Southeast Asia is one of the richest areas for the production of basketry. Basketry can be defined as the craft of basket making. Baskets have been made and used by humans for thousands of years and serve a variety of human needs. Though baskets today may be made of plastic, metal, or other manmade materials, they’ve typically been made by weaving natural materials like bamboo, river cane, willow branches, etc.
The range of things baskets are made for make them an interesting thing to study. They are often used for storage of food, clothes, plates, etc., but they are also used as building materials for houses and furniture, and for animals. The interlacing of fibers can also be used as part of other items such as the backstrap of the loom, hats, or mats. The first basket pictured here is used for fishing while the Indonesian basket is for transporting fighting roosters.
Although weaving is generally considered the work of women in Southeast Asia, basketwork is not gender specific. Baskets as containers are often carried by women, but there are many places in Southeast Asia where men make baskets, mats, or hats, particularly in Java. In some places such as Lamalera on Lembata in Indonesia, only men know how to produce basketry.
Traditional basketry uses natural materials and is therefore affected by climate change and forest management policies. Basketry helps keep forests alive. Scientists and conservationists note that Indigenous people’s craftsmanship and cultural traditions such as basketry creates incentives for forest conservation. For instance, basket weavers in the Philippines are trained to report any violations they detect in the forest. This helps protect the ancestral forest where they get materials and design inspirations for their baskets.
Climate change has impeded basket-making not only in Southeast Asia but also in other regions. For instance, in the Philippines, the dry season now is hotter than before, and the heat has affected weavers’ working hours and vegetation in the forest. They must walk further into the forest to get good materials that are away from direct sunlight and have not turned brittle. During the wet season, climate change makes landslides and floods more frequently, again, damaging the forests. These instances demonstrate the significance of the environment and climate change on culture.
The tourism industry had been the major market for baskets and other traditional handicrafts. However, along with climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic has impeded the tourism industry in Southeast Asia, leading to plummeting demand for baskets and other traditional handicrafts. Ultimately, such a decreasing demand extends to endangering the transfer of knowledge for creating these artworks.
Some nonprofit organizations help indigenous communities in the Philippines revitalize their handicrafts traditions including basketry. One example – the Non-Timber Forst Products-Exchange Program (NTFP-FP) in the Philippines has helped the local communities to venture into online selling.
Another impact that the pandemic had is the gap in the transmission of knowledge. Before the pandemic, weekly meetings of cultural masters and trainees were held to strengthen solidarity among the communities and transfer knowledge to younger generations. Due to the pandemic, the Filipino government suspended face-to-face classes, leading to a gap in the transmission of knowledge. Some continue learning weaving baskets at home from family members, but not at a community level.
Panaglaga (Basket Weaving) by Melver Ritz Gomez
This is a YouTube link to a documentary film titled Panaglaga (Basket Weaving) which portrays the Tingguian women of Uguis, Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines.