History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s2.t2: Kitchen and table utensils

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s2.t2

Language: English

Kitchen and table utensils

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*Indus Valley*: Among drawings of the metal objects found at Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938 b) are to be seen the following: a *thāli*-like pan (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl 68, Item 20); a flat deep dish with sides sloping outwards resembling a modern dough-kneading pan (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 64, Item 13); a round, concave *tāvā*-like plate (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 82, Item 3); and a copper frying pan with the edges turned inwards to create a comfortable handle, either long or short (Mackay, 1938 b, Pl. 71, Item 42, Pl. 82, Item 11). The *thālī* (there are actually two of them of slightly different sizes) is again seen in a photograph of a hoard of copper and bronze objects, all corroded together (Mackay, 1976, Pl. 19), found beneath the floor of a small house; this also shows a largish tray with a wide, flat rim. Another heavy copper pot of exquisite design with a square open top was found at Mohenjodaro (Dikshit, 1939), and resembles the *kumbha* of current times used for fetching water from well or river.

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Numerous copper and bronze objects were found at Chanhudaro, which was apparently a great centre of metal working; one was a lota-shaped vessel with a long spout pointing up from near the base (Allchin, 1963). Kitchen knives made of ribbon flakes of chert were plentiful, and even the cores from which they had been struck were found in abundance (Allchin, 1963).

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Nearly a thousand copper objects that preceded the Harappan civilisation were found at Ganeswar; it appeared to be a manufacturing centre that employed copper ore from Khetri, and perhaps supplied the needs of nearby towns like Kalibangan, Mohenjodaro and Harappa (Agrawala, R.C., 1984, p. 157). Copper ore from the Aravalli range was certainly the source of the metal over a good part of the area (Agrawal amd Ghosh, 1973 (a), p.401). Scarcity of tin, which forms 10-20 percent of bronze, accounts for paucity of objects made of the latter, even though they are harder, keener and more cutting than those of pure copper (Agrawal and Ghosh, 1973,(a), p. 401). Iron is first noticed about 800 BC in a few megalithic sites; the Vedic word *ayas* is now believed to have first meant copper, which was later termed red *ayas*, after the use of iron, called either. white *ayas* or *loha*, became common (Chaudhuri, 1988, p. 321). Initial use of iron was for weapons or agricultural implements like ploughshares. Its real impact occurred after about 200 BC, when its carburation to steel incorporating about one percent of carbon was discovered (Agrawal and Ghosh, 1973,(b), p. 391) and the use of the bellows enabled greater heat intensity. Both bellows and iron ploughshares are frequently referred to by Pāṇini (Thakur, 1932, pp. 111-112).

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Vedic Period : Even the *Ṛgveda* mentions a large number of utensils (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57, Iyengar, 1932, pp. 28, 47 ff.). Special *soma* storage vessels were the *amatra, ahara, kośa, dru, kalasa, camu* and *droṇa*, and for other liquids there were vessels like the *kumbha, acecana*, a gold *kalasam*, a bag for milk (*dṛti*), a water bucket (*udañcana*) and nested vessels (*dhiṣaṇa*). *Patra, camasa* and *graha* were drinking cups, while *ukha, garma* and *pacana* were cooking pots, and *caru* a covered cauldron. Spoons and ladles included the *juhu, upasecani, śruk, śruva, darvi* and *neksanam*, while *pavitra* and *karotara* were strainers, and *suna* and *svādhiti* were knives. *Grāvan* and *adri* were grinding stones for *soma*, *ulukhala* and *vanaspati* (later called *musala*) were a mortar and pestle, and *dṛsad* a flat grinding stone. *Śūla* was a roasting spit, *dhamatr* a blower or bellows, *titau* was a sieve, and *surpa* a winnowing basket of wicker. A general term for a leather cask used to store water, liquor and curds was *dhrti*, and for a leather bag *krvi*. A minority opinion was that the *ulukhala* was a shallow, wide-mouthed mortar for grinding, while the *musala* was the long heavy, waisted pounder (Sircar, 1967, p. 194).

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Table 1 — Utensils of The Vedic Sacrifice

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| *bhrāstra* | : | -do- |
| *śūla* | : | skewer of wood on which certain animal organs were roasted |
| *gārhyapatya* | : | potsherd for taking purodasa |
| *kapālas* | : | -do- |

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Fire Utensils

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Strainers

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Ladles, Spoons

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| *śruk* | : | collective term for large wooden ladles used for libations, with a yoni-shaped bowl ending in a lip |
| *juhu* | : | a sruk |
| *dhruva* | : | -do- |
| *upabhṛt* | : | -do- |
| *pracarani* | : | -do- |
| *darvi* | : | a small ladle with a long, slim handle and a tiny, lipless bowl for sprinkling libations |
| *śruvi* or *śruva* | : | -do- |
| *tragbila* | : | -do- |
| *vitasti* | : | -do- |
| *pariplava* | : | spoon without a handle for drawing out soma |
| *havani* | : | spoon, used e.g. by the agnihotr |
| *grahani* | : | spoon, used e.g. to hold the prasadaiya of butter and buttermilk |
| *pariplupātra* | : | a ladle |
| *antardhāna* | : | -do- |
| *prasaka* | : | a decanting vessel with a long handle and a large, cup-like bowl |

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Offering Vessels

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| *vāyavya* | : | waisted, spouted cylinder used to make offerings to twelve deities |

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| *urdhvapātra* | : | waisted, spouted cylinder |
| *anvaharyasthālī* | : | -do- |
| *agrayanasthālī* | : | -do- |
| *akaraphalika* | : | snake-shaped board, one-arm long, on which sesame seeds are offered in the sacrifice |

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Stirrers, Scrapers

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Cutters

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Pounders, Grinders

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Baskets

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Leaf Utensils

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The Gṛhya and Śautra vedic sacrifices enshrined in the *Sūtras* employed an enormous number of utensils of rigidly specified design and structure. These are shown in Table 1 (Vesci, 1985; Sen, 1978). The soma rites were performed three times a day, and employed twelve main vessels for various types of cooking, like *sthālīpāka*, cooking in a pot, and *śutagrāva*, roasting on a spit. The *pravargya* rite, which is part of the soma sacrifice, required the making each time of a special, round, fired clay vessel with a wide mouth called a *mahāvīra*, which is heated intensely in the course of the rite (Vesci, 1985, p. 215). For the *ajamedha*, or goat sacrifice, a special clay cauldron called the *gharma* had to be made for cooking the meat (Vesci, 1985, p. 69). The *aśvamedha* or horse sacrifice also called for a huge square clay cauldron termed the *ukha* for cooking the flesh, and hollow metal skewers for roasting certain organs after their dissection (Vesci, 1985, p. 32). In contrast to the potter’s wheel that was in use much earlier to turn clay in the Indus Valley, these large clay vessels had all to be kneaded by hand to exacting schedules using certain special clays (e.g. from an ant-hill, or from a place snouted open by pigs). Similarly the *aṣṭaka* cake had to be made with exactly four full *śaravas* of rice. The sacrificial *puroḍāśa* cake of rice or barley flour had to be baked in a flat clay vessel with a specific number of hollows of various shapes for different purposes (Apte, 1939, pp. 95-102).

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Not surprisingly, some of these vessels, like the *drona*, *kumbha*, *kalasa*, *ghaṭa*, *śarava* and *sthālī* later became volume measures (Srinivasan, 1979, pp. 71-79).

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Many objects from these Vedic times are instantly recognisable as being in use even today. The *culli* is the *cūlā* of the present, the spit is in use by Rajputs for roasting a whole pig to give a dish called *śūlā*, the scraping utensil *dhṛṣṭi* is now the *kunti*, the flat grinding stone *dṛṣad* with its cylindrical roller is found in every Indian kitchen, and a deep form of the stone mortar with its stout upright grinding stone is an essential item in a south Indian home. *Kalāśas*, *kumbhas* and *pātras* are all with us, often in metallic form, as are the *bharjanapātra* as *kaḍāhi* (from *kaṭāha*, a word of Prakrit origin (Sagar, 1933, p. 184) that occurs in the *Rāmāyaṇa*, *Suśruta Saṃhitā* and *Sūryasiddānta* (Monier Williams, 1851, p.549), the *ajyasthālī* as *tāvā*, and the small waisted cylindrical kitchen mortars for pounding spices. Leaf plates and cups, then *pātrāvali*, now *patroli* or *paṭṭal*, are still in use. Some old utensils have altered. The small soma pounder is now a tall cylindrical vessel to be worked by a person while standing, and the *sthālī* has changed its name to *thālī*, and its function from a cooking to an eating utensil.

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*Utensils of later times*: Panels dated 50-20 BC in the great stupa at Sanci depict a ladle for ceremonial libations, a small goblet with crossed straps, and a beautiful spouted ewer with a fitted lid and a curved handle on top like a modern kettle (Dhavalikar, 1965).

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A Buddhist monk was permitted to carry eight items : *bhṛṅgāra*, water jar; *saraka*, drinking cup; *īhavika*, water bag; *piṭaka*, basket; *kumbhi*, cooking pot; *tattaka*, plate; *pariyoga*, dish; and *kadapiyan*, pan (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp.58-86). Utensils mentioned by Patañjali (mid-2nd century BC) include a tiny water-jug, *kuṇḍikā*, for the use of students, and a cauldron, *ukha* (Puri, 1957, pp. 89-115). The *Rāmāyaṇa* mentions three drinking goblets, *śarava*, *karaka* and *golvarka* (Sharma, 1971, pp. 232-242), an iron pan *lauhi*, a deep frying pan *kaṭāha* (modern *kaḍahi*) and a boiler *pithara* (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 102-131). The *Amarakośa* (5th century AD) includes the deep frying pan *kaṇḍu*, the roasting plate *bhrasta* (*tāvā*?), ladles *kambhi*, *kajaka* and *tardu* (with a wooden handle), strainers *karkari* and *galantika*, a goblet *kausa*, a pot *pithara* and leather bottles *kutuh* and *kuṭup* for storing oil (Deshmukh, 1981, pp. 99-110). The portable *śigrī* of today was called *culli*, *aṅgāradhanika* or *hasauṭi*. Kālidāsa has *kumbha* for a big pitcher, and *ghaṭa* for a small one (Upadhyaya, 1947, p, 216). At three places in the *Harṣacarita* occur various utensils, though mentioned in rather a tangle (Cowell and Thomas, 1961). These have been sorted out (Agrawala, 1940) as various very large water pots alinjara, mahakumbha, gola and kantakita (also called panasa, since it has the shape of a jackfruit), small pots kusumbha, karkari and votakuta, jars kalasa and kumbha, a cup kosa, and an earthen vessel for molasses (phanita-sthālī). Frying pans (kaṭāha) are here again, besides baking trays talaka and sakatika, simmering pans tapika (Hindi tai), the saucepan as caru, the tāvā as tapaka, spits as hastaka and śūla, and baskets as pitaha.

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The Ajanta paintings of about the 8th century AD show kitchens with a cula, and globular cooking pots, placed one over the other, slung from the roof (Yazdani, 1952, pp. 58, 104; Schlingloff, 1987, p. 104).

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Utensils in south India : Some of these have already been described in the preceding section under the subhead ‘Devices and Methods’. The literary record may now be considered.

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The oldest Tamil writings of the Sangam period (Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp.57-70 and 1932, pp. 253-300; Sreedhara Menon, 1979, pp.121-126); date from about 100 BC to the 6th century AD, when kingdoms and trade were flourishing and kitchen technology must have already come a long way. The ural and ullūkal (words that obviously resemble the Sanskrit ulūkhala) were mortars made of both wood and stone used to pound paddy and rice. Grinding stones frequently took animal shapes, such as that of a tortoise; they were called ammi, tiruvai, āttukal and kulavi, while the stone mullers that paired with them were termed puttil and vatigai. Pots were fashioned out of either clay or stone, and had many names; pānai, śatti, śal, talam, midā, pāṇā, mittava, and mallāy, with its lid madukku. Liquor was served in a bowl called mandai (Subrahmaniam, 1966, pp. 306-309). The kundam was a versatile container, used for example to hold toddy (kallu kuṇḍam), and so was the kalam. Pots could be suspended from the roof in a rope sling (simili), or kept in stands called paṭṭādai, śumudu or śummadu. There were many spoons: the agappai was itself of three kinds (tatta-, sanda- and sirra-), and there were others called sattuvam, karaṇḍi, muttai, taduppu, maravai, toṭṭi, kinnam, marakkal (or abanam) and vaṭṭi. The vattil was a flat spoon of stone, wood or metal. There were wood friction devices to raise fire, censers to hold embers (tadavu, indalam) and pokers (nelikol) for raking the fire. The winnowing pan (śurpa in Sanskrit) was murram, the sieve was salladai, and there were plates called sinnam, sulagu, tattu and mirrul for various purposes. The bamboo coop for protecting food from flies was called kudu. Kitchens had mats (pāy) to sit on, and lofts for storage (paran, idanam, kaludu, padagam and panavai). Leaf plates fashioned out of the ambal (lotus), banyan and teak are mentioned in the earlier literature; by the 8th century AD, use of banana leaves had become common (Pillay, 1975, p. 284). Practically all these utensils and words persist to this day. As in the north, some vessels later evolved into measures of volume, like the kalam, padi, nāli and ūri (Srinivasan, 1979, pp. 71-79). Fire was raised by friction between pieces of wood, and a perpetual fire was kept going in pots called kumpatti. Into this was poked a stick called sulundu, sometimes tipped with sulphur (Srimvasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-70).

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A vessel that today is considered distinctively south Indian is the kūja, a clay drinking water-storage vessel with a globular base and a stout neck, of about the same height as the base, flaring slightly outwards. It has first been noted in Cemetery H of Harappa, which is a repository of utensils of unknown origin that differ from those in the main settlement (Sankalia, 1971, p. 259), and later in Jorwe about 1600 BC (Dhavalikar, 1985, p. 3). Thereafter the utensil disappears, to reappear about 1300 AD after the Muslim advent. Its antiquity in south India is not known.

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Lacking copper ore, south India largely skipped the chalcolithic stage, and copper utensils have been found only in a few sites like Hallur, Tekkalatotta, Utnur and Payampalli between 2500 and 900 BC (Sankalia, 1970, p. 45). Iron came into use even by 1000 BC to make hunting weapons and agricultural tools. Later came domestic utensils, but those made of stone and earthenware are preferred for cooking even to this day.

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Except for some items of specific regional utility, it is clear that all over India domestic utensils are very much the same. Writing in the early 18th century AD in Sanskrit, King Basavarāja of Keladi (Krishnamurthy, 1984, p. 227) in present-day Karnataka uses Sanskrit terms without awkwardness to denote many utensils then in use in a southern kitchen, like *gharatta* for grinding stone, *pravani* for frying pan and *kharpava* for *tāvā*. Regionally, Punjab has the distinctive *tandoori* baking oven. Kashmir has items with a Central Asian association like the *traemsarposh* used to serve Wazwan food, the *khaṇḍakari* or *samovar* used in brewing the aromatic *kahwah* tea, and certain distinctive ladles used in cooking and serving.

Linked texts (7)

Suśrutasaṃhitā — Suśruta & Nāgārjuna (siddha/alchemist), Sanskrit
Aṣṭādhyāyī — Pāṇini, Sanskrit
Harṣacarita — Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Sanskrit
Tibetan translation ('Chi med mdzod) — Classical Tibetan
Harappā
Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit