Hi,
I noticed this article in the Star on the making of rattan mats in Sarawak. Fascinating;
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/11/6/sarawak/7256658&sec=sarawakA floor covering that lasts
Story and photo by KERNI PUAH
sarawakstar@thestar.com.myMATS made of rattan have always been popular and these beautiful works of art fetch a high price not only in markets locally but internationally as well.
However, the art of making them is slowly dying as the new generation, especially of the Bidayuh, seems to have no interest in learning how to make them.
What used to be known as Bidayuh kasah is now popular as tikar rotan Kalimantan – a lucrative business at the weekend bazaar in Serikin, a small Bidayuh village in Sarawak.
The town is located about 15km from Bau town and 80km from Kuching and is popular with tourists from the peninsula and Sarawak as well as foreigners.
Beautiful: Hadran (right) and a friend showing a new design on a kasah sagah emas.
As more rattan mats from Indonesia flood the market, it is apparent that the quality has deteriorated but the prices remain the same.
In the days when the mats were not so sought after by foreigners and locals alike, the craftsmanship was superior.
The Bidayuh still dry their harvested padi on the mats.
Kasah craftsman Singoi Jaya, 90, said he had been to the Serikin bazaar several times and had seen the mats sold there. He pointed out that they were made of low quality rattan.
“Although the designs are beautiful, the rattan they use is young, making the quality low.”
“The mats have lost their originality and quality. Buyers have to know the difference between a high-quality and low-quality mat,” he said.
According to Singoi, high-quality mats made of rattan like segoh, sebaroh and semaie can last from 20 to 30 years, depending on how one takes care of them.
“The other rattan types are piin and segerot which break easily and do not last,” said Singoi.
Indonesians in Kalimantan call segoh mats as sagah emas and the low-quality ones as kelasah.
Buyers must know about the prices to avoid being taken for a ride.
A 10x12 feet segoh mat is sold at RM180 to RM250, but in Serikin, the traders offer the mats at RM250, and if one keeps bargaining, may get it at RM180.
A seller in Serikin said the newest designs could fetch up to RM250.
Hadran Effendi from Seluas, Kalimantan Barat, said the lowest price for sagah emas mats measuring 7x10ft was RM200 and for kelasah it was RM120.
There are 12 rattan mat traders in Serikin and each has sales of about a thousand ringgit every weekend.
On how the black rattan mats were produced, Hadran said they were coloured with the latex from the leaves of a plant called daun anyam.
“The rattan is boiled together with the leaves and latex makes it black in colour. The rattan is then used to produce designs on the mat during the weaving process.”
To care for the mats, Hadran advised: “Avoid applying varnish as this will spoil it. The bark or beyuh will rot. Don’t wash with water or detergent as this will shorten its lifespan.”
For this beautiful piece of art, gathering the raw materials is arduous and dangerous and processing it is hard work.
In the jungle, the rattan gatherer pulls down the canes in coils and sometimes angers wasps and ants nestled there, and also risks being pricked by the rattan plant’s spines and barbed whips.
The leaves and leaf sheaves are removed by pulling them round or over a tree trunk.
A creative rattan weaver produces extremely durable and finely-plaited products.
The designs are spectacular, although of only two colours – basic black and the beige of the undyed fibre.
While the women split the rattan, the weaving is usually done by the men. In the old days, it was done in between the rice-planting seasons.
Its designs are achieved by laying split rods of 1cm-thick rattan side by side. The rods are pierced and bound by braiding them with rattan fibre.
To make a secure edge, the ends of the cane are crushed to break it down into fibre which is then plaited into a decorative border. The mats can be rolled but never folded.
Rattan mats have always stood the test of time and are popular with modern decorators and homemakers seeking that unusual, beautiful and long-lasting floor covering.
