Turned before it is carved.

Everything here starts on a lathe. A block of jak goes on the spindle, the shape is cut with a long chisel, and while the piece is still spinning a stick of lac is pressed against it until the friction melts the colour straight into the grain. It is the same method used for the pahana lit at the start of a new year, the punkalasa set at a doorway, and the sesath carried in a perahera.

Then the carving. The creeper running along the edge of every olinda poruwa we make is liya vela, and the petal ring around each cup is pala peti. Neither does anything for the game. Both take a full day.

• PahanaThe brass oil lamp
• PunkalasaThe pot of plenty
• SesathThe ceremonial fan