Cambodia · Basketry / Rattan Craft
ព្រៃ (Prey — forest craft)
The Bunong (also known as Phnong) people of Mondulkiri Province maintain one of Cambodia's most technically complex basket weaving traditions — using rattan and bamboo to produce carrying baskets (khnang), rice wine jar covers, and ritual offering containers. The Bunong khnang carrying basket is constructed with an internal back-frame system built into the basket itself — unlike most Southeast Asian carrying baskets that use external frames, the Bunong tradition integrates a curved bamboo frame within the rattan weave so that the basket rests on the upper back rather than the lower back. This integrated-frame load distribution system reflects the Bunong's forest-foraging lifestyle: the upper-back load position frees the lower body for scrambling through dense forest terrain. The frame integration technique — weaving rattan around and through the bamboo frame elements as they are assembled simultaneously — is the critical procedural knowledge.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not separately inscribed; Cambodia national ICH list
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