Malaysia · Woodworking / Basketry
Sumpit Penan / Anyaman Rotan Penan
The Penan are one of the last semi-nomadic forest peoples of Borneo — an estimated 10,000–12,000 people in Sarawak's interior, most now settled but some still practicing nomadic forest life. Their craft tradition encompasses two distinct skills: blowpipe (sumpit) making — boring a perfectly straight bore through a hardwood shaft up to 2.5 meters long using a traditional boring tool — and rattan basket weaving of extraordinary intricacy. The Penan blowpipe bore straightness is legendary — achieved by a specific boring technique using a long iron rod guided through the shaft by feel and sound, without any optical instrument. The Penan rattan weaving produces fine baskets and mats using forest rattan species in patterns that encode the forest environment and Penan cosmology.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed
The construction of ritual paper effigies and paper sculptures over lightweight bamboo or wire frameworks for Chinese funerals, temples, ancestor observances, and traditional festivals in Penang.
The forging of the keris, the wavy or straight-bladed dagger central to Malay cultural identity, made by master blacksmiths known as Empu or pandai besi through repeated cycles of heating, hammering, folding, quenching, tempering, and…
The carving of Chinese calligraphic characters and auspicious motifs into wooden plaques and signboards, historically finished by one of several possible methods — painted lettering, gold-paint lettering, or gold-leaf gilding, per…
The hand-weaving of commercially sourced rattan and bamboo into furniture, baskets, birdcages, and household goods associated with Seang Hin Leong, a Chinese-Malaysian family shophouse business at 393 Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street), George…
The hand-kneading, rolling and sun-drying of fragrant wood-powder paste onto bamboo rod cores to make joss sticks.
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The making of the chistera — the curved wicker basket glove used in jai alai (cesta punta) — and the hand-sewn leather pilota ball used in all Basque pelota disciplines.
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The braiding of caña flecha (Gynerium sagittatum) palm fiber into the sombrero vueltiao, Colombia's most iconic national symbol, practiced by the Zenú people of Córdoba and Sucre departments for roughly 1,000 years.
The harvesting, hand-processing, spinning, dyeing, and net-weaving of chaguar (Bromelia hieronymi), a spiny wild bromeliad native to the semi-arid forests of the Gran Chaco, into fishing nets, clothing, small bags (yikas), and —…
The multi-stage cultivation, stripping, and weaving of iraca (toquilla) palm fiber into the sombrero aguadeño, a fine white straw hat handcrafted in Aguadas, Caldas — the town at the heart of Colombia's coffee-growing region — and famous…