no. 1631. VOCABULARY OF MALAYSIAN BASKETWORK—M 1 81 > \ . 35 



Parts of baskets. — Malaysian baskets are much more broken up into 

 parts than American. In both areas there will be, in the plainest 

 structures, such as mats, wallets, and checkerwork basket-, wrong 

 side and right side, outside and inside, top, bottom, and sides. But 

 the full-fledged carrying basket is a bewildering association of parts. 

 A technic part or unit is the full movement of the active parts once. 

 The result is one check, decussation, twill, stitch, twist, curl, bend, 

 bight, hitch, coil, or knot. (See also under Structural parts.) 



Pierced work.— Applied to all uses of the awl, or piercer, in basket- 

 work. The abundant employment of wood brings sewing into this 

 art, which is not done with the needle, but after the shoemaker's 

 fashion, with a sharpened filament of rattan through holes pierced 

 with metal tools. (See Drill.) 



Pina. — Delicate texture from pineapple leaf, Ananas ananas. 



Pinned work. — The joining of palm, pandanus, and other leaves by 

 pinning them with splinters of rigid material run in and out through 

 them. (See Plates IX, X, XL) 



Plaiting. — Folding leaves like the plaiting in garments. To be 

 distinguished from braiding. 



Plants. — The plants used in the Malaysian basketwork have not all 

 been studied for native or scientific names. The best known are the 

 bamboos, rattans, palms, and climbing ferns. (For Borneo, see Bec- 

 cari, pp. 507-636; for the Philippines, E. D. Merrill.) 



Ply. — To be used in speaking of flat surfaces, as 2-ply, 3-ply, and 

 so on. Work in pandanus leaf, palm leaf, bamboo skin, spathe, or 

 bast may be thus made. Not to be confounded with Strand. 



Poolay. — Filament of the pesang {Musa textilis). (Marsden's 

 Sumatra, p. 146.) A tall perennial herb of the same genus as the 

 banana. Manila hemp. When dressed it is of two qualities, finer 

 for shawls, coarser for rope. 



Pricker. — A tapering bone or piece of metal used in mad weave and 

 other basketwork for inserting ends into the existing texture. (See 

 Plate IV.) 



Processes. — There are certain processes in basketwork that may be 

 described, whose procedures are quite independent of the result. 

 Among them are braiding, coiling, knotting, looming, matting, net- 

 ting, omitting, sewing, spinning, twilling, and wrapping. These com- 

 bine in all possible ways to their results. 



Products. — The products of basketwork will be found under Uses 

 of basketwork. 



Rattan. — ( See Calamus. ) 



Rhomboidal work. — Basketwork in pandanus leaf and other thin 

 material in which the surface is made up of a series of rhombs or dia- 

 monds. Called also " Mad weave? which see. 



