Husking platform, Pestle-and-Mortar sign, and ulUkhala

[N. Ganesan]

  Husking platform, Pestle-and-Mortar sign, and ulUkhala
  -------------------------------------------------------

I) Husking Platforms
----------------------
In the bronze age, Harappans built numerous circular platforms
which were likely used for husking grain. They are found
near buildings that are usually called "granaries".
They are available at:
1) http://www.harappa.com/indus/16.html
2) http://www.harappa.com/indus2/158.html

These circular platforms usually have a central pit. A wooden
mortar has been recovered in one of these while the wood mortars
from most of these platforms have withered away due to the
passage of time. "The dehusking platforms situated north of
the "Coolie lines" consist of five concentric rings of bricks
laid on edge around a central hole, which originally contained
a wooden mortar. The actual use of the platforms for pounding
grain is attested to by bits of straw, husk, charred wheat
and husked barley found in them." (p.44, S.R. Rao, Dawn and
Devolution of the Indus civilization, Delhi).

Because of their obvious importance in the Harappan economy,
the owners or supervisors are represented with the IVC
signs of a man with a mortar or a mortar-pestle. a) The IVC
signs of the mortar and pestle-and-mortar and b) plan
view of the circular husking platform are given at:
http://home.swbell.net/speri/ganesan/husk.jpg
People anywhere between 1-8 could have worked on these platforms
singing songs.

II) Are they the Vedic ulUkhala?
--------------------------------

M. Witzel, Section 1.6, Dravidian in the Middle and Late RV,
in Substrate languages in Old IA, EJVS, 5-1, 1999, p. 17
"ulUkhala 1.28 'mortar' DEDR 672 Tam. ulukkai, Kan. olake,
Ko.dagu o.lake, and Kota o.lka, o.lkal kal '(stone) mortar',
Malto lo_ra 'stone to grind spices' (S. Palaniappan, by letter);
EWA I 231 'problematic'; cf. Zvelebil 1990: 79 with lit., Kuiper 1991:
14, 41 'still unexplained', compares loan words with prefix
u-; any connection with khala 'threshing floor' RV 10.48.7?".

ulUkhala occuring in the RV 1.28 is connected with just the
'pestle' (=tamil "ulakkai" and kannada "olake") alone in the
literature. This appears to be incorrect. For example,
F. C. Southworth, Lexical evidence  for early contacts between
IA and Drav., in Aryan and Non-Aryan in India, UMIch, 1978,
p. 210,
"ulUkhala- 'mortar' (RV) (Thieme [1955]: from *urU-khara-
'having broad khara'; (EWA: wohl dravdisch oder einheimisch)
    DED 580 Ta. ulakkai 'pestle' SDr.,Kannada."

Rather, "ulUkhala" is comprised of two words, which are cognate
with the tamil "ural-kaLam"(='mortar-floor').
For "ural", see DED 560; "kaLam" = DED 1160.
[Or, "ural-kal"(='mortar-stone')?].

In my view, the cirular husking platforms with a wooden mortar
and the corresponding sign in the Indus seals, in crossectional view,
were called something close to "uralkaLa/ulUkhala" by the Harappans.
This gains strength from the Rgveda occurence and linguistic analysis.

Looking forward to your comments.

Regards,
N. Ganesan








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