Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

376
ARTS AND CRAFTS
usually made from the same material as the " tapa "
cloth of Polynesia, though it is rarely, if ever, quite
so finely worked up, and is generally, in fact, somewhat
roughly made. When stripped from the tree it is
beaten out by means of a wooden mallet, either round
or toothed.
A specimen of the latter, which was collected by the
writer among the Blandas of Selangor, is now in the
Cambridge Museum ;
this specimen is grooved or
toothed transversely, as in Sakai specimens from
Batang Padang (Perak), whereas in other districts,
more under Semang influence, the flat under-surface
of the mallet is subdivided into a large number of
small squares. The direction of the grooves or teeth
must of course depend upon the position in which the
operator sits or stands with respect to his work.^
The cloth when made is often decorated with
designs, which again bear a curious family resemblance
to the main designs sometimes seen on " tapa " cloth.
The tree from which the bark is generally taken is
a kind of wild bread-fruit tree {Artocarpus)'^ which is
called by the Malays " terap " or " t'rap." But the bark
of other trees (even that of the Upas tree,^ which
furnishes the deadly dart;poison of these tribes) is also
very generally used, the poisonous sap being merely
well washed out of it with water. This particular
kind of cloth seems generally to be recorded from
districts under some degree of Semang (Negrito)
influence.
' See p. 140, aute.
- I.e. Artocarpus Kunst/eri, Hook,
fil. {Urtkacece). It is interesting to
note that both this bread-fruit tree
and the Upas belong to the same
botanical order.
3 Antiaris toxicaria, Bl. ( Urticacea).
The bark of a kind of ficus (called
"ara") was also said to be used for
cloth by the Negritos of Belimbing (in
Ulu Kelantan).