Taiwan · Basketry / Rattan Craft
布農族藤籃 (Bunun zu tenlan)
The Bunun people of central Taiwan's high mountain range (occupying the highest average elevation of any Taiwan indigenous group) produce rattan carrying baskets calibrated to the mountain terrain they navigate — specifically, the basket is sized so that when fully loaded and carried on the back, the top of the basket does not extend above the top of the wearer's head (which would catch on low branches in dense forest) and the base does not extend below the buttocks (which would unbalance the carrier on steep slopes). This double height calibration is performed by the basket maker measuring against their own body: 'head height minus two fists' for the top, 'hip height minus one hand' for the base. These body measurements, combined with the rattan coiling and stitch technique, encode Bunun mountain terrain knowledge directly into the basket form.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Taiwan national ICH list
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