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1923. | An Essay on the History of Newar Culture. 487 
the looms used in the different areas in Tibet agree very 
closely. Especially important is the absence of the shuttle and 
the employment of a ball of thread directly. Treadles are also 
absent and the beater-in is definitely a separate piece, held 
in the hand, not suspended in a framework. There is no 
loom frame either and weaving is performed in a squatting 
position. ! 
It is therefore evident that the loom did not come from 
Tibet, but probably from the Indian side. ‘The instruments 
for spinning also seem to have come from India. In Tibet, 
the spindle consists of a straight wooden rod, with a notch 
at the end in which the yarn is caught and terminates at the 
lower end in a flattened clay whorl.’ In Nepal, an instrument 
closely resembling the Indian spinning wheel is used.* An iron 
rod is attached by means of a string to a wheel and revolves 
With it. The spinner sits on the ground turning the wheel 
by means of a handle with one hand, and with the other 
drawing out the cotton into thread. 
has already been noted. I shall illustrate it from another art, 
carpentry, in which they excel; they however employ very 
primitive tools. Planks are cut only with chisel and mallet, 
and the large saw is unknown.* It has therefore to be admit- 
ted that the technique of weaving came to Nepal as it is or at 
least something very similar, which may have evolved into the 
present apparatus in the country. As regards the spinning 
wheel it may be said that it is nothing but the ancient distaff 
combined with a wheel to give it continuous motion. But the 
knowledge of getting steady motion by a water wheel and its 
transmission to grinding mills has been known in Nepal ard 
the neighbouring areas for a very long time. The device is said 
6. The sketch referred to is No. 2. . loom represented in No. 3 om 
the or plate seems to be a recent innovation, probably from India. 
2 WwW. W : 
§.B., 1836. o 
+ D. Wright. Encyclopedia Britannica, Iith Edition, § Nepal. 
5 Campbell: Agricultural implements, etc., ibid. 
