What a xorai is
A xorai is a bell metal offering tray on a raised stand, used in Assamese homes to present betel nut, food or gifts, and central to Bihu and religious ceremony.
That is the whole definition. It is not a fruit bowl and not a candy dish, and the reason to say so is that it is sold as both online by people who have never seen one used.
It is offered with something in it, usually covered with a gamosa, to a guest, a deity or someone being honoured. It sits in the prayer corner the rest of the time. In a Bihu performance it is what the dancers carry.
Made in Sarthebari
Sarthebari, in Bajali district, is the bell metal town. The alloy, kaah locally, is roughly 78 percent copper to 22 percent tin. It is melted in a charcoal furnace, poured into hand-made clay moulds, then shaped by repeated hammering over an anvil, and polished with charcoal, clay and fibre until it takes the golden-brown sheen.
The hammer marks are visible if you tilt it to the light. They are the record of how it was made, not a flaw, and a xorai with a perfectly uniform surface was almost certainly spun on a machine somewhere else.
We went and watched this being done: bell metal from Sarthebari.
It is heavy, and that costs
1.4 kg packed. Bell metal is expensive to ship and we price shipping by weight rather than hiding it in the product price, so you can see what the courier actually costs.
Cleaning
Tamarind pulp, or lemon with a pinch of wood ash, rubbed on, rinsed, dried immediately. Commercial brass polish works and will strip the warmth out of the colour over time. Never put it in a dishwasher.
It will darken with age. Most Assamese households let it, and only bring it back up before a ceremony.
