Manilha

The measurement of water used to be done by 'manilhas', rings, and feathers, with each 'manilha' containing 16 rings and each ring eight feathers. According to an official document dated November 8, 1849 and published in vol. II of the 'Epocha Administrativa', a 'manilha' was "a hole with a palm of circumference." The 'manilha' is a measure little used today, but drinking water continues to be sold by feathers, half feathers, and quarters of a feather, as in the time when the decimal metric system was not in force.