Bamboo Craft
Bamboo products life is very long and add to decor of your home. Bamboo craft are
more in use in India and always been a part of Indian culture. The making of bamboo
products is perhaps the most universal of all the crafts practiced by a large number
of artisans in India. It is practiced as a household industry in many states. As
many as 51 species of bamboo grow in different parts of country and they are being
used for diverse purposes, mainly for buildings, furniture and diverse contraptions.
It is found that a variety of products from bamboos like mats, baskets, winnowing
trays, chatta are manufactured in large numbers in India. There are a few more varieties
of bamboo and cane used for manufacturing of different products. Different varieties
of canes locally known as `sundi`, `barjali`, `harua`, `golla` etc. are required
for making furniture and baskets. It is observed that generally three species of
cane are exploited in commercial quantities- Jati (Calamus tenuis), Tita (Calamus
leptesadix) and Lejai (Calamus floribundus). Some less important qualities like
Sundi (Calamus garuba) and Raidang (Calamus flagellum) are also extracted.
The products of bamboo are mostly of two types, namely
(i) articles required for day to day use and of medium quality, more suited to local
requirements; and
(ii) articles of finer quality, both decorative and functional, to meet the requirements
and tastes of more sophisticated markets.
Bamboo Basket:
Basket making is one of the very oldest of man`s creations. Baskets are of different
sizes and desgins and of very fine designs. They are also used for different purposes,
such as containers for crops and other house-hold goods and packages for carrying
luggages and merchandise. There are other kinds of baskets bearing symbolic expression
and having numerous engravings.
Baskets are generally of two types, one to be kept in the house for storage purposes
and the other to be carried on the back for daily use. Baskets are of all shapes
and sizes from the rough little simple designs manufactured in a few minute into
a complicated pattern. There are baskets which are conical in shape, while others
are in cylindrical with the mouth slightly wider than the base. Conical carrying
baskets, akhi and akha are common. The baskets are so closely woven as to be practically
water-tight. Bhotiyas, the tribal from the Trans-Himalayan region are skilled bamboo
artisans. Variety of baskets made by them for local consumption have now found an
export market. Consequently non-tribals now take basket making as a profession also.
The designs are generally simple plain weave or ribbed.
Chalani (sieve):
Chalani is woven with fine bamboo slips in a criss-cross way with some open spaces
between the different slips for different purposes. It is shaped like a disk with
a diameter ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 feet. It is used for refining rice, paddy, tea-leaves,
etc. and for washing fees.
Crossbows
The crossbow is used with one hand and can shoot up to 150 yds. Its novel design
and trigger system make it a prized handicraft article for tourists.The making of
cross-bows consist of a central beam of bamboo with grooves and iron loops to hold
arrows and quiver and a bow-shaped are made of thinner and lighter wood, its ends
joined with a string. A trigger is made of thinner and lighter wood. A trigger made
of wood or bone is fixed to the lower portion of the beam. Kula (winnowing fan):
Kula, prepared out of flat bamboo slips for winnowing purposes in different varieties,
is one of the most popular household items in Indian villages. Twilled design is
used for a `kula`. The edge of the `kula` is made hardy by fixing of two sets of
one-inch wide bamboo pieces wrapped up in flexible cane strips.
Khorahi (small basket):
Khorahi is made of fine bamboo splits for washing rice, vegetables, fish, etc. It
is a small type of basket with provision to allow water and dirt to pass out. The
Khorahi is woven in plain and square form but is gradually bent in a round form
at the time of final stitching by flexible cane slips.
Dukula / Tukuri:
Dukula is a big basket and is exactly the same as that of the Khorahi, The required
shape of a `tukuri` is made by bending the bamboo splits forming the warp gradually
when the process of weaving with the weft is in operation. Fixing two or four flat
bamboo strips strengthens the edge. The last stage is to stitch the edge along with
those flat bamboo strips with some flexible cane slips. Dukula` or a `tukuri` is
used for carrying as well as keeping paddy, rice, etc.
Dala :
Dala is prepared out of flexible bamboo slips in twilled design. The shape of a
dala is exactly like a disc with various sizes for different purposes. The edge
around the dala is stitched in the same way as that of the edge of a tukuri or dukula,
but the bamboo rims used in the edge of the dala is about 1½". The dala is used
specially for winnowing in addition to other domestic purposes.
Duli / Tali :
The `duli`s or `talis` are used for preserving paddy by the farmers. The process
of weaving is almost the same as that of a tukuri but the size of bamboo slips used
is more flat and flexible. The dulis are much bigger than the tukuri and the shape
is a bit different too. Doon/ Kathi: There was no weighing machine in the past.
People used this doon for measuring rice or paddy. It is still in very much use
in villages. It is prepared in an almost conical shape with fine bamboo strips for
measuring rice or paddy. Its holding capacity varies from 2 seers- 3½ seers from
place to place. A ring is attached at the bottom to enable it to stand on the ground.
Bamboo Mats
Bamboo MatBamboo mats are a beautiful addition to any environment. Bamboo mats are
made from split bamboo canes, finished to about 1/2 inch-wide strips, bonded to
a water resistant, non-skid backing material. Bamboo mats of various types are manufactured
on a commercial basis in the districts of Nowgong, Darrang and Cachar of Assam and
other states of NorthEast India. Large-scale commercial production can be seen from
Karimganj sub-division of the Cachar district where mats are locally known as `dhara`,
`jharia` or `darma`, and thousands of people are engaged in this craft. In the districts
of Darrang and Nowgaon, such mats are produced from the dried stalks of various
kinds of marshy plants and weeds. While in the district of Cachar, it is produced
from bamboo slips. The artisans initially make mats of required size as canvas and
paint on it. Painting on the mat requires more concentration than ordinary painting.
Most of the paintings are human and religious figures, animals, birds, scenery etc
in different sizes and attractive colours. The products look beautiful with bamboo
reed frames.
Procedure of Making Bamboo Mats
The long bamboos are cut into several parts according to the desired length of the
mats to be woven. Then each part is splitted into several thin pieces, the breadth
of such pieces being about 1/8" to 1/16". Splitting is generally done by a `hatu
dao` (small bill hook), which is fixed on a `jak` (`v` shaped wooden frame). Then
the soft portion of such bamboo split is removed with a `dao`, whereupon the flat
flexible bamboo strips are obtained for manufacturing mats. Thus with the bamboo
slips ready, the artisans starts actual weaving. In weaving bamboo mats, generally
the twilled pattern is followed wherein three slips are taken at a time and woven
breadth wise one after another and the same process is repeated. As soon as weaving
is complete, all the four sides of the mat are twisted a little and tide up with
a long bamboo slip in order to frame the outer edges which keeps the woven slips
intact. Bamboo mats are extensively used for construction of temporary walls and
sheds, big pandals, roofing of country boats, dwelling houses etc. |