Sarawak
is a land of rich natural resources. Its indigenous people make a
living out of their natural surroundings. Daily activities are always
a rotation among farming, hunting, fishing and gathering which demand
them to utilise everything that nature provides for their convenience.
The abundant weaving materials like rattan, bamboo, nipah leaves,
pandanus palms and bemban reed have been creatively untilised in producing
useful items like baskets, hats and mats. Some of these items have
significant functions and meanings in their ritual
ceremonies.
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Baskets
are primarily tools; either as a carrier and some form of a container.
Interestingly, different types of baskets are made for every different
function. There is a specific basket for planting, for harvesting,
for storing and for winnowing the padi, besides those required for
collecting bamboo shoots and edible ferns, for fishing and for keeping
personal belongings. Likewise, suitable hats are made for farmers
as head protection from the sun and rain. Mats are made not only
for sleeping but also serve a purpose for drying padi in the sun,
for catching the winnowed rice and also extensively used for their
farming festivals and rituals ceremony. |
Weaving
and plaiting baskets isn’t just for convenience. In the Iban community
for example, the ability to plait fine baskets would enhance the standing
of a woman within the community. This artistic culture is also enriched
by the existence of numerous ethnic groups in Sarawak. The baskets
and other plaited items are made in their own design and technique
that represents the ethnic identity. |
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The nomadic
Penan are well known
for producing the finest rattan sleeping mats and baskets which
are closely plaited, soft and pliable. These are decorated in a
cream or light colour with dark brown or black design of hornbills,
spiders and florals motives. The most famous Penan basket is called
ajat; made of finely split rattan, is cylindrical back pack basket
with two shoulder straps.
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The
ingan basket, cylindrical in shape, supported by a set of
four vertical sticks on the sides serving as legs, slightly flared
at the top and made of wide strips of rattan, used for carrying and
storage, is a typical Kayan basket. This type of basket is used for
carrying goods for long distances and can also be used for storing
padi or other personal belongings in the longhouse. |
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The Bidayuh
makes a variety of baskets of different sizes. The most popular
is tambok. Like the Kayan ingan, it is also in cylindrical
in shape and supported with four vertical sticks. The Bidayuh carry
their jungle produce to the market in this type of basket on their
back, with a bark-cloth head strap over the forehead. Unlike the
baskets made by other ethnic groups, the Bidayuh produce their tambok
baskets by plaiting with vertical and horizontal strips of rattan,
instead of with the diagonal ones as practised by the other groups.
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Chantong
is another type of basket made by the Bidayuh that is worth mentioning.
It is finely plaited and superimposed with bark or skin and covered
with a drum-like cover. Shaped like the Kayan ingan, it is
used for storing personal belongings. Formerly when headhunting
was prevalent, new heads were stored in this type of basket and hung
up in the headhouse. |
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The coastal
Melanau produce a wide range of baskets from the popularly known
round topped Rejang basket to the modern purses and
handbags, decorated with a combination of traditional designs in
natural, black and red colours. These baskets are either made of
thinly split rattan strips or strips of bemban.
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This ethnic group is also famous for its traditional hat called terendak.
They are large, somewhat conical in shape, made mostly of the swamp
nipah leaves, decorated with long bamboo strips or nipah veins, radiating
from the top centre of the hat and dyes in black and red. Rattan strips
are sewn on the rim of the hat to strengthen it. |
Among
the outstanding baskets made by the Iban are the seed baskets ( raga).
They are small, about 10" high, with a white band of wood around
the top, and four-cornered bottom without stick support. They are
very finely plaited and often decorated with symbols depicting the
rituals of padi farming. These baskets are worn over one’s shoulder
or fastened at the waist so that the padi seeds can be conveniently
taken out for planting. |
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The
Kelabit produce a variety of baskets for carrying and storing padi.
These usually large baskets, cylindrical, in shape like a cone and
supported by a number of vertical sticks on the side, are generally
decorated with horizontal bands of design related to padi growing.
Wide varieties of baskets, hats and mats are available in the Museum
Shoppe for perfect souvenirs and collection of the indigenous
plaiting arts of Sarawak. |
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