Wi (Thai Winnowing Fan) — a 50 cm Round Woven Bamboo Fan, Rattan-Bound Rim, Cross-Braced Both Faces, Bamboo Handle, Fanning Chaff from Paddy

"The farmers standing round, each holding a wi, wave it back and forth to make a wind; this is called ram wi, the wi dance." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author พิชชา ทองขลิบ (Phitcha Thongkhlip), CC BY 4.0)

Split strips from the bamboo skin and weave them in close plain weave from the centre outward, round or oval, about 50 cm across.

Finish the edge with a bamboo rim, braided fast with rattan. Lay bamboo braces across the diameter on both front and back, and thread rattan to bind the two braces together.

Take a bamboo cane a hand's grip around, lay it from the top edge of the fan to about 50 cm beyond the bottom edge as the handle, and bind it with braided rattan.

Photos of a real wi and of winnowing with it on the threshing floor (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author พิชชา ทองขลิบ (Phitcha Thongkhlip), CC BY 4.0).

After threshing, rake off the straw with a khan chai, drag the paddy into a heap, and throw it into the air with a shovel. Those standing round wave their wi to make a wind: empty grains and straw blow away, and the heavier good paddy falls back onto the floor. Throw the rice when the wind blows, listening for the windmill as the signal.

Before the wi, farmers fanned with toddy-palm leaves, then with kradong trays. Today there are rotary winnowers turned by hand or machine, so fanning by hand is no longer common. Take care with the knife when splitting strips. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "วีข้าว", author พิชชา ทองขลิบ (Phitcha Thongkhlip) (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source gives no strip width, and there is no listing for rattan, so it is named in the text.