The ocean of story, being C.H. Tawney's translation of Somadeva's ...

252 THE OCEAN OF STORY
sometimes made ; for this, cotton cord of two colours is
plaited into a thick, stout, flat braid, which is very handsome
and durable. It may be mentioned that similar plaited cord
strings, but round, of two or three colours are made by priests
for ola book strings (potlanu). 1
"The embroidery of bags consists generally of a centre
design, floral or otherwise, framed by three or more borders
parallel to the edge of the bag. Of these borders the inner-
most is always pald-peti, 2 the largest liya-vela, 3 the others a
variety of havadiya 4 5
or galbindu
of coloured silk is sometimes used the small ;
bag of PL XXX,
No. 1, is exceptional in having embroidery entirely in silk.
It may be noted that silk is frequently mentioned in the
Mahdvamsa, but never with any suggestion of its being an
indigenous product. The edges of bags are either bound with
pattern. A limited amount
woven braid, which was made in a great variety of designs,
8
or stitched with the peculiar centipede '
6
binding stitch.
"
Less common than the oval bags are the square ones.
They are made from a square piece of material, the four
corners of which are drawn together for the attachment of
the handle, consisting of four cords instead of the two of oval
bags."
Turning to Malaya we find the betel-boxes exhibit beautiful
specimens of the gold- and silversmiths' art. Every
fitted with the
Malay house has a betel-box or betel-tray
requisites for chewing. The more humble article is made of
wood or brass. It is generally about eight inches in diameter,
shaped like the frustrum of a pyramid reversed, uncovered
and fitted with several brass or silver boxes, one without a
cover to hold accessories such as cardamoms and cloves, and
three covered for the essentials catechu, lime and tobacco.
There is also a small case, open at each end, to hold the betel
leaves, a metal spatula for spreading the lime on them, and
1 Ola i.e. the leaf of Corypha iimbraculifera, used for MSS.
2
Lotus-petal border.
3
Vine-creeper.
4 Chain.
5 Gem-dot.
6
Patteya, " centipede/' or mudum mesma (backbone stitch), appears to be
peculiar to Singhalese embroidery. It is an elaborated herring-bone. Two
needles are used in conjunction. For a detailed description of the work see
Coomaraswamy, op. cit., p. 241.