110 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PAut I. 



the natives firmly believe tliat the bursting of the shadix 

 is accompanied by a loud explosion. The leaves alone 

 are converted by the Singhalese to purposes of utihty. Of 

 them they form coverings for their houses, and portable 

 tents of a rude but effective character ; and on occasions 

 of ceremony, each chief and headman on walking abroad 

 is attended by a follower, who holds above his head an 

 elaborately-ornamented fan, formed from a single leaf of 

 the talpat. 



But the most interesting use to which they are apphed 

 is as substitutes for paper, both for books and for ordi- 

 nary purposes. In the preparation of olas^ which is the 

 term apphed to them when so employed, the leaves are 

 taken whilst still tender, and, after separating the central 

 ribs, they are cut into strips and boiled in spring water. 

 They are dried first in the shade, and afterwards in the 

 sun, then made into rolls, and kept in store, or sent to the 

 market for sale. Before they are fit for writing on they 

 are subjected to a second process, called madema. A 

 smooth plank of areca-palm is tied horizontally between two 

 trees, each ola is then damped, and a weight being attached 

 to one end of it, it is drawn backwards and forwards across 

 the edge of the wood till the surface becomes perfectly 

 smooth and polished ; and during the process, as the 

 moisture dries up, it is necessary to renew it till the effect 

 is complete. The smoothing of a single ola will occupy 

 from fifteen to twenty minutes.^ 



The finest specimens in Ceylon are to be obtained at 

 the Panselas, or Buddhist monasteries ; they are known 

 as puskola, and are prepared by the Samanera priests 

 (novices) and the students, under the superintendence of 

 the priests. 



The raw leaves, when dried without any preparation, 

 are called karakola, and, hke the leaves of the palmyra, 

 are used only for ordinary purposes by the Singhalese ; 

 but in the Tamil districts, where palmyi^as are abundant. 



1 See Vol. 11. p. 528. 



