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| Bunong Weaving Activity
Author: Leng Veasna
Date: October 26, 2017
Textile
and styles of Bunong's
weaving culture have had a long period of time, and it has been left behind by ancient ancestors, and this
weaving and style are part of the identity of the culture and traditions of the
Bunong indigenous people as well as the culture of Cambodian nationalism. This
weaving is also important to help improve the livelihood of Bunong ethnic
minority because it can help them to earn some money after they return from
their farming. In particular, the farming of Cambodian Bunong Indigenous People
is currently facing difficulties due to climate change and lack of agricultural
techniques, which have resulted in poor yields and inadequate income for domestic
supplies.
Currently, Mondulkiri Indigenous People’s
Association for Development (MIPAD), which has been supported by Plan
International Cambodia, is carrying out its activities under the project
"Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation of Indigenous
Communities in Mondulkiri". In this regard, MIPAD has sent a project team
to study and research the history of textile weaving and weaving equipment of Bunong
ethnic minority group for further research documents. In addition, the
association has formed a group of weavers, mostly women, and has received
training in weaving skills in addition to the weaving skills they had acquired
from their ancestors. And this work is also in addition to agricultural work which
has been affected by climate change.
The textile weaving
of Bunong ethnic minority
can weave such as scarfs (Kama, Bunong’s language), blankets, bandwidth (Yus),
handkerchiefs and handbags. The weaving process is similar in size to the size,
while the style is not as easy as it is different in its production. The
weaving process is long or short, depending on the production of various
materials in large or small size. Usually, weaving a scarf of 20 × 180, 20 ×
200, 25 × 180, 25 × 200 takes 4 days and is used for all events. A skirt with red
and black colors, and together with some signs such as vegetable, seeds, dove’s
egg, size 50 × 200, 60 × 200 takes 60 days and according to routine, it takes 1 year.
Moreover, it was used in the wedding in which the groom’s family offers to the bride’s
family, and then they use it to cover the head of buffalo which they already
kill and used in the ceremony as
souvenirs and objects. After the ceremony, the bride's mother can use it as a
blanket or skirts. A black and white bandwidth, consisting of the signs of
human, trees, mountain, buffalo, cows and Pythagorean scratches sign; size 50 ×
200, 60 × 200, 70 × 200, takes about 90 days, traditionally takes 1 year and 3
months, and is used for the same ceremony like scarfs. A small bandwidth can
exchange a small buffalo, one cow, or one
goat. A blanket with red, black, and white color, consisting of signs such as a
small stream, houses, human, and mountains in the size of 250 × 300, 250 × 400, takes 180 days; traditionally
it takes two-year. In the past,
indigenous people, Bunong, do weaving only when they are free from doing
farming. As a result, the weaving of Bunong takes very long time and the
outcome from weaving is really valuable for them.
For its color, it was originally white, black, and
red. To get a black color, Bunong collects small trees (not specific) and grind
those trees to receive black ink. Once they received, they mixed black ink with
cotton thread to get black cotton. For red, they traditionally used fruits
which they were shaped like rambutan, and make it as red liquid and then mixed
with cotton to become red-colored. Indigenous people, Bunong, popularly plant
cotton for the purpose of their weaving culture.
Bunong's weaving culture, all weavers must have
enough equipment before they can weave, and all of them are Kei (Nak Cha, Bunong's language), and Hong. And weaving and Design (Korm),
there are designs that can be noted that it is the ancient Bunong indigenous
community, such as: kitchen, Kaisna, arrow, guord, human, tiger’s nose, python,
cucumber’s seed, doves, snake, spider’s nest, worm’s eyes, mountain, streams, person holding hands,
walking path, great silver water beetle,
wasp, grasshopper, jumbo of tiger, mosquitoes, trees, waterfalls, wild streams
rabbit, pumpkin, rice. Each of designs
represented: Arrow and Kaisna represent the hunting of Indigenous Peoples
(Bunong). The kitchen represents the place of food. The python, the snake
image, the nose of tiger image, and the great silver water beetle image
represent fierce wildlife. The images of guord, cucumber, pumpkin, and rice
represent the planting of crops. The images of a waterfall, wildlife, stream,
mountain, and water represent the livelihood landscape of the ethnic minority,
Bunong. Rabbits represent wise and intelligent people. Creating design is to
make the textile fabrics look more attractive and beautiful. In that, the use
of color also has its meaning, such as the colorful is the emblem of the hot
element. Light colors are the cold element which refers to the beauty of nature and natural refreshing. As a
result, they look beautiful in the Bunong’s weaving culture as well as the
design of each textile.
Today, the weaving
culture of Bunong Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia has been uninterested by
people, since so far, a lot of them focus on only farming and pay very less
attention and very less time practicing weaving skills that have been left behind by their ancestors. Because of
the climate change, the farming, as well as the growing of the plant, have been seriously
affected and the family situation of Indigenous Peoples, Bunong, have been
challenged in their lives. Therefore, Mondulkiri Indigenous People’s Association
for Development, under the support of Plan International Cambodia, has strived
to provide training in agriculture, seeds selection, plant protection, planting
techniques as well as to study the weaving tradition and provide additional
skills to them in order to earn additional income aside from doing farming or
agriculture.
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