26 



PREPARATION. 



The spines on the leaves of this pandan are removed and 

 the leaf itself, while still fresh, is split into four or more 

 parts according to the purpose to which the strips are to 

 be put. To get the strips of even width a simple gauge, 

 called a "soclan" ^ in the Bicol language, is used. The strips 

 are then generally dried in the shade and made more supple 

 by being pressed firmly against a piece of bamboo. 



USES. 



Karagumoy leaves being coarse, mats and hats made from 

 them never have the fine appearance of similar sabutan 

 articles. At present karagumoy is the only pandan used 

 in the making of work baskets. These are usually in the 

 mad weave and have a bottom hexagonal in shape. Within 

 the last few years the public schools in the Bicol Provinces 

 have made this type of basket more elaborate and ornate 

 by superimposing on the pandan strips stars or other figures 

 of karagumoy, irao, or nito. The mad weave is also some- 

 times employed in karagumoy hats. 



Karagumoy articles present a more shiny surface than 

 those made of other pandans. 



COMMON PANDAN. 



(Pandanus tectorius.) 



(Antique, Batangas, Bulacan, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Leyte, Mindoro, 

 Oriental Negros, Pampanga, Rizal, Surigao, Tarlac, Tayabas, 

 Zamboanga) ; pangdan (Abra) ; panglan (II. in Zambales, 

 Zambal) ; shore pandan. 



Pandanus tectorius, the common pandan, is the most 

 abundant and widely distributed of all pandans in the 

 Philippines. Its trunk is never very high and like all 

 species of pandans is figured by ridges which mark the 

 attachment of former leaves. Several meters from the 



^ A "soclan" generally is a strip of bamboo or rattan bent in the 

 shape of the letter U and held or tied together at the ends. The 

 pandan is held in the curve of the U and a knife blade is held 

 steadily against the arms of the U in such a way that when the 

 pandan leaf is drawn through the soclan, the blade cuts the leaf 

 evenly to the desired width. 



