Village Life - Threshing Rice Photo and Text by Siri
The "kamatha" or the threshing field is a circular area, thirty to forty feet in diameter with a raised center so that water will flow outwards in case of an unexpected rain storm before rice is safely stored. In Sinhala lore "kamatha" is considered holy ground and prior to first, and subsequent uses, special designs are drawn on the surface with wood ash, and chants chanted, to wade away any unfriendly spirits and appease friendly spirits. The rice stalks are then piled high in the center and the seeds are separated from their stalks by driving three to four yoked water buffalo in a circle. Threshing rice is almost always done at night, to beat the heat of the day, and the whole procedure can take up half the night. To keep all who participate in good spirits and awake, various forms of entertainment are devised, with a fair amount of home made alcohol also being consumed.

||- Next -||- Previous -||- Page One -||