Kolhu
A mill turned by a bullock walking in a circle, used to press oil from seeds or crush sugarcane.
Also: ghani, bullock oil mill, cane crusher
A kolhu, or ghani, is a pestle-and-mortar mill worked by animal power. A bullock, often with its eyes covered so it walks steadily, pulls a beam round a large wooden or stone mortar, turning a heavy pestle that crushes mustard, sesame, groundnut or coconut and squeezes out the oil. Similar bullock-driven rollers were used to crush sugarcane for jaggery. The phrase kolhu ka bail, the oil-mill bullock, is a Hindi image for someone bound to endless, circular work. Most oil is now pressed by machine, but oil from bullock-driven mills is still made in parts of India.