The nature and culture of rattan : reflections on vanishing life in the forests of Southeast Asia / Stephen F. Siebert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Siebert, Stephen F. (Stephen Frederic), 1955-

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rattan palms--Utilization--Southeast Asia.

Rattan palms.

Rattan--Southeast Asia.

Rattan.

Rattan palms--Utilization.

Southeast Asia.

Physical Description:

xii, 145 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, [2012]

Summary:

Plaited Arts from the Borneo Rainforest is the first comprehensive work of its kind and size. It promotes a "contextual" approach, combining not just botanical and technical, but also economic, social, and ritual elements. In short, the book focuses on how the people of Borneo rely on the plaited arts in their daily lives.

The twenty-one contributors are the world's leading experts on the subject, scholars and artisans who live in Borneo or have spent many years there and have become deeply involved, on a personal and emotional level, with the people of the island and their cultures. They hail from ten different nations, including Malaysia and Indonesia, and from Borneo itself: Sarawak, Sabah, and Kalimantan.

The work relies on firsthand experience in the field as it documents the variety and complexity of basketry. It is organized into twelve parts that discuss the ethnobotanical and technical aspects of basketry in Borneo, the "cultural region" in detail, mat styles and other specific basketry forms, changes in basketry, the current market, and the future of Borneo's basketry. Book jacket.

Contents:

Rattan and a changing world

The ecology, diversity, and climbing prowess of rattan

Historical and current uses of rattan

Forest communities and rattan management

From forest to furniture boutique

Rattan and household livelihood

The history of a Sulawesi rattan village

Cane gathering

Sustainable harvesting

Rattan cultivation

Rattan, religion, and family planning.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

0824835360

9780824835361

OCLC:

752471694

Publisher Number:

99947424130