THE GRAM GRINDER.
In front of a native village a woman is spinning, and on the right is another Hindū woman, a gram grinder. Gram (chāna, cicer arietinum, chick pea) is used for the food of horses in India. It is ground in a chakkī, or mill, which is formed of two flat circular stones, the lower of which is generally fixed in the earth, and from its centre a peg passes through a hole in the upper stone, and forms a pivot on which the upper stone works. The gram is put in through this hole in the upper stone, and the flour works out at the edges between the two stones. When there is much work to be done, two women will sit on the ground and grind the same mill, which is placed between their legs. This is the sort of mill spoken of in Scripture: “Two women were grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.” Matt. xxiv. 41.
Two children are playing with some meal in a basket; one of them is adorned with a number of charms, fastened on a string. The ta’wīz, or charm, is an armlet, to ward off evil spirits, and all misfortune. The native beds, resting against the wall on the right, serve as beds by night, and as resting-places by day.
