Ginning is accomplished by two methods.  The simplest, and doubtless the older, is to place the cotton on a smooth wooden block and to roll over it a wooden cylinder which tapers slightly toward each end (Fig. 16, No. 1).  The palm of the hand, at the base of the fingers, is placed on the roller and the weight of the body applied, as the cylinder is moved slowly forward, forcing the seeds from the floss. [236] The more common instrument (lilidsan) acts on the principle of a clothes wringer (Plate LXIII).  Two horizontal cylinders of wood are geared together at one end, and are mounted in a wooden frame in such a manner that they are quite close together, yet not in contact.  A handle is attached to the lower roller at the end opposite the gears, and as it is turned, it rotates the cylinders in opposite directions.  A piece of cotton is pressed between the rollers, which seize the fibres and carry them through, while the seeds are forced back and fall to the ground.

The cleaned cotton is never bowed or otherwise separated with a vibrating string, as is the case in Java, India, and China, but the same result is obtained by placing it on a piece of carabao hide and beating it with two rattan sticks until it becomes soft and fluffy (Plate LXIV).

After the carding, the cotton is spun by placing it in a hollow cylinder of palm bark attached to a bamboo stick (tibtibean).  A bit of thread is twisted from the cotton at the bottom of the cylinder, and is attached to a spindle, which is rubbed rapidly against the naked thigh, and is then allowed to turn in shallow basket, or on a piece of hide.  As it spins it twists out new thread and the arm of the operator rises higher and higher, until at last the spindle stops.  The position of the extended arm is then altered, and the spindle again set in motion in order to wind up the new thread on the shaft.  While the spinning is progressing, the free hand of the operator is passed rapidly up and down the thread, keeping the tension uniform and rubbing out any inequalities (Plate LXV).

In many sections the spinning wheel used by the coast natives is beginning to replace the hand outfit (Fig. 16, No. 5).  The mass of fiber is held in the left hand, and a thread from it is attached to a horizontal spindle, which is turned by a cord passing over a large wheel.  This method is much more rapid than the hand device, but the thread is less uniform, and it is seldom utilized when a fine fabric is to be woven.  Bamboo bobbins, consisting of small tubes, are also wound by attaching them to the spindle shaft, so that the thread is transferred by the revolution of the wheel.