1986] AVE: USE OF RATTAN BY SEMAI

Principes,30(4), I986, pp. 143-150

The IJse of Rattan by a Semai Community in W.est Malavsia

Wlxoe Avf Rijksherbariunr, P.O. Box 9514, Leiden, A{etherland.s

From March 1982 to March 1983, I built off the ground (seeFig. 2). The poles stayed in West Malaysia, during which and the framework mainly consistof bam- time about l0 months were spent in a boo. Calamusdiepenhorsrii is the species "Semai" small community of aboriginal used to lash together the poles (Fig. 3). peoplein the Batang Padang District near This speciesand also C. jaoensis and,Kort- Tapah(see Fig. l). The communityI stud- halsia scortechinii are utilized for bind- ied live in a forestedarea at ca. 600 m ing the walls and floors which are made a.s.l. and consistedof around 70 people. of split bamboo.The roof is made of leaves The people lead a semi-nomadicexistence of various palms, such as Arenga wester- "ladang" and practise a form of (shifting cultivation) as well as hunting, fishing, and food-gathering in the forest. In addition, "ladang" various products of and th6 for- est are occasionallysold. The latter include MALAYSIA (Durio .l'ra,\.- dtrlrian zibethinus) and rattan ')r=., t '" canes. In the daily life of the community, '^l o rattan still plays a very important role. (l Some of the products manufactured will ( /"'...) be surveyed; however, a full discussionof ( ti /o' all uses made of rattan would ryake this ,' paper too lengthy. i" The speciesof rattan occurring in the study area are enumerated in Table I below. In general the scientific classifica- tion (DransfieldI979) agreesclosely with the Semai classification, but as one can see in a few cases,the Semai distinguish *"",.h'0",-t---T i..'.. more than one taxon, where according to / 111J,,..".^ Dransfield only one species is involved. *Indicates those speciesmost often uti- lized by the Semai.

MainArtifacts Made of Rattan The uses of rbttan can best be dis- cussed under four headingsl a) houser building, b) basketry, c) traps, d) other products;' , r liy a) House-building. T\e Semai,houseis 1. Location'of"lhe study area"in West Malaysia. 144 PRINCIPES [Vor. 30

Table 1. List of rattan species in the study area'

Name Local Name Use is very rare Calamus blumei Becc. coonkl cemeeh see C. jauensis, but this species +C. diepenhorstii Mjg. coonk juk house construction, manufacture of baskets, adzes,traps; fruits edible

C. exilis Grifr. coonk berber binding C. filipendulus Becc. coonk ? (local binding name unknown) other C. insignis Griff. rar. coonk gertas construction of traps, baskets and longispinosusJ. Dransf household articles *C. javensisBl. coonk stook, manufacture of musical instruments' traps, coonk seek basket covers

C. manan Miq- coonk serpeek rarely used C. ornatus Bl. coonk bantak medicinal and ritual use C. peregrinus Fzrl. coonk beet rarely used, fruits edible jauensis) C. viridispinus Becc. coonk ceguup rarely used (in same way as C. DaemonoropsbrachystachYs coonk kanuul fruits and cabbage eaten Furt- D. didymophylla Becc. coonk jernang manufacture of traps and baskets D. geniculata (Grif.) Mart' coonk bala fruits and cabbage eaten +D. grandis (Grif.) Mart. coonk spaal leaves for construction of roofs, fishing rods and baskets;fruits and cabbageedible

D. kunstleri Becc. coonk cercer cabbage edible D. macrophylla Becc. coonk moh leek occasional.lyused for manufacturing household articles

D. oligophylla Becc. coonk moh leek as above D. verticillaris (Grif.) Mart. coonk tunggal as above Korthalsia rigida Bl' coonl celdool, medicinal use coonk tangklah

K. scortechinii Becc. coonk haak, binding material coonk ncuk cones Myrialepis paradoxa (Kurz.) J. coonk taluut manufacture of various artifacts, butt Dransf. of darts Plectocomia elongata Mart. ex. coonk peniil, fruits and flowers sold for decorations Bt. coonk suaak P. dransfieldianaMad'ulid coonk ceet fruits eaten, fiowers sold for decorations *Plectocomiopsisgeminiflora coonk lak medicinal use, manufacture of baskets and (Grif.) Mart. varrous uaPs I Th"'c'in Semaito be pronouncedas ch in church.

houtii and Daemonorops grandis. Ladang lines made of whole canes of Calamus houses are temporary constructions that diepenhorstii. are sometimes built on very steep slopes b) Basketry. Under this headinga few receiving much wind, in which case the rattan products will be mentionedthat can construction is supported by means of guy be broadly classifiedas basketsbut which leB6l AVE: USEOF RATTANBY SEMAI

2. Semai settlement showing tlpical dwellings against a forested background. also include such artifacts as winnowine of the petiole and rachis of Daemonorops trays. The most frequently made baskeLs grandis. They are used to store food and "raga are the sempaa" to carry durian are suspended from the kitchen roof. "raga (sempaa : durian) and kayu" The same material is used to make win- "jempiir" (kayu: cassaya) to carry cassava or fire- nowing trays, (Fig. B) which are wood (Fig. 4). These large baskets are used to separate chaff and padi (rice grains usually made from split canes of Calamus still in husks) from rice grains. diepenhorstil. Occasionally C. manan or c) Traps. The trapping devices consist "rasa C. ornatus are used to make sem- of two major groups: the fish traps and '"raga paa.'' Smaller baskets such as ten- the snares. groi" (Fig. 5) are made of C. jauensis; There are four types of fish traps, "bubu." "Bubu they are used to carry food or fish (ten- uaak" is a large fish trap groi : to fish). Other small baskets are ca. 90 cm long and 30 cm across (Fig. 9) likewise made of the split canes of C. jao- made of strips of Plectocomiopsis gemi- ensis or other small-stemmed species (C. niflora supported by rings of Daemono- uiridispinus). rops geniculata canes fastened with split "tang- A special type of basket is the canes of Calamus jauensis. The funnels oohinyaap," guk" (Fig. 6) which is made from the skin inside the trap, are made of PRINCIPES IVor. 30 r986l AVE: USEOF RATTANBY SEMAI 147 ".v,

j ,.

3. A man engaged in house-building. Note extensive use of rattan as binding material. 4. Woman carrying "raga "raga cassava and other products in a kayu." 5. Various types of baskets, top: sempaa," bottom left: "raga "raga "tangguk." tengroi," bottom right: two kayu." 6. A woman manufacturing a I48 PRINCIPES lVoL. 30

Plectocomiopsisgeminiflora. This trap is "Bubu usedto catch fish of various sizes. sereek" is an ovate trap with its opening on the side (Fig. 7). The samematerial is "Bubu used as for the previous bubu. kadaap" (kadaap: tadpoles)is a smaller "bubu version of uaak" and is used to "Bubu "bubu catchtadpoles. kampeet" or gelpiil" (gelpiil : turtle) is a large cylin' dricaltrap (Fig. l0). This is a very strong contraptionmade from the canesof Plec- tocomiopsis geminif.ora, but is some- times also made from bambooor Donax. It is usedto catch the Malayanmud turtle (Trionys cartilagineus). A variety of snaresor noosetraps, a secondgroup of the trapping instruments, are usedby the Semai.Strong snares such "bako" "jawer" as the (Fig. 1I) and are made of Calamus diepenhorstii and also of C. insignis or l{orthalsia rigida. These "bubu are usedto catch larger mammalssuch as 9, A man making a uaak." Note the inner ring ("gediL") and binding("berniir"). civets and monkeys. Various other small traps are made of Calamusjauensis and

,l ;l I,

"bubu "bubu 10. The kampeet" or gelpiil" used to catch mud turtles. l986l AVE: USE OF RATTAN BY SEMAI t49

are used to catch smaller game such as rats" shrews.and birds. d) Other Llsesof Rattan. Rattan plays a role in various other activities of the Semai.The most common use of rattan, of course,is as binding material (Fig. 3). Calam,usjauensis or C. blum,eiare used "jerengkob," to make a cover for dart quivers (Fig. t2). Some speciesof Dae- nl.onoropshave edible growing tips (cab- bage)which are eatenraw or cooked.The fruits of somespecies have seedscovered by a thin fleshy edible layer, for instance Daemonoropsgeniculatcl Other species are used for medicinal purposes, mostly against coughing and stomach ailments; examplesare Calarnusornatus, Korthal- sia rigido, and Plectocomiopsisgemini- f,ora. Calarnusornatus is usedin rituals. Conclusion

I hope to have shown that rattan plays "bako" an important role in the daily life of the II. Example of a noose trap to catch civ- ets and monkeys. Semai. Its role in the economy of the group will be discussed in another paper.

"jerengkob." L2. Decorated bamboo quivers covered with a 150 PRINCIPES [Vor. 30

Acknowledgments must be made for Dr. S. C. Chin (Univ. Malava) and Dr. J. Dransfield(Kew). Dr. for my study was Financial support M. M., J. van Balgooy (Rijksherbarium given by Wereld Natuur Fonds, Treub- Leiden) supervisedmy work and helped to Maatschappij and Stichting Werkgroep draw up this account. StudiereizenOntwikkelingsladen. The ini- tiative for this study was taken by the late LIreneruRE CITED Dr. M. Jacobs.A great number of persons and institutes have been helpful. They DReNsnnto. l. 1979. A Manual of the Rattans Mal. For. Rec. 29' cannot all be mentioned, but exceptions of thl Mahy Peninsula.

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