Tumari

Vessel used by renunciant ascetics. In
earlier times it would have been made of
a gourd, although today the shape is
often replicated in brass or some other
metal. The tumari is taller than it is wide,
with an open top over which the carrying handle arches. Unlike another piece
of ascetic equipment, the kamandalu,
which has both a spout and a covered
top, the tumari is an open vessel. When
made of a gourd, it would simply have
entailed cutting parts off of the top for
the opening, with the remaining top
parts forming the vessel’s handle.
Because of its simplicity and use of readily available materials, the tumari was a
symbol of ascetic life.