Imam Hossen; [Author]

Shahabuddin; [Author]

Toys and figurines

Basketry (BSK)

Farming

Toy

This is a cane and wood toy model of a doloin, a kind of hand or cattle-operated rice threshing machine used by Rohingya farmers before modern threshing machines were introduced to rural Arakan. This kind of threshing is very labour-intensive; thus the doloin is rarely seen now. Many young Rohingya people have never seen an authentic doloin, though they have heard about them. A doloin is constructed using basketry techniques. The tall, funnel-shaped basket that forms the body of the doloin is sealed with mud and mounted on a wooden pedestal. A large wooden paddle, hand-operated by two people or turned by oxen, is cranked to operate the doloin and thresh the rice. A special genre of Rohingya music, called Boillachairi, was traditionally played to motivate the oxen and keep them on tempo. A doloin can vary in size from three to seven feet in height and cost from 40,000-70,000 Myanmar kyat ($30-50 USD).