CONTENTS 2 Editorial Sarawak Craft Council 3 ... - CraftHub
CONTENTS 2 Editorial Sarawak Craft Council 3 ... - CraftHub
CONTENTS 2 Editorial Sarawak Craft Council 3 ... - CraftHub
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<strong>CONTENTS</strong><br />
2 <strong>Editorial</strong><br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
3 Welcome to the<br />
Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s<br />
Bazaar<br />
4 Meet the RWCB<br />
Exhibitors<br />
6 A Centre for<br />
Handicrafts<br />
8 <strong>Sarawak</strong> Storage<br />
10 The Best of <strong>Sarawak</strong><br />
<strong>Craft</strong>s<br />
15 What’s On<br />
1
<strong>Editorial</strong><br />
<strong>Editorial</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL LINKS<br />
The skill and lore of handicrafts is rooted in each people’s past. The type of craft is suited to their needs and lifestyle. Decorations, or<br />
the absence of decorations, tell the observer something about the creative imagination of the maker and the user of each artefact, from<br />
humble household utensils to sacred religious paraphernalia.<br />
It should be easy to distinguish the crafts of one group from another at a glance. Careful examination, however, shows that even within<br />
sub-groups of closely related people there are variations. Designs and motifs overlap community and international boundaries. Historical<br />
study confirms this: wherever human groups came into peaceful contact, they borrowed from each other’s cultures.<br />
Many examples of cultural borrowing can be found within our own area. A finely plaited bamboo hat, now made by the Melanau of the<br />
Matu region, is called by them seraong Sambas. Why? “Some traders who sailed to the west coast of Borneo brought back wives from<br />
there,” the elders relate, “these ladies introduced this type of hat.” A book about Borneo’s cultures, compiled at the end of the 19th century, confirms this seemingly far-fetched explanation, complete with an illustration of the hat in question – the author had collected<br />
it in Sambas (Ling Roth, H: The Natives of <strong>Sarawak</strong> and British North Borneo, Truslove and Harrison, London 1896, vol. II, p. 61).<br />
The delicate patterns of Malay gold brocade cloth (songket) are used throughout the Insulindies, obviously borrowed, copied, carried<br />
from one place to another. Royal brides brought an entourage of skilled craftspeople with them if they married into another country, but<br />
ordinary traders and travellers also helped. The floral designs on imported calicos and muslins are surely one source of tulips and<br />
carnations which are seen in many Indonesian batik motifs?<br />
Popular imagination sees a ‘traditional craftsperson’ quietly sitting at work in a village, knowing nothing of the outside world. There<br />
are some such, but they are becoming rare. The young generation of craftspeople has been to school; there are specific crafts training<br />
institutions (see p. 6) where skills and techniques are taught, and where the trainees absorb cultural influences well beyond their own<br />
village. Artisans travel; they may bring their products to international fairs and bazaars, they may attend professional training courses.<br />
Designers in turn travel to the supposedly ‘isolated’ villages, to learn and to teach, and to gather ideas.<br />
This is not to say that artistic and crafts traditions should be abandoned for anything new that comes along! Every culture needs its<br />
roots. But no man is an island, even if he lives on one. In the<br />
old days, people got new inspiration, or found things to adopt<br />
CRAFTS is published by <strong>Craft</strong>hub Sdn. Bhd. for the <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong> (SCC). Opinions<br />
expressed by contributors to CRAFTS are not necessarily those of the SCC or <strong>Craft</strong>hub. All<br />
and adapt, as they roamed the land in search of new farmland.<br />
information is correct at the time of printing. The contents of CRAFTS may not be reproduced in<br />
any medium without prior written permission. Feedback is welcome, write to us at<br />
Today, they roam in search of education; they read books,<br />
crafthub@gmail.com If you would like to advertise, please email crafthub@gmail.com<br />
they glimpse other people’s cultures, crafts and countries on<br />
TV. An event like the Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar, short<br />
Editor: Heidi Munan<br />
Publication Managers: Donald Tan and Freya Martin<br />
though it is, will allow artisans from very different parts of<br />
Contributors: Annette Bessant, Lucy Ang-Abey<br />
Published by <strong>Craft</strong>hub Sdn. Bhd., 1<br />
the world to meet, look at each other’s output, and surely learn<br />
something new.<br />
st Floor, 96 Main Bazaar, 93000 Kuching.<br />
Printed by Bahagia Press Sdn. Bhd., Lot 225, Section 49, Jln Padungan Utara, 93100 Kuching.<br />
The <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
The SCC promotes the State’s ethnic handicrafts, both to preserve a<br />
priceless artistic heritage and to improve the artisans’ livelihood. The<br />
predominantly rural craftworkers now have a realistic option to<br />
augment their income from agriculture.<br />
The <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong> coordinates the activities of government and private<br />
entities involved in handicraft development in <strong>Sarawak</strong>.<br />
Mission Statement<br />
The <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong> provides leadership in the development<br />
and enhancement of the handicaft industry in <strong>Sarawak</strong>.<br />
Objective<br />
To develop the handicraft industry into a more coordinated and<br />
progressive enterprise that will complement the needs of the tourism<br />
industry.<br />
Cover Illustration: Susanne Kampp, Denmark with examples of her willow fugelfoderhuse (bird-feeding<br />
house).<br />
2
The Rainforest World Music Festival, an event that has been gaining popularity with every year, opens its doors for the<br />
11th time this July. The whole of <strong>Sarawak</strong> Cultural Village is taken over by a festive throng of world music fans for three<br />
days just as usual.<br />
Or is it?<br />
The Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar is making its debut this year, and <strong>Sarawak</strong> welcomes all participants and visitors to<br />
this first-ever event of its kind.<br />
The venue of the <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar, inside the Cultural Village, puts a very special stamp on the occasion. There will be no<br />
shortage of food and entertainment, as the village is geared to cater for thousands. The exhibitors, vendors and crafts<br />
demonstrators taking part in the Bazaar will have the unique chance of enjoying three days and nights of music, too!<br />
The Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar committee is doing everything possible to make our friends from other parts of<br />
Malaysia and from overseas feel at home. We hope they will take a stroll or two around the historical parts of the city of<br />
Kuching, where their hotel is situated; and on the way from Kuching to the <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar venue, they will catch a few<br />
glimpses of <strong>Sarawak</strong> s countryside.<br />
The <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar is, true to its name, a marketplace for the products of skilled hands from every part of the world. Yet<br />
it is more than that — it is a place where craftspeople can admire each others handiwork, where they can discuss<br />
techniques and where they can exchange ideas.<br />
Every participant is sure to bring something, not only goods but skills and ideas.<br />
It is our hope that every participant will take something home too: happy memories<br />
of Kuching, of the Cultural Village, of the Music Festival, and of the <strong>Craft</strong>s Scene<br />
in <strong>Sarawak</strong>.<br />
So, welcome to the Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar, and a special welcome to<br />
our cover girl , Susanne Kampp, who comes all the way from Denmark to share<br />
her basketry skills.<br />
We hope to see you all again at the Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar 2009!<br />
Datuk Gramong Juna<br />
Chairman, <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar Programme at <strong>Sarawak</strong> Cultural Village<br />
(details correct at time of printing)<br />
July 8 Arrival of participants from overseas and outstations , and setting up<br />
July 9 Setting up; Bazaar open from 9 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.<br />
July 10 Official opening of Bazaar at SCV at 10 a.m.<br />
Bazaar open from 9 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.<br />
Official Welcome Dinner for RWCB participants in Kuching<br />
July 11 Rainforest World Music Festival & <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar open 12 noon to 12 midnight<br />
July 12 Rainforest World Music Festival & <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar open 12 noon to 12 midnight<br />
July 13 Rainforest World Music Festival & <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar open 12 noon to 2 a.m.<br />
July 14 Bazaar continues from 9 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.<br />
Appreciation Dinner for RWCB participants in Kuching<br />
July 15 Bazaar open until noon; dismantling and clearing stalls until 5.00 p.m.<br />
July 16 Clearing complete. Participants depart for their home countries or undertake excursions in <strong>Sarawak</strong><br />
3
Here’s a glimpse into the lives and work of some of<br />
the talented craftspeople exhibiting at the first-ever<br />
Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar.<br />
SUSANNE KAMPP, DENMARK<br />
Susanne Kampp has been making willow baskets for some 15 years. Willow is a tall, long-branched<br />
shrub that grows in damp places, especially along rivers, in most parts of Europe. Like the majority of<br />
basket-makers in Denmark, she only practises her craft part time, after she has finished work as a preschool<br />
teacher and during weekends.<br />
Baskets at an exhibition<br />
Susanne explains,<br />
“I like the strong traditional baskets, which are made for use. The first year I used to learn the techniques myself, but then I started<br />
to teach other people to make the baskets. I did start to experiment with the baskets’ shapes, and to use the techniques another<br />
way.”<br />
Susanne Kampp is Vice-President of the Basket-Makers Association of Denmark. She has visited <strong>Sarawak</strong> with members of her<br />
association and visited Nanga Sumpa, where the visitors were most interested to exchange ideas and techniques with their Iban<br />
hosts.<br />
The Basket-Makers Association of Denmark has 1,500 members. They publish a magazine, and organize annual festivals, where they meet and showcase<br />
their productions both traditional and modern to the general public.<br />
KAMALDEEP KAUR, INDIA<br />
Kamaldeep Kaur is a textile designer with a lifelong passion for neelgar, the name she chose for<br />
her business because “there is no other colour that represents natural dyes so beautifully as<br />
Indigo.”<br />
This textile artist from Gujarat province designs and produces saris, shawls, stoles, beautifully<br />
crafted pieces for every use. She is often called in to consult and design for official functions,<br />
such as costuming traditional folk festivals.<br />
Kamaldeep’s particular interest in natural dyes makes her a sought-after lecturer at conferences<br />
and seminars, both in her own country and abroad.<br />
ZOIA MAMBETALIEVA, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC<br />
ASANO CHISATO, JAPAN<br />
Chisato is a talented, young Japanese artist. After a stint at the Kyoto-Survival Academy, she<br />
graduated from the Kyoto-Saga University of Arts.<br />
Her working career commenced in design and print media, where she produced material for<br />
cartoon strips among other things. These two-dimensional characters interested her<br />
immensely, but in the long run they were not enough to satisfy her creative imagination.<br />
Asano decided to try them in three dimensions – the result is a set of quirky human, animal<br />
and fantasy puppets.<br />
Chisato still produces drawings, etchings and prints, all conceived in the same individualistic<br />
style. This is an artist who does not see the world as others do, but through her own very personal focus. Chisato regularly<br />
exhibits in art galleries around Japan, but her special love is for hand-made puppets; her matchbox-sized miniatures are<br />
something like her signature product. She gives puppet shows at art galleries, shrines and community festivals.<br />
This is her first foray into Malaysia – the first time her puppets will be seen in the rainforest!<br />
Zoia Mambetalieva from Kyrgyzstan brings the cultures of Central Asia to the rainforest with her<br />
toy animals, dolls, birds, jewellery, hats, bags, silk scarves, embroidered jackets, painted chess<br />
sets, musical instruments and small felt mattings.<br />
Felt, a dense, warm textile made of the compressed wool of sheep, goats or other domestic<br />
animals, is one of the trademark products of her region, and should create considerable interest<br />
at the Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar.<br />
Zoia is supported by CACSA, the Central Asian <strong>Craft</strong>s Support Association. CACSA is a nongovernmental<br />
organization founded in 2000 with the support of Aid to Artisans (a US-based<br />
crafts support organization). CACSA represents 7,000 artisans from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Its<br />
mission is the revival and development of crafts and the consolidation of artisans’ efforts for the mutual cultural enrichment of Central Asian people, and the<br />
promotion of these products on the world market. CACSA provides its members with training and workshops on technical and marketing topics, organizes<br />
fairs, exhibitions and festivals and lobbies in the artisans’ interest at public and legislative levels.<br />
4<br />
Photo: Hans Hazebroek
JEN RICHARDSON, INDONESIA<br />
In Bahasa Indonesia, balok is the main beam that holds a house together. To Jen Richardson and her partner, it is a<br />
combination of ‘Bali’ and ‘Lombok’. They named their company after the famed mother-of-pearl of Lombok, set in<br />
silver by skilled Balinese artisans.<br />
Balok Healing Jewellery designs are based on sacred geometry images, traditionally considered to have healing<br />
properties. Each piece is unique because no two pearl shells are exactly the same. The mother-of-pearl used in the<br />
Balok collection is hand-selected for quality and colour from farmed, renewable sources in tropical Indonesia; it is<br />
finished to exacting standards with Sterling Silver 208.<br />
DONNA NOVA, USA<br />
Donna Nova creates things of beauty with a blowtorch.<br />
She is a glass artist with many years of experience who now specializes in making<br />
individually crafted beads and fragile glass leaves.<br />
A master of her craft, Donna also conducts lessons at her studio in the Santa Fe in<br />
the New Mexico area, and she makes studio time available for lampworkers who<br />
do not have their own facilities.<br />
Donna Nova Designs lampworked beads are sold at several local and international<br />
bead shops including the Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ and Beadazzled in<br />
Washington, D.C. Examples of her finished jewellery are available at the Corning<br />
Glass Center, Corning, New York and Tesuque Glassworks, Santa Fe, NM.<br />
A select sampling of her work will be showcased at the Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s Bazaar – don’t miss it!<br />
SERGIO LUB, USA<br />
Born to Russian parents in Buenos Aires, Sergio began making jewellery at the age<br />
12, sold his first piece at 16, obtained an inventor’s patent for kinetic pendants at 19,<br />
and became an architect at 22 and is now based in the USA.<br />
Sergio has travelled from the Andes to the Himalayas learning from master craftsmen<br />
the ancient metal working techniques he employs in designing and crafting his<br />
bracelets. These elegant and yet classic designs are made principally of copper.<br />
Some also incorporate magnets at acupressure points. Sergio’s masterpieces are<br />
worn by both men and women. Couples frequently choose matching designs.<br />
EMILY CHAK, SARAWAK<br />
Emily initially worked in the high technology and corporate services sectors, but her grandmother’s<br />
jade and gemstones collection and stories had inspired her passion in jewellery at early age.<br />
Emily started Emilée at the turn of the millennium and has created the exclusive range and limited<br />
edition ‘The Sparkles of Ming’. Her style is based on unique and contemporary lines with combinations<br />
of antiques and rare gemstones and this has become her forté.<br />
Her custom designs are sassy and stylish, inspired by the colours and cuts of gemstones, to enhance<br />
the individuality and independence of women.<br />
Photo: Annette Bessant<br />
NABILA ABDULLAH, SARAWAK<br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong> has a long history of pottery tradition; Nabila Abdullah represents the new generation.<br />
After taking professional courses, Nabila started to experiment with her own ideas. She<br />
processes her own clay and glazes from the raw materials. While skilled at the wheel, this<br />
potter also creates vessels by the freehand anvil-and-paddle method which had been used by<br />
generations of <strong>Sarawak</strong> women to make cooking pots.<br />
Nabila now runs her own workshop, turning out ceramics that incorporate traditional designs<br />
and techniques, adapted to the needs of the 21 st century. Among her various products, ceramic<br />
beads enjoy great popularity.<br />
VON JOLLY, SARAWAK<br />
Raymond Jolly is a <strong>Sarawak</strong>ian fashion designer who has made the grade both on the national and the<br />
international scene. Together with his nephew Aaron George, he now dresses Malaysia’s elite in swathes<br />
of silk, organza, and pineapple fibre enhanced with original textile art.<br />
Since they set up their partnership three years ago, Von Jolly have won the grand prize in the fashion category of the Piala<br />
Seri Indon Batik design competition and have dressed celebrities like Sazzy Falak, Wan Zaleha Radzi and Asha Gill. Batik is<br />
a theme that is present in each of their creations, but each piece is a unique work of art executed by Aaron, a UiTM graduate<br />
in art and design.<br />
Von Jolly also designed the eye-catching costumes for the Malaysian stage show M - The Opera, which debuted in 2006.<br />
Photos courtesy of exhibitors unless otherwise accredited.<br />
5<br />
Spring Leaves<br />
Maridontreks<br />
Raymond (left) and Aaron (right) at<br />
the WEFT fashion show
A CENTRE FOR HANDICRAFTS<br />
by Lucy Ang-Abey<br />
Along Jalan Stadium in Kuching sits a single-storey building in a big compound full of greenery. That’s the Malaysian Handicraft<br />
Development Corporation, or Kraftangan. It opens Monday – Friday, 8.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.<br />
The sign SKIM INKUBATOR KRAF leads you to rooms of craftspeople at work. They’re participants of the incubator scheme,<br />
starting businesses with strong support from Kraftangan. Among the many benefits, a pleasant work place at a low rental gives<br />
these participants a good head start.<br />
Doris Hilda Reji does sulaman keringkam, hand embroidery with flat silver<br />
and gold plated threads on cotton voile, cotton lawn, and other light,<br />
transparent fabrics. No motifs are drawn on the fabric. Stitches are executed<br />
free hand. Doris picked up the skills from two teachers for two weeks each in<br />
2002. Being a self-motivated person, she independently honed her skills until<br />
she was ready for the incubator scheme<br />
in 2003. Doris is assisted by Siti Rosnani<br />
Abu Bakar and Norhafiza Umar. Constant<br />
orders make every day a busy day<br />
embroidering lovely scarves and shawls. Doris (front left) and team doing sulaman keringkam on a shawl<br />
Depending on the size of the fabric and the details of the motifs, a piece takes 15 to 40 working<br />
Finished pieces<br />
days to complete.<br />
Photo: Heidi Munan<br />
In the same block is Jojo Aznie at the loom, weaving songket. Jojo, who joined the incubator scheme in 2005, is assisted by Anis<br />
Hasban. Besides producing exquisite songket, Jojo and Anis also take in trainees whose attachment lasts six months. A weaver<br />
produces 6 to 7 inches of songket work a day. At present, Jojo produces songket exclusively under Kraftangan’s commission.<br />
The next block houses ceramic work and woodwork.<br />
Ceramics is three-times award winner Florence Sujang’s domain. She joined the incubator scheme in 2004. Many of her ceramic<br />
products have been used as corporate gifts. Florence is assisted by Leo, Siti and Swena, who are stationed in Kraftangan.<br />
Besides selling her products all over Malaysia and abroad, Florence has her own retail outlets in Carpenter Street, the Civic<br />
Centre, and at the Waterfront (Friday – Sunday nights (see page 15)). In her retail outlets, Florence expands her product line<br />
beyond ceramics. That’s where she shows her multi-skills and displays the products of her multi-talents.<br />
The carpentry work and carving of Tihie Enterprise and Khasmanira Enterprise<br />
make up the woodwork section. They produce quality, made-to-order fine furniture,<br />
decorative objects, and household items.<br />
Jamal Mawi, a woodwork graduate from the Institut Kemahiran MARA, owns Tihie<br />
Enterprise. He joined the incubator scheme in 2004. Besides making furniture, he<br />
does carving. Kertini Bedi, who holds a Diploma in Woodcarving from the Institut<br />
Kraf Negara, started working with Jamal in February. She’s often seen chiselling<br />
away wood blocks and planks, producing intricate, decorative designs for a wide<br />
variety of items.<br />
6<br />
Kertini displays great patience carving out ‘feathers’ of a<br />
kenyalang-shaped congkat tray (an indoor game)
Khalis Abdullah, or Kinel, owns Khasmanira Enterprise.<br />
Woodwork training under Kraftangan for Kinel started in 1978 in<br />
Kapit, then in 1982 in Pahang. He worked with a West German<br />
company in Kuching from 1984 to 1988. For 12 years, Kinel<br />
worked in MNN Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of <strong>Sarawak</strong> Timber<br />
Industries Development Corporation. In 2007, Kinel decided to<br />
join the Kraftangan incubator scheme. He’s assisted by four<br />
workers, one of them is a son, another a nephew. Kinel’s fine<br />
work on nibong (a palm timber) is exceptional.<br />
The next block houses the batik section. Titek Sandora Apit, who<br />
joined the incubator scheme in 2003, owns the Sandora <strong>Craft</strong><br />
Collection. She’s assisted by her sister Mordiah and Rosmidah<br />
who owns Surosmir <strong>Craft</strong>. Sandora had seven years of<br />
apprenticeship and work experience in batik textile production<br />
before starting her own business. All of Sandora’s batik pieces<br />
are hand drawn and hand painted. Although she uses a wide<br />
range of textiles, cotton and silk remain her favourites.<br />
Rosmidah starting the batik process by using the djanting to apply wax on<br />
the fabric<br />
Senia making a lantern from dyed bark cloth<br />
7<br />
The three ladies are busy at work every day to produce articles<br />
for sale and to meet the orders constantly pouring in. Sandora’s<br />
collection offers a wide range of finished batik products, which<br />
are sold at the workshop and at the Waterfront (Friday – Sunday<br />
nights).<br />
Kinel gets the machine ready to start his woodwork<br />
Next door is Catherine Senia Jugi’s Bengkel Pembuatan Beg<br />
(Produk Kemasan). Senia joined the incubator scheme in 2003.<br />
She’s assisted by Jamalia, Elizabeth and Cindy. Senia specializes<br />
in bag making. She is very skilful in handling different industrial<br />
sewing machines. Although her main product lines are bags of all<br />
shapes and sizes, of different materials and functions, she<br />
practically does everything else. Senia and her team produce many<br />
items wholly by hand or with machine assistance. Senia’s workshop<br />
produces some of the most expertly handled and most beautifully<br />
made bark cloth products. Most of the items produced are made<br />
to order. Occasionally, one may be able to buy a bemban bag, a<br />
mengkuang box, a rattan tray, or something else off the shelf at<br />
the workshop.<br />
Indeed, Kraftangan’s Inkubator Kraf is a hive of activity.
y Annette Bessant<br />
There was a time, not so long ago, when all the furniture found<br />
in a typical <strong>Sarawak</strong> house consisted of mats, jars, maybe a<br />
wooden chest, and baskets. Baskets were used for every<br />
conceivable purpose; storage was high on the list.<br />
Sturdy baskets, fitted with lids as in the old days, still take pride<br />
of place among local handicrafts. Even a modern household,<br />
with built-in cupboards for everything, can use a few well-made baskets, either for storing stuff or simply as things of beauty.<br />
Stroll down Kuching s Main Bazaar, drop in at the <strong>Sarawak</strong><br />
<strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong> showroom in the Round Tower (opposite the<br />
General Post Office building), or take a short trip across river<br />
to the Kraftangan headquarters on Stadium Road. You ll see<br />
traditional design taken a stage further, to produce something<br />
both aesthetically pleasing and functional.<br />
One now famous design by Edric Ong was awarded a seal of<br />
excellence by UNESCO in 2002. A traditional Lun Bawang<br />
hat is used as a lid on a circular bark cloth tray. These Ba Kelalan Trays are on view<br />
upstairs in Artrageously Ramsay Ong on Kuching s Main Bazaar. The lidded trays, and cylindrical boxes worked in the same technique,<br />
make unique and pleasing gifts.<br />
The Lun Bawang hat is worked from a root fibre. All traditional local<br />
handicrafts use natural materials. Take the swamp reed bemban, softer<br />
than rattan and stronger than<br />
pandan. The smooth outer skin<br />
is used to work intricate self-<br />
coloured patterns — the designs<br />
can be complicated as the reed<br />
is very pliable. Modern applications of an old technique include clutch purses and larger bags,<br />
which could be used as storage for delicate items or for carrying a poolside pareo or sarong.<br />
Large containers are the ideal tidy-all for clearing away the children s toys, magazines, all the<br />
stuff that clutters up a living room — and they look good in a contemporary setting. These items<br />
may be viewed at the <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong>.<br />
8
Kraftangan also sells a number of different bemban baskets, some made into handbags and others into<br />
storage containers. Kraftangan s creative designers have recently come up with oval and round bemban<br />
baskets which incorporate cotton for the lining and leather decoration for the lid.<br />
9<br />
Lidded baskets made from<br />
bamboo, traditionally made by the<br />
Bidayuh people, can also be<br />
found at the <strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong>. Only the outer skin of the<br />
bamboo cane is used, cut into thin strips and dyed to do full<br />
justice to the satiny sheen of the material. Bamboo is a more<br />
rigid material than bemban or pandan and therefore keeps its<br />
shape better, but — traveller beware — s it harder to pack in a<br />
suitcase!<br />
Pandan or screw pine is associated mainly with cooking in Asia, as the leaves of some species are<br />
aromatic, and they are used for colouring in cakes and desserts. Pandan leaves are also used to<br />
repel cockroaches and the leaves may be powdered and kept with beans and rice to deter weevils.<br />
The largest species, also known locally as mengkuang, is used for making mats and baskets. The<br />
leaves, dried and trimmed, can be handled much the same way as folding paper strips. The end<br />
result is a soft, flat weave, normally in the 1/1 technique to produce regular squares. The classic<br />
pandan mat is off-white, but enterprising ladies dye some of the working strips in colours of blue,<br />
pink, purple or green, to produce lively plaid patterns for baskets.<br />
An old technique, recently revived by the efforts of Kraftangan Malaysia, is bergerang or open-work weave. Skilled fingers turn out<br />
lovely mat-worked containers with openwork lids. The interior of the boxes is lined with fabric to give a contrasting background to the<br />
filigree lattice of the top — truly a fine example of good modern design.<br />
For a number of years, local designer Galeri<br />
M has been working with Iban and Bidayuh<br />
longhouse communities to produce rattan-<br />
reinforced bamboo baskets. The fibres used<br />
are renewable resources found in the areas<br />
around the longhouses, tinted with<br />
commercial dyes. They are strong, versatile<br />
and are made in a variety of sizes; a nest of<br />
three is a very attractive <strong>Sarawak</strong> souvenir!<br />
They are on sale in the gallery above the Deli Caf (88 Main Bazaar) along the Kuching waterfront.<br />
This small selection of local storage containers is only a sample of what is available in <strong>Sarawak</strong>. Enjoy your search for more, you can<br />
never have too many!
<strong>Craft</strong>hub Sdn. Bhd. is a small local company, founded by a group of crafts enthusiasts who want to promote <strong>Sarawak</strong> handicrafts<br />
in an economically viable way, with international-standard quality control.<br />
<strong>Craft</strong>hub cooperates with other bodies, government or private, that are devoted to encouraging the younger generation into<br />
craft-oriented careers, as a worthwhile occupation that provides a viable living for local artisans.<br />
It is important that action be taken now, before many skills inherent in our craft heritage are lost!<br />
WOODCARVING<br />
The indigenous peoples of Borneo have developed woodcarving to a high level of art.<br />
Boys learnt from their fathers – woodcarving is essentially a male occupation – from quite a young age. They might start by incising<br />
decorations in the skin of green bamboo, then graduate to making softwood toys for themselves.<br />
Maridontreks<br />
CRAFTHUB PRESENTS...<br />
THE BEST OF SARAWAK CRAFTS<br />
The rainforest offers a wide choice of timbers for every purpose; it yields the<br />
materials for building houses and boats, for making household utensils and<br />
weapons of war, for producing the elaborate coffins and ossuaries required by<br />
the customs of some Orang Ulu groups.<br />
Traditionally, the woodcarver’s tools were of the simplest style: a long, heavy<br />
parang (machete) and a working knife with a long handle and a short, curved<br />
blade. Rough outlines were hewn with the parang and sometimes with fire, but<br />
all the elaborate decorations were hand-carved with the small, sharp lungga.<br />
Not all woodwork is decorated. The blowpipe, essential hunting weapon until<br />
the shotgun made its way into the rainforest, is a long smooth tube of hardwood,<br />
polished in the bore and on the surface.<br />
Some of the most beautiful carved items are those made for daily use: a man’s parang sheath, a woman’s weaving tools. Carved food<br />
containers, ladles and trays were often reserved for ‘gala use’. Some communities carved the pillars of their longhouse verandah, and<br />
the doors leading to the individual family apartments.<br />
Much skill and care was devoted to woodcarving for ritual purposes, such as funerary accessories. A healer’s paraphernalia is often<br />
stored in a specially decorated wooden container, such as the Bidayuh priestess’s bird-shaped mapu. A human figure with strangely<br />
simian features, squatting on top of a nicely carved short stick, is credited with the power of attracting game to a trap. Wooden guardian<br />
figures, placed at the access road to a longhouse or by the river jetty, were often grotesques with the proper characteristics to ward off<br />
evil spirits.<br />
Carved masks served a similar purpose, and most of these are very grotesque<br />
indeed! Masks may be painted, or roughly worked; in some communities masked<br />
dancers join the harvest festival as part of the general horseplay and jollity, in<br />
others the masked mummers are meant to inspire fear.<br />
The Iban carve one specialized artefact: the hornbill. To grace one of the biggest<br />
gawai (festival) known to these hard-working rice farmers, effigies of the hornbill<br />
are carved, beautifully painted and decorated, and carried in a solemn procession<br />
during the celebration. At the end of the festivities, which may take up to one<br />
week, the hornbill icons are mounted on tall poles on the longhouse verandah,<br />
for all to see.<br />
The real, live hornbill used to furnish material for carving in the past; today this magnificent bird is fully protected. The beak casque of<br />
the Helmeted Hornbill, known as ‘hornbill ivory’, was much sought after by traders. At the imperial court of China, ho-ting was worth<br />
more than elephant ivory, reserved for making belt buckles, snuff bottles and other trinkets for the inner circle of the imperial household.<br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong>’s natives used it to carve elegant ear-dangles and similar small, impeccably finished ornaments.<br />
10<br />
Maridontreks
CRAFTHUB PRESENTS...<br />
THE BEST OF SARAWAK CRAFTS<br />
IKAT WEAVING<br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong>’s Iban women weave their native rainforest into textiles of matchless beauty. The wild cotton bush yields thread. Sizes and<br />
colours are concocted from the roots, leaves and bark of forest trees. The designs trace the history of a people’s livelihood, wrested<br />
from the jungle darkness teeming with seen and unseen creatures.<br />
Photo: Heidi Munan<br />
backstrap loom, and weaving can commence.<br />
Ikat means ‘to tie’. The ikat textiles of Southeast Asia are literally tie-dyed before<br />
weaving: the design is tied off on the warp threads. The whole warp is immersed in<br />
dye baths after each tying, rather like the related technique of batik. When it is finally<br />
stretched on the loom the ikat pattern can be seen, though the cloth is not yet woven.<br />
Tying warp ikat requires great concentration. The craftswoman cannot see the whole<br />
pattern while she works, yet weavers execute intricate traditional designs, and<br />
occasionally conceive new ones, entirely from memory.<br />
Iban weavers, particularly the ‘dye mistress’, have a thorough knowledge of applied<br />
chemistry, combined with practical botany. Tree roots and skins yield a number of<br />
reddish-brown shades. A native variety of indigo, if properly processed, produces a<br />
brilliant purplish blue. Indigo is generally the last dye bath applied to the warp threads,<br />
after a brownish-red. After rinsing and drying, the warp is untied, stretched on the<br />
Unlike the cottage loom used by Malay weavers, the backstrap loom has no frame; the weaver’s own posture and body weight maintains<br />
warp tension. The threads are stretched between the warp beam – attached to an upright pillar of a longhouse – and the breast beam,<br />
which is secured around the craftswoman’s body with a wide belt. She leans back to stretch the warp, or relaxes slightly to slacken the<br />
threads. The whole apparatus can be detached, covered with cloth and rolled up to a size no bigger than a bundle of sticks. Iban<br />
weavers travel light!<br />
Once upon a time, every Iban woman was a weaver. Girls learnt from<br />
watching and assisting their elders. At the onset of puberty they were ready<br />
to try a first solo effort, usually a short skirt with very simple patterns. A<br />
young woman had to make one full-length piece, a pua kumbu, to be eligible<br />
for marriage.<br />
Today’s Iban weavers are following in their mothers’ footsteps, preserving<br />
the old tradition. New images are joined to the time-honoured patterns of<br />
snakes and crocodiles, ferns and creepers, protective spirits and legendary<br />
heroes. Today’s heroes fight with guns and fly in airplanes – these images<br />
have found their way into Iban weaving. Jesus, Mary and St. John figure on a piece of ikat woven by a Christian. Even a peacock struts<br />
proudly across one length of textile, despite the fact that this bird does not exist in Borneo. “I saw it in my children’s school book,” the<br />
weaver explains.<br />
Something old and something new … the modern weaver picks and chooses with care. She buys raw cotton thread to eliminate the<br />
time-consuming chore of spinning. Aniline dyes are occasionally used, especially for less important work. Silk thread is used by<br />
exceptionally talented weavers. But the solid standards of craftsmanship have not changed. New and old designs are skilfully melded<br />
into the artistic unity that characterizes the best of Iban weaving. There are no shortcuts in the preparation, execution and finish of a fine<br />
length of ikat. There’s no way of doing ikat by machine.<br />
Each length of ikat textile is unique, each is a work of art.<br />
11<br />
Photo: Heidi Munan
MAT-MAKING AND BASKETRY<br />
Maridontreks<br />
CRAFTHUB PRESENTS...<br />
THE BEST OF SARAWAK CRAFTS<br />
Mat-making and basketry are skills known to every Borneo society. The rainforest<br />
abounds in suitable raw materials: reeds, leaves, barks or rinds. These everrenewable<br />
fibres were fashioned into mats and baskets for everyday use; until the<br />
early 20 th century few longhouse dwellers had furniture other than maybe a storage<br />
chest inside their family rooms. Sitting, eating, sleeping was done on the floor, on<br />
mats.<br />
One fast-growing plant found mostly in the brackish coastal swamps, Pandanus<br />
spp., is a very popular mat-making material which can be processed into a soft,<br />
pliable mat.<br />
Besides spreading them for sitting and sleeping on, pandan mats were generally<br />
used to wrap articles, to make temporary awnings or rain shelters, to quickly run up<br />
an interior wall in a house, to cover the slimy floorboards of a boat if important<br />
passengers were expected. Pandan mats were used as sails for small coastal craft<br />
too; cheaper than canvas, not nearly as durable.<br />
One of the most versatile rainforest products, the climbing palm known as Malacca<br />
Cane or rattan (rotan, Calamus spp.), is used to make baskets of every kind: strong<br />
carrying baskets, storage containers, and elegant small containers for a lady’s<br />
personal belongings. The latter type is made of the shiny rattan skin, cut into fine<br />
working strips.<br />
Rattan is also used to make mats. The Penan people, until recently a nomadic<br />
group roaming the hilly regions of <strong>Sarawak</strong>’s interior, made a mat that resembles<br />
the Iban product but is actually plaited of finely stripped rattan skin. To enhance the<br />
effect of the decorative patterns, part of the working material is stained black. Today other colours are used, but the classic Penan mat<br />
is intricately figured in black and white. Legend has it that some Penan mats are so densely worked that they can be used to carry water<br />
over short distances.<br />
The Orang Ulu make a very solid mat by threading lengths of whole or halved rattan canes side by<br />
side This type of mat, the tikar lampit, is quite rigid, not really suitable for sleeping on and certainly<br />
not for wrapping things; it can only be rolled up. The ends of this tikar lampit are bruised and teased<br />
to expose some free fibre, which is plaited to make a strong edge; modern variants of this mat have<br />
plastic braiding stitched all round.<br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong>’s mat-makers are women – almost all of them anyway. One type of sturdy floor mat, spread<br />
out to reinforce the sometimes fragile longhouse floor when large numbers of visitors are expected,<br />
is inevitably made by men.<br />
The Bidayuh fashion a heavy-duty mat which is worked at right angles, in principle like weaving, of<br />
split rattan canes as a warp, and inch-wide strips of bark cloth as a weft. These mats are meant to be<br />
useful, not beautiful, though a neatly worked and finished tikar kelasah is a handsome floor covering<br />
in the right place.<br />
Besides strengthening the floor in crowd situations, this mat is put to many everyday uses such as<br />
drying agricultural produce on the longhouse verandah. It is the sitting-mat of choice for outdoor<br />
ceremonies and picnics, when a finer mat might get spoiled by contact with the damp ground.<br />
Changing lifestyles make mats and baskets redundant for many Malaysians; the new status symbols are a piece of linoleum or carpet<br />
on the floor, a designer handbag, and plastic for everything. Part of the mat-maker’s craft survives thanks to the tourist market, even if<br />
full-sized sleeping mats are not suitable as souvenirs.<br />
A number of young <strong>Sarawak</strong>ian designers are pioneering new uses of an old skill: dinner mats, table runners, whole table covers, wall<br />
hangings, even pillows with mat-woven insets are new applications of the mat fabric, in new, adapted shapes.<br />
A modern taste for rattan furniture and interior decorations made of reed or cane will help to take the skill of centuries into the third<br />
millennium.<br />
12<br />
Photo: Heidi Munan
CRAFTHUB PRESENTS...<br />
THE BEST OF SARAWAK CRAFTS<br />
BEADWORK<br />
Beadwork as a craft is done with seed beads, ranging from the<br />
size of a mustard seed to that of a pepper-corn, available in<br />
increasingly more and brighter colours. They are strung on a<br />
network of threads, not unlike macramé, a technique well suited to<br />
make a variety of shapes.<br />
Given sufficient beads and leisure, there is nothing <strong>Sarawak</strong>’s<br />
Orang Ulu ladies can’t decorate with beads. Jackets and skirts are<br />
lavishly embellished with beadwork, as are the ends of loin cloths.<br />
Armbands, necklaces, ear hangings and belts may be enriched<br />
with beads or entirely composed of them. Sun hats with beautifully<br />
worked bead tops are much sought after by local and foreign buyers<br />
alike. Bead headbands are still worn, especially for a semi-formal<br />
festive occasion, but they were originally designed to hold the<br />
wearer’s long hair in place.<br />
Traditionally, Orang Ulu refrained from using symbols above a person’s social stratum. Inappropriate ornaments and symbols bring<br />
disaster: illness, bad harvests, unseasonable weather and resulting famine. A baby carrier embellished with a human figure sheltered a<br />
tiny sprig of the aristocracy. Larger beads, hawks’ bells and animal teeth were attached to the upper rim of the carrier, partly to soothe<br />
the baby with their tinkling, partly to document his or her status – the use of leopard teeth was restricted too.<br />
In most Orang Ulu societies the full-figure human motif was reserved for the aristocracy. The human figure on beadwork may be<br />
standing or squatting, arms and legs forming part of a zig-zag pattern to which others are linked. The human motif’s eyes are always<br />
open, the mouth occasionally shows teeth. The ear-lobes are long, often incorporated into the pattern formed by other decorative<br />
elements; arms may stretch through them. A frieze of squatting females on a bead jacket reinforced its wearer’s status – they were his<br />
or her ‘slaves’.<br />
A middle-class baby peeped at the world from a basket decorated with a human face, stylized animals and beautifully involuted scroll<br />
designs. The family might be wealthy enough to cover the whole object edge-to-edge in beadwork, but they still couldn’t use the<br />
‘reserved’ designs. Down the social scale came the baby carrier of fine basketry with just a panel of bead embroidery down the centre,<br />
or simply a softly lined basket of split rattan or bark. Baby carriers are considered very precious. Part of the child’s still tender soul<br />
adheres to it. After a child no longer needs to be carried, the basket is carefully<br />
stored away for the next baby in the family. The bulk of very pretty beaded baby<br />
carriers now available in the bazaars of <strong>Sarawak</strong> are brand new, made for the tourist<br />
market. No infant nestled in them, and the ’leopard teeth’ dangling from the rim are<br />
carved of deer horn or – since the 1980s – pressed from fibreglass.<br />
Photo: Kent Walters Collection<br />
Today, many beadworkers produce souvenir items for the tourist trade. Besides the<br />
traditional bracelets and necklaces, headbands, loin cloth tails, baby carriers and<br />
baskets, there are purses, handbags, fashion accessories and a number of truly<br />
startling innovations: pencil covers, cigarette lighter holders, neckties, handphone<br />
pouches…<br />
The old problem of status-linked motifs is no longer an issue. To quote an expert<br />
beadworker: “We don’t really mind about these taboo things any more. We produce<br />
the designs local or foreign people like to buy. They themselves know whether they<br />
are strong enough to wear them.” If the spirits take umbrage, their wrath won’t hit the<br />
producer, but the buyer and wearer. Caveat emptor!<br />
13<br />
Photo: Simon Chee
WHAT S ON IN THE WORLD OF CRAFTS<br />
Permanent <strong>Craft</strong> Mart: Handicraft Centre, Brooke Road,<br />
MIRI<br />
Regular weekly <strong>Craft</strong> Mart at the waterfront, Friday –<br />
Sunday, KUCHING<br />
September 8 –14: NATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL, Gauteng,<br />
South Africa<br />
Exhibition of quilts, wall hangings and wearable art;<br />
workshops for historically disadvantaged and unskilled<br />
people; textile shopping mall<br />
Contact: Jeanette Botha, Tel: 011 902 6997, 083 964 4553,<br />
www.quiltjoburg.co.za<br />
October 15 –18: INDIAN HANDICRAFTS AND GIFTS<br />
FAIR, India Expo Centre, Greater Noida Expressway, New<br />
Delhi, India<br />
Hand-crafted gifts and housewares of all kinds<br />
Contact: Vasant Kunj, Tel: +(91)-(11)-26135256,<br />
Fax: +(91) -(11)-26135518/26135519<br />
November 6 – 9: ADELAIDE CRAFTS AND QUILTS FAIR,<br />
Royal Adelaide Showground, South Australia<br />
Information from Expertise Events, Tel: + 61 9452 7575,<br />
info@expertiseevent.com.au,<br />
www.adelaideshow.com.au<br />
April 2009: MEGA MACAO<br />
Gifts, housewares and handicraft fair, April 2009, exact<br />
dates to be confirmed; organized by Kenfair International,<br />
www.kenfair.com<br />
The <strong>Craft</strong> in America Project (which also includes a TV<br />
documentary series and book) is displaying crafts made of<br />
clay, wood, metal, glass, fibre, metal at various venues:<br />
June 8 – September 14, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield<br />
Hills, Michigan<br />
October 11 – January 18, 2009, National Cowboy &<br />
Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma<br />
February 21 – May 25, 2009, Fuller <strong>Craft</strong> Museum,<br />
Brockton, Massachusetts<br />
For more information visit www.craftinamerica.org<br />
15
<strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong>, <strong>Sarawak</strong> Handicraft Centre, Round Tower, Lot 32 Sect 25 KTLD,<br />
Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, 93100 Kuching, <strong>Sarawak</strong><br />
tel 60 82 245 652, 252 241, fax 60 82 420 253<br />
e-mail : beatricekedoh@yahoo.com<br />
website : www.sarawakhandicraft.com<br />
Published by:<br />
<strong>Craft</strong>hub Sdn.Bhd, First Floor, No.96 Main Bazaar, 93000 Kuching <strong>Sarawak</strong> Malaysia.<br />
tel: 60 82 421 346 fax: 60 82 614 622 email: crafthub@gmail.com<br />
16
<strong>CONTENTS</strong><br />
2 <strong>Editorial</strong><br />
<strong>Sarawak</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
3 Welcome to the<br />
Rainforest World <strong>Craft</strong>s<br />
Bazaar<br />
4 Meet the RWCB<br />
Exhibitors<br />
6 A Centre for<br />
Handicrafts<br />
8 <strong>Sarawak</strong> Storage<br />
10 The Best of <strong>Sarawak</strong><br />
<strong>Craft</strong>s<br />
15 What’s On<br />
17