Poliya is a lidded basket made of woven cane (toore). It has a specific use at a Kodava wedding ceremony, where it is filled with rice, coconuts, jaggery, areca nuts, betel leaves and a small, spouted container (kindi) of milk. The poliya is carried on the head by a senior married woman of the okka (patrilineal descent group) from the bridegroom’s family, and handed over formally to the bride’s family. A senior female relative from the bride’s family will receive it, and similarly carry it on her head and place it below the sacred lamp at the murtha site. The poliya is returned a few days later to the bridegroom’s family with a selection of cooked food, further confirming the ties between the families.