Iban Women Charitable Trust organising third state-wide competition on Iban crafts

Empiang (seated centre) flanked by Anna (left) and Angelina, in a photo call with committee members displaying some of the Iban handicrafts. – Photo by Cimon Upon

KUCHING (Aug 11): The Iban Women Charitable Trust (IWCT) Sarawak is organising its third state-wide competition on Iban crafts, allowing participants to make their handicrafts from Aug 15, 2022 to April 15, 2023.

Its chairman Tan Sri Empiang Jabu said the competition aims to encourage the Dayak community to preserve their cultural heritage through preserving and continuing their knowledge and skills in making these local crafts.

She said it is intended as a platform that encourages the Dayaks to retain the skills of making these traditional crafts in line with the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenious Peoples (UNDROP) as stipulated on Sept 13, 2007.

“Aside from that, the competition seeks to show the economic potentials of these traditional crafts and its potential markets,” she told a press conference held at IWCT office here, while thanking Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dean of Faculty of Social Science, Prof Dr Neilson Ilan Mersat, for assisting IWCT in organising the competition.

The competition which will start on Aug 15 is open to all Iban men and women in the state regardless of age, and participation is free of charge.

A contestant is given until April 15, 2023 to come up with his/her craft. However, an individual is allowed to join one category only.

There are three categories of crafts in the competition – ‘Pekit Nganyam’ (woven with natural material); ‘Pekit Nenun’ (textile weaving); and ‘Pekit Nusuk Marik’ (Iban Beaded Collar).

For the ‘Pekit Nganyam’ category, it is divided into two competitions, the first of which is the weaving of mat called ‘Tikai Bemban Anyam Bebua’ which requires participants to weave using ‘Bemban’, with minimum size of 4ft x 8ft without using colour (must be original colour), and the pattern must be in the form of ‘Buah/Ukir Anyam Bebuah’.

The second weaving is called ‘Selapuk Tunjang’, in which participants must weave using bamboo, not less than three levels (ringkat) and can use colour (one’s own choice).

For the ‘Pekit Tenun’ category, it is divided into two competitions – Woven Textile (adult women) which is called ‘Karap’, with the size of 2.5ft x 5ft and participants must use coloured polyster and metallic threads; and Woven Textile (adult women) called ‘Kebat’, with size of 2.5ft X 5ft using cotton with natural dye thread.

For adult men in the ‘Pekit Tenun’ category, ‘Karap’ can be made as ready-to-wear ‘Baju Lelaki Karap/Baju Burung Karap’ and participants must use coloured polyester and metallic threads; whereas under ‘Kebat’, it can be made as ready-to-wear ‘Baju Kebat Lelaki’ using cotton with natural dye thread.

For the ‘Pekit Nusuk Marik’ category, Empiang said making the ‘Marik Empang Tradisional/Tango’ (traditional beaded collar) requires participants to use seed beads material which must not be shiny, using Anchor thread with ‘buah pumpun’ (wool) and they can also use colour and pattern of their choice.

Empiang also explained that the competition’s eight-month duration is to give participants ample time to complete their entries.

“This competition is to showcase our Iban women’s awareness, capabilities and knowledge in handicrafts. This is not just for Iban women alone but for the community at large, using our capabilities and knowledge to make a living especially in the modern era now. We hope to create awareness among our women especially in the longhouses on the importance of taking care of these natural materials which we use to make our handicrafts.

“Therefore, we must be able to sustain our bamboos, rotan, ‘Bemban’, and look for ‘Senggang’, ‘Sega’ and ‘resam’ – all of these are our natural resources which are used to make our handicrafts. If we lack these natural resources, plant them,” she said.

Meanwhile, IWCT treasurer Datin Seri Angelina Ujang said items for the competition must reach the competition committee no later than April 15, 2023.

“The entry forms will be issued from Aug 15, 2022 until Oct 15, 2022, which are free-of-charge.

“Completed forms must be sent to ‘The Iban Women Charitable Trust’. Handicrafts for the competition must be made by oneself and not bought from a third party,” she said.

Completed forms must be sent to: Iban Women Charitable Trust, Queen’s Court Block E-4-1, Lot 9937, Jalan Wan Alwi, 93350 Kuching.

The contact person is Cecilia Entering (ceceliaentering@gmail.com).

Angelina also said the competition committee is not responsible for items damaged or lost when sent to the committee’s office.

“Judges’ decisions will be final, and top 10 winners for each category will be invited to attend the prize-giving ceremony. They will be responsible for their own expenses.

“Once the winners are announced, participants are to collect their items from our office within one month, and if items are not collected, they will become the property of IWCT. If participants are interested to sell their items to the public after the prize giving, they may do so at the price agreed by the participants,” she said.

The top 10 winners for each category will win cash prizes ranging from RM150 to RM1,800.

Meanwhile, Dr Anna Durin, who represented Neilson, said the competition is to encourage Dayaks to place importance on handicraft-making.

“If we look at our younger generations now, they do not have interest in these traditional handicrafts.

“Therefore, this competition is to create awareness and interest among our younger generations apart from promoting our culture in the aspect of handicrafts, which lead to creating extra income for families and the community,” she said.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3C5BA1A
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