Cylindrical sickle with a wooden handle is a traditional agricultural tool used among the Maler (or Mal Paharia) tribes in Jharkhand, which is a subsistence group known to be very dependent on forests and land. The sickle is not only part of the daily labor but is symbolic of the tribe's intimate knowledge of nature in terms of traditional farming and forest-based practices. Two elements mainly constitute the sickle: a short cylindrical wooden handle and a semi-circular-shaped iron blade. The blade's working edge is serrated and is efficient for cutting through grasses, small shrubs, and crops such as millet, maize, or rice. The iron blade is fixed within the wooden handle, and a metal ferrule is added around the handle at the point of insertion by means of a tang of blade to prevent easy loosening during the use. Simple but very effective as design, this concept evolved over generations by the Maler community.
Such a sickle is quite light and easy to handle for working purposes because it is used for long hours working in undulating forest terrains, as in Jharkhand. It is used for the purpose by both men and women of the tribe-from harvesting to clearing the vegetation. Use of those handmade things exemplifies the self-sufficient life of the Maler tribe, revealing their long-rooted systems of traditional knowledge within. It also demonstrates how indigenous tools are adapted to the environment rendering them potent, efficient, and organic.