Rice Fanner
A lightweight, circular tray of woven leaves or raffia about two feet in diameter used by women to winnow the rice for cooking from the indigestible husks by which it is surrounded. The unhusked rice is first placed in a wooden mortar and pounded with a pole to separate the rice from the husk. Rice and loosened husks are then placed in the fanner or winnowing tray which a woman holds in both hands in front of her, flicking the rice and husks upwards so that the breeze carries the light husks away, leaving the rice behind.
