History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s1.t2: Winnowing

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s1.t2

Language: English

Winnowing

v1.c26.s1.t2.1

The Sanskrit *surpa* or winnowing tray to remove chaff, for example after rice pounding, is also believed to be a borrowed wood (Shendge, 1977, p, 241), indicating even prior usage of this device. For winnowing large amounts, pouring the material from a height in the open in a natural mild breeze is commonly employed.

v1.c26.s1.t2.2

There is an interesting indoor variation in use to create a draft, whose antiquity is not known. This employs a large sheet of cloth, two adjacent corners of which are loosely pegged to the ground. The other end is flapped up and down by a standing woman, and seeds to be cleaned are slowly dropped, from above the pegged ends of the cloth, into the air currents so created.

Linked texts (1)

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit