Tekalong - tree bark

What did the people of Sarawak wear before the coming of textiles? They wore soft materials made from tree bark, usually the bark of the tekalong. The tree bark is pounded until it is very soft and then fashioned into jackets or loin cloth. Many Iban men today still wear loin cloth made from tekalong for ceremonies. Other groups like to wear jackets made from tekalong bark. Not many craftsmen today can make tekalong bark cloth now.

However some skilled artists have used tekalong bark to make purses, bags and note book covers.

A good use of tekalong is in the making of mats for home use. This is a pretty mat using rattan and tekalong. The black strips are tekalong bark.