Baram Tales : The Lampit Mat

The Lampit mat is made from good rattan, often specially selected by the maker himself or herself. In the last decade or so it has been extemely hard to look for the rattan SEGA ,which is the best of rattan for lampit making, as it was only found in the undulating hilly and slightly lower lands of the Baram and the Limbang Valleys. 

Belaga a long time ago, before logging came into play, was a centre of rattan trade. Rattan is a very rare commodity now.

However there are actually many different kinds of rattan. Some experts have mentioned that there are more than 50 varieties of rattan and not all of  them are of commercial value.

Mat weavers have been able to find the best of rattans for their art.

My father in law for example in the 1980's would be so happy to bring home a load of rattan sega he found in Sg Bala in the Ulu Baram. He and my sister in law would then process the rattan for days, to get them ready to make a lampit mat or two. The round vines of dried rattan had to be split and dried in the sun. the long vines of rattan would then be rolled up into coils - all properly counted, ready for a certain length of the mat. The rattan would then be marked at suitable intervals for "threading" together.  This poking of small holes in the rattan was tedious and had to be meticulously done. A small twine, or good nylon would be used to piece the rattan together.

In between planting padi and growing and harvesting oil palm, Iban mat weavers would spend their leisure hours making mats for their next generation or for personal use. But with the passing of time and the lost of jungle resources this "household hobby or art" might be lost.

During the Brooke rule, the District Officers and even the Residents of the Baram had documented about sending rattan by government boats to Kuching. (CD Adams for example). Marudi in the 1930's was a trade centre for rattan in the Baram. Kayans and Ibans would bring down their rattan from upriver to be sold. And middlemen or sometimes just the Government Agent to send the shipment of rattan to Kuching. If you can check and read the old issues of  Sarawak Gazette, you can even find the prices of different kinds of rattan!!

This is Chupong who was a good lampit weaver. 

Chupong giving final touches to the edges of the lampit he had made. A lampit can last several generations. 

Photo taken in Rumah Changgai, Ulu Niah

It is a gracious reception for the owner of a bilik (household) in a longhouse if he were to roll out the Lampit mat to welcome visitors.

Ordinary visitors or passersbys would sit on the vinyl covered floor in the ruai (Common hall).

The lampit if made from good rattan like sega is highly valued. Today they fetch good prices but in fact many who make lampit mats do not want to sell their work. To the weavers the mats are their legacy and they will pass them to the younger generations.