Mamas is sort of like nickel silver, or german silver, there is a Chinese type of white metal that I think might in fact be mamas, but I've forgotten the Chinese name, its something like "pakun" or similar I think.
I've maybe seen that type of little slit before, sometimes vertical, sometimes horizontal, and once or twice with a gold infill. I've been told that the gold serves the purpose cooling the wilah and of preventing any possible adverse effects flowing from the wilah back to the user. In fact, I've seen gold bars and dots in the base of a wilah, and in various places in a gonjo.
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