in little sheaves. The pot is allowed to cool and left till next day. On the third day leaves of bombu-kola (Symplocos spicata), hin-bōviṭiya (Osbeckia octandra), and korakaha, pieces of kebella bark (*Aporosa Lindleyana*), and a handful of chips of a yellow wood called *ahu* (*Morinda Mat tinctoria*), together with a small bundle of roots of *ratmulgas* (*Knoxia platycarpa*, Arn. var.) are pounded and added to the solution in which the *indi* leaves remain; the whole is boiled and then allowed to cool and stand till next day, when the leaves are removed and dried, after which they are ready for use.