This type of vessel, used for drinking water, was popular throughout Southeast Asia. Indian traders and missionaries introduced the form in the late 2nd century BCE. Its Malayan name, kendi, dervies from the Sanskrit kundika, a Hindu and Buddhist ritual vessel used to pour water for drinking, washing, or purification. In China, the vessels served as water-droppers to make ink. In the Philippines and Indonesia, they were used in marriage ceremonies, burial rites, and divination. In Iran, Spain, Portugal, the Nerherlands and England, they were displaced as decorative objects.