Weaving with Nipah leaves @ Pulau Carey 11thJune2011

After lunch at a riverside restaurant, we headed back to the village for a session on weaving. While waiting for the lesson to begin, the kids had some fun time teasing the cats with nipah fronds.

Not all the adults joined the weaving session, most of the fathers made a beeline for the woodcarving bench, intent on finishing off their project.

Weaving a bird from Nipah fronds is harder than it looks. Loops to make and pushing the leaves to the left and over the top and then folding over....and you have a bird!

The midrib of the leaf was removed and was later used as a holder for the bird.

Getting pointers on how to make a loop.

JY couldn't figure out how anyone can come up with such intricate steps.

Fai joined in when he saw the other kids playing with their woven fish and birds.

A wonderful learning experience with the Orang Asli for the kids and parents alike.

Anyaman with Pak Borhan

We have been neglecting our 2 nangka trees. Borhan decided that he had to save the fruits. He says that by wrapping the fruits in coconut leaves, fruits that had been attacked by insects would halt further infestation within the fruit.
Borhan was teaching Sony how to weave.

Fai decided to do it his own way and weaved this

Machika who is always eager to learn, joined in. JY was too exhausted from the beach clean-up they did earlier to join in.

Borhan showing her how it is done.

Machika was a fast learner and needed little guidance from Pak Borhan.

Nangka fruits beautifully wrapped up.

Pak Borhan

My kids have gained a lot from the renovation of the PD house.

From the Singhs, JY learnt the art of capati making and their stories about their lifestyle in Rajasthan where a camel is the choice mode of transport.

Now with Borhan, the kids are exposed to tales about his kampung in Indonesia. He would say

" Di kampung saya, kita buat macam ini..."

This time around he noticed an unwrapped nangka (jackfruit) and suggested wrapping the fruit the kampung way using coconut leaves. He weaved a case that would envelope the fruit and prevent it from being attacked by pests.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of it.

It really dressed up the tree. My mom said that people would steal it instead of the fruit :)

With balance of the leaves from that one branch, he made a bag. He said kampung folks would use a bigger version to harvest fruits. He couldn't weave a bigger bag as the size depends on the length of the leaves.

Seeing our enthusiasm, he showed us how chicken is carried home from the market. The chicken's head would poke out on the right side of the carrier. The whole body plus legs would be encased within.

The chicken is then balanced on the head for the journey home and into the cooking pot.