no. 1631. VOCABULARY OF MALAYSIAN BASKETWORK— MASON. 45 



the coco palm, joined crossways by battens of areca wood, of which 

 the grated floor is made. (Kloss, Andaman* and Nicobars, p. 49.) 



Throat seising. — Lashing the crossed ends of basket elements. 

 Used in loops for suspension and in carrying parts. 



Tikars. — Sleeping mats. Malays make them from nipa palm. 



Tingayl (" Kinggale "). — A sort of bamboo, West Borneo, for 

 baskets. Called also Tingehl, Tinggayl. 



Tools. — The words " joinerwork " and "tools'" must not awaken 

 pictures of the great chests of our carpenters and cabinetmakers. The 

 utensils employed on Malaysian basketwork are of very primitive 

 kinds. The ever present parang, including a woman's variety (two 

 top specimens, Plate XV); curved knives with their long, slender 

 handles; awls with needle points; drills quite as delicate: prickers for 

 inserting wefts; an old file or two; and siliceous leaves for sandpaper, 

 are all. The chief reliance is on the cunning hands and trained eyes 

 of the basket -maker. (See Plates IV, XV.) 



On Plate XV are shown basket-makers' knives, k * sinar " (Cat. Xos. 

 249038, 240043, U.S.X.M.), used as all-round tools in making baskets 

 and mats by the Dyak women on Sempang River, West Borneo. They 

 all belong to the same t}^pe, curved alike in blade and handle from 

 end to end. the cutting parts quite similar, handles of wood or antler. 

 The implement fits the hand perfectly and rests on the arm, enabling 

 the woman to guide the finest motions and regulate the pressure. At 

 the bottom of the plate the bast rolled up serves as a scabbard for the 

 blade when not in use. 



Cat. Xos. 240045 and 24004G, U.S.N.M. (top of Plate XV), are 

 woman's parangs, "parang bodong," from the Dyaks of Sempang 

 River, West Borneo. Length 12 inches and 14 inches respectively. It 

 is interesting to note on these small objects the razor-shape blade bent 

 back at an angle with the long tang, the hook on the lower side where 

 blade and tang come together for removing thorns from leaves and 

 stems, and the grip of wood, perfectly plain. In the men's parangs 

 the grips preserve a semblance of ancient symbolism; there is none 

 here — just a simple survival of useful shapes. 



Toung dp. — Native name for triangular pyramid in checkered 

 basketry. 



Trap. — A species of Artoearpits, used by Dyaks and Sakais in mak- 

 ing bark cloth. Other species are also used. The Dyaks also make 

 cord of it and of other kinds of bark. 



TtriUcdirork. — Fabric in basketwork in which the textile parts of 

 one set of elements pass over and under more than one element of the 

 other set. A great variety of patterns are produced in the Abbott 

 baskets by different materials, surfaces, thickness, width, color, direc 

 tion. and technic in the parts. (See Plates V, VI.) 



n Marsden, p. 144, says that the Sumatrans were ignorant of the use of 

 the saw. 



