Ual

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Ual (pronounced as woo-aal) is a sand-clock shaped grinding tool used by the bodos.

As forests have abounded Assam form centuries, wood is deployed to make an ual. From a tree trunk a circular core is carved out and sand-clock counter is achieved by trimming its outer belly.The tool for ramming the contents within ual is also made of wood. It's a long cylindrical tool which is provided with a trough at an appropriate position for holding it. The two ends of the ramming tool is clipped with circular metal rings for its longevity.

The bodos use the ual basically for grinding grains. The ground rice can then be used for making different cuisines like onla, pitha etc. Other stuffs like mixture of leaves or dry fish etc. are also ground in an ual.