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A History of Umbrella
Making
Luang Paw Inthaa - the esteemed elder who
established the legend of the Umbrella Making Village of Bo Sang
compiled by Paw Noi Srinuan Taa-Saneng, a former monk
photos by Sue
The making of umbrellas in Bo Sang village is a
handicraft occupation of the villagers which has made its name known
throughout the country and abroad, and now it has a become one of the
symbols of Chiang Mai. How did this come about? Who introduced this art form
and how many years ago? The author has based this narration on the words of
the village elders as follows:
Approximately one hundred years ago there was a monk
named Pra Inthaa who took holy orders at Wat Bo Sang and practiced Dhamma
regularly. It was his nature to observe and investigate the local customs in
the area which others had not seen or encountered at that time.
On one occasion the monk went north, close to Burma, and
stayed for many years. Being close to the Burmese border, the people who
came to make merit and give alms to the monks were probably both Thai and
Burmese.
 Ms.
Kannikar Buacheen from the Umbrella Making Village of Bo Sang explains how
the mulberry, or “Saa” tree, is the natural resource for handmade
umbrellas.
One day, while the monk was taking his morning meal, a
Burmese inclined to make merit brought an umbrella to offer to the monk
because he had seen that the monk did not have one, which caused
difficulties. After the monk had blessed the Burmese who had brought the
umbrella, he asked him if he had made the umbrella himself. The Burmese
answered that indeed the umbrella was his own handiwork which he had made to
offer to the monk. The monk then asked where the Burmese lived. He said that
he lived not far from where the monk was staying. One could get there within
one day’s walk. After the Burmese had returned home, the monk opened the
umbrella in order to see how it was made, whether it was convenient to use,
and whether it would protect him from both sunshine and rain. The monk
decided immediately that he would travel to Burma, intending to investigate
how the umbrella was made.
He finally went to the place in Burma where umbrellas
were made to protect the users from both sunshine and rain. Additionally, he
saw the villagers making large umbrellas, which they called ‘ceremonial
umbrellas’ as they were used in various feasts and ceremonies and for
religious ceremonies as well. This umbrella was made entirely of Saa
(mulberry bark) paper, attached with rubber and suffused or coated with oil
to help repel both sunshine and rain. The monk asked the villagers what
equipment was necessary in making the umbrellas, and they explained it to
him in detail.
 The
best designs are still made by human hands, even on the fans also made at
the center
After the monk had made his observations, he wrote down
everything concerning the method of making umbrellas in various steps
starting from the method of making Saa paper.
When he was finished he had it in mind to take the
instructions and make umbrellas at home, as he saw that the various
equipment needed for the process from the beginning to the end would not be
difficult to obtain. After that, the monk returned home.
When he returned to the Wat (temple), the monk began
looking for the various necessary equipment according to what he had written
down. He persuaded the villagers to help him in his search and taught them
every step of the method.
He ordered a man to boil mulberry bark until it was soft,
wash it and pound it until it was fine. He then instructed another man to
use lengths of cotton cloth as a mold, placing them in the teak basin. They
then took the finely pounded mulberry bark and put it in the water for the
solution to adhere to the cloth mold.
They stirred it so the fragments of the mulberry bark
fell evenly over the cloth and then removed the cloth and dried it in the
sun. When it was dried it was made into Saa paper.
The monk chose women to be responsible for this part of
the process because women are more perseverant that men. The Burmese
delegated women to perform this step of the process, also.
The monk taught the men to make frames out of bamboo (in
central Thai this is known as Mhai Bhai but in Northern Thai it is called
Mhai Bong). The wood at the top of a thin bamboo called Mhai Ruak, and resin
from the persimmon tree was used as an adhesive. Finally, another kind of
resin was used on the paper as protection against both sunshine and rain.
At first there were not many villagers interested in
practicing and in helping the monk. When the final product was eventually
available, some of the villagers made use of them when traveling to protect
themselves from the sun or rain.
 An
elderly gentleman makes an umbrella handle
When people from other villages came and saw the
umbrellas, Bo Sang’s name became known somewhat more. Finally, people
began to place orders to buy umbrellas and it became a source of income.
From that time until the present more of the villagers became interested in
umbrella making. But we humans must agree that there is gradual evolution
and so the process was modified as time passed. Bo Sang villagers began to
make more umbrellas, as the work was a profitable hobby as a supplement to
rice farming. Once the rice harvest was completed the villagers began making
umbrellas throughout the village. When the umbrellas were finished,
villagers took about 20 or 30 umbrellas to the city to sell.
Later, people in Sanpatong District, in a village called
Mae Wang, produced umbrellas similar to the people of Bo Sang. It is not
known where they learned the craft of making umbrellas from silk or cotton.
When the cloth and Saa paper umbrellas were finished they were brought into
town to sell.
The Bo Sang villagers keenly observed the other designs
and skillfully thought up a way to make cloth umbrellas as well. They
gradually developed this and changed from using tree resin to using Mameu
oil which was both softer and stronger. They also used the oil mixed with
Haang for good effect. (This Haang is a dust-colored pigment; at present it
is only sold in Burma and is very expensive.)
After the villagers had learned the method of making
cloth umbrellas, things developed to the point that in 1941 the villagers
got together and formed a cooperative within the village. The villagers
called this cooperative the Bo Sang Umbrella Making Cooperative Ltd. with
Mr. Jamroon Suthiwat as the organizer and the head of cooperatives for the
province.
Umbrellas of many different sizes, such as 14 inch, 16
inch, 18 inch, and 20 inch umbrellas as well as large ones of 35 and 40
inches, both cloth and paper umbrellas were made. The umbrellas were painted
with oil paints mixed with Mameu oil of many different colors, such as red,
yellow, blue and green. (At that time these oil paints had begun to be
imported.) The venture succeeded progressively to the point that in
approximately 1957, the Center for Industrial Promotion for the North
assisted the villagers by teaching them to make Saa paper and to print cloth
in a fine plaid such as the ones we see at present. Umbrella making
developed prosperously; they began to be painted with flowers and landscape
scenes of various kinds. This prosperity is the result of the assistance
given and the fact that these umbrellas are products which can be exported
and sell well abroad. The villagers have also been invited to give
demonstrations of umbrella making so that the citizens of other countries
can see this craft at various fairs and shows. Bo Sang umbrellas have now
been transformed into one of the symbols of Chiang Mai.
The villagers of Bo Sang should remember the monk’s
benevolence for bringing this art from Burma to become a vital occupation up
to the present. It is all a result of the foresight and wisdom of Luang Paw
Inthaa which cannot be forgotten.
Fountain of Life Calling
by Sister Joan
We, at Fountain of Life, hope that all roads will lead to
the “Jesters Children’s Fair” on September 16 th.
It will be held at Siam Bayshore Resort, South Pattaya. We wish all who go
there a very happy family day. We hope that you will spend well and wisely
and encourage your friends to do the same.
 Sister
Joan proudly stands behind children from the center who received
scholarships to go to government school
All proceeds from the Fair will come to Fountain of Life
Children’s Center in North Pattaya where we care for under-privileged
children in the Pattaya area. The proceeds will be used for the running
costs of the Center and we assure you that it will be used well and wisely.
The running cost for January to December for the year
2000 was 2,210,006 baht. The cost for the period of January to June 2001 was
1,433,683 baht. Jesters’ contribution for these six months was 771,090
baht. Our running costs have increased each successive year.
 Sister
Jiemjit provides plenty of love to children who otherwise might not receive
a lot of attention
Because the children are picked up from their homes every
morning and returned every evening transport costs (petrol and maintenance
of vehicles) are high. It takes approximately 16% of the total budget. Our
vans travel in many a small pot-holed Soi, and in places where there is no
Soi at all.
Nutrition, medical care and dental care for the children
have high priority at Fountain of Life Center and take approximately 18% of
the total budget.
 Fun
games are part of the learning experience at the Fountain of Life Center
The daily food program consists of - breakfast for those
who do not eat before they come to the center, and a drink full of vitamins
and minerals for all; nutritious lunch; and a snack before going home.
Children are encouraged to have as much of the above as they want. Dr.
Tassanee Lertutsahakul and her team of dentists at Bangkok–Pattaya
Hospital monitor dental care for all the children. Members of the Pattaya
International Ladies Club bring children for their appointments and
follow–up. A doctor visits every week to check the children’s health.
There is a medical record for every child.
Approximately 6% of the budget goes on water,
electricity, household requirements and maintenance. Another 3% goes for
telephone, office supplies, rent and tax for the building. Albert Fader pays
rent and tax for the extended part of the building.
Children come to our center at the age of 3 years. By the
time they reach the age for entry to government school we hope they are
healthy, strong and well prepared to start this important stage of every
child’s life. When they leave the center for 1st
grade in government school they know how to read, write, sing, dance, and
speak for themselves in a polite manner. Hopefully they need not be
embarrassed in the presence of children from more affluent homes.
 Sister
Joan lovingly takes care of many children at the Fountain of Life Center
Actually, children from Fountain of Life tend to do very
well in gov. schools. One of our staff visits the schools regularly to
monitor their development. We get good support and cooperation from staff in
government schools in Pattaya. Between 150 and 160 children attend our
center every day. They love to come to the center where they can be secure,
and enjoy their childhood like other children of their age.
In May of this year 58 children went to gov. school (8 to
boarding school); last year 42 children went to gov. school, the previous
year the number was 36 and the years before the numbers were smaller. Some
children have gone to secondary school level at Good Shepherd Convent in
Bangkok. Others are in school in Nongkhai and are monitored by Good Shepherd
Sisters there. Some go to vocational school in Pattaya. Preparation of
children for grade school as well as higher education takes a place of great
importance. School uniforms, transport and lunch money are provided if the
family cannot afford it. Fees for boarding schools are paid. This is high on
our expense list, approximately10%.
The more children and families we get to know the more we
become part of their life situation, so we have a rather extensive out-reach
program. We help with milk formula for small babies whose mothers cannot
afford this. Drug problems and HIV/AIDS are no strangers in the families of
the children who come to our center, so our out-reach program helps many of
them, approx. 8% of our budget
 The
children pay respects to their teachers on “Wai Kru” Day
Salaries and training for 15 teachers and support staff
costs 39% of the total budget, this does not come from Jesters
contribution. Our staff is very dedicated and hard working. An important
requirement for employment in our center is that the person loves children.
It is important that our staff know our target group, our policy and
philosophy.
We express our deep gratitude to the committee who are
putting such a great effort into the preparation for this fair. We thank all
the Jesters and all their collaborators, like you, we hope that this
year’s “Jesters Children’s Fair” will be a wonderful success.
A special message to our readers - please come, spend
well and wisely, and we guarantee you we will do the same in our turn.
Newsflash: The Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive
has just received yet another Platinum Sponsor. BJ Services has come forward
and become the 2001 Charity Drive’s fourth Platinum Sponsor. The
organizing committee is ecstatic.
Clones at an orchid farm
by Suchard Krephitmai
I was invited to look around an orchid farm one day last
week and thought it might be nice to look at the beautiful flowers. In my
ignorance I imagined there would be acres of pretty blooms everywhere. Well
I couldn’t have been more wrong; it turned out to be a tour of science,
not fields, but a laboratory.
 The
beginning
These gorgeous flowers that we so enjoy looking at are
painstakingly cultivated in, of all things, red label whiskey bottles.
My hosts George and Edith said, “First things first -
lets eat,” with that they took me to a great restaurant where they wined
and dined me in style. Then we started the tour in the lab that was as
sterile as you would expect any scientific environment. Edith starts the
growing process from a plant pod but before she can do anything, everything,
including herself, hands and arms have to be doused in alcohol (no, not from
the whiskey bottles). Then the seeds from the pod are planted into a medium
solution in small containers. Edith said that in general, plant tissue
culture media consists of mineral salts, a carbon and energy source which is
sucrose, vitamins such as B1, B3 and B5, and some organic nutrients like
coconut water, banana and potato extract and agar-agar.
 Shaken
not stirred
Orchid propagation can be done two ways:
(a) The term meristem refers to the actively growing,
undifferentiated tissue which is found at the growing tips of plants.
Meristems can be obtained from shoot tips, young inflorescences, auxiliary
buds and root tips. Young developing leaves also posses meristamic tissue.
It’s amazing that when meristamic tissue is removed from the plants and
inoculated into liquid nutrient media then placed on the shaking table, it
grows and multiplies but remains undifferentiated if the effect of gravity
is eliminated by the continuous agitation of the culture. The active
meristems continue to grow and develop into large protocorms. The protocorms
can then be divided and placed into a solid medium until they develop into
plants. Meristemmed are usually true copies of the clone, but a significant
percentage show variation in size and substance when grown in identical
conditions.
 Time
for the whiskey bottles
(b) The best results and sometimes the only way to obtain
hybrids is from green seed pod culture. This is the technique of sowing the
seed soon after fertilization and long before the fruit ripens. The usual
time for harvesting the green pod is 100-140 days after pollination. Seeds
are scraped off into sterilized flasks containing nutrient agar-agar.
By the time the seedlings have produced their second
leaf, usually six months after sowing, the primary flasks are crowded and
the seedlings have exhausted the nutrients in the agar. To allow for further
growth, they should be subdivided and transferred into secondary flasks.
(This is where the red label whiskey bottles come in.)
 The
finished result
Seedlings in flasks are kept indoors or under 25%
sunlight. After 3 months in the subculture flasks the plants can be moved
out into the orchid house to acclimatize to the light and heat that they
will receive when they are transplanted from the flasks.
During cultivation, an orchid passes through the
following stages: primary flasks, subculture flasks, community pots, and big
seedlings planted in 4-inch teak wood or plastic baskets.
Nowadays there is a wide range of recommendations for
growing orchids, with each grower having his own recipes for achieving
optimum results. George said, “We find it easier to tie some orchid
species cutting and/or seedlings on branches of trees. There is a large
variety of potting media which maybe used either exclusively or in
combination of charcoal, broken clay pots, redwood barks, tree fern chunks,
osmunda, leaf mould and earth mixtures, styrofoam and gravel. Some growers
prefer empty containers and do not use any media at all. The habit of the
plant is the sole factor limiting the possibilities for variation in
cultural techniques”.
After this extremely interesting and informative tour we
did end up with the ‘blooms’ and I appreciated them so much more after
seeing the enormous effort it takes to get to the finished article. One has
to say that there is definitely something about an orchid, and even though
some don’t have a perfume, they are just so perfect. I am obviously not
alone in this thinking as Edith and George tell me they send the orchids all
over the world.
ATCC August Sundowner -
and some busy times ahead
story and photos by Peter Cummins
The Australian Thai Chamber of Commerce (ATCC), with a
burgeoning membership has a full schedule of activities for the rest of
2001, including, of course, the AFL Grand Final. Even with the cessation of
televising into Asia since the start of this year, our ATTC committee and
the new executive director, Anita North, have ensured that we shall have our
“Footy Fest” - for the seventh successive year - at the end of
September.
 The
Sheraton “Magnificent Seven” with Barry Smith
It was, indeed, a full house when the August Sundowner
took over the second floor of the Australian Embassy - as usual, on the
first Wednesday of the month - as usual. What was UNusual was that it just
happened to be Wednesday the first, the only time in 2001 that the
‘show’ coincides with the first day of the month.
A tremendous spread by the sponsor, the Sheraton Grande
Sukhumvit, not only regaled the more than 150 attendees with great hors
d’oeuvres, unlimited libations of Carlsberg, supplemented by rivers of red
and white, but the Sheraton also sent “The Magnificent Seven”. No, that
was not the famous film of that name; rather it was seven beauties from the
Sheraton public relations and marketing division - any of whom could well be
a screen star in her own right.
 Old
Bill does his thing!
Barry Smith of Colliers Jardine addressed the gathering
announcing, to a roar of approval, that they would not be denied that most
sacred day (well, for some, at least) and the AFL Grand Final would be
screened - Shangri La Hotel, Saturday, 29 September. Thank you Barry, Anita
North and the ATCC Committee for the effort. Having been denied the
televised action all season through the cancellation of transmission to Asia
by the ABC, the Aussie Rules aficionados were so elated that they adjourned
to the Sundowner bar and downed a few! Who would believe that!
Early reservations are advised and the ATTC is also
seeking sponsors. Contact direct to ATTC, tel. (02) 210-0216; fax. (02)
675-6696; e-mail [email protected]
Convoy for kids
 Anita
North - “a rose between two thorns”?
The now-annual “Convoy for Kids” is not unlike
Pattaya’s own annual “Kids Out”, whereby the Rotary Clubs of Bangkok
South and Jomtien-Pattaya take some 300 disadvantaged children from the
Pakkred Orphanage, to treat them to an unforgettable day at the sea-side, at
the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, South Pattaya, usually in March.
ATCC’s John Kershaw, general manager of Linfox
Logistics (Thailand) and chairman of the ATCC Transport and Logistics
Sub-committee announced at the Sundowner that the 2001 “Convoy for Kids”
would be held Sunday, 11 November - a worthy cause if ever there was one,
dedicated to “giving disabled kids an annual day’s outing...and raising
money for charity.”
John urged donation pledges to assist in the purchase of
a specially-adapted bus to be donated to the Foundation for the Welfare of
the Crippled - at a cost in excess of four million baht.
The Convoy was initiated by the ATCC Transport and
Logistics Subcommittee last November, with 31 trucks and some 40 children
departing from the Foundation for the Welfare of the Crippled for what was,
according to John, “A terrific day out at Safari World.” In addition,
upwards of 800,000 baht was raised to support the Foundation.
This year, the Thai Transport Industry (the Transport
Association), the Northeast Truck Club, the Federation of Thai Industries
and the Thai Logistics and Production Society have all “weighed” in with
support.
 No
wonder the Sundowner is always a full house!
Anyone wishing to help provide the bus for these
disadvantaged children should contact John Kershaw: tel. (02) 320-6000; fax.
(02) 320-6007.
Other good news is that the next ATCC Eastern Seaboard
Sundowner, to be sponsored by Rod Skinner’s Sriracha-based Transit
Maintenance Limited, will take place on Friday, 14 September. The Sundowner
will be preceded by a British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) day’s
“teach-in” and, of course, on Saturday, the usual visit to the ATCC
supported Ban Khao Huai Mahad School, for a little more ‘teaching’.
Full details on the venues and the outings will be
announced by the ATCC office shortly.
Poot Thai Mai Geng
Or why I can't speak Thai
by Dr. Iain
A couple of weeks ago I was most heartened to read Roger
Crutchley, that long time Thailand resident Bangkok Post columnist,
admitting to the fact that he could not speak Thai all that well. He claimed
his poor enunciation of the five tones had landed him in many predicaments
over the years. Little did he know when he wrote the article just what a
morale booster it was going to be for people like me. The “poot Thai mai
geng” brigade.
Living in Thailand, such as we do, one feels there is
certainly a moral responsibility towards learning to speak the local lingo.
Other columnists in the Pattaya Mail, such as the redoubtable Hillary,
advise the agonized ex-pats that life will be so much better when they learn
Thai, and I am sure that may be so. My Thai colleagues admonish me in that I
still cannot get much further in Thai than “Where is the bathroom?” and
“How are you today?” But, so help me, I have tried, and at great
personal cost. And I’m not talking purely financial here.
Three separate times have I lined up and signed up for
formal lessons in Thai. Unfortunately it always seems to end up as lessons
in formal Thai - a strange language that the everyday Thai people do not
appear to speak. Well, not the ones I seem to meet anyhow.
Being a tonal language means that just assiduously
writing down each new word is not enough. A phonetic system has to be used -
and that’s where the first problem arises. The phonetic alphabet is almost
as hard to master as the new language itself. Having experimented with three
different types of phonetic scripts, confusion now reigns supreme (or rather
better, “raynz soopreem”). After one hour of lessons I find I have to
lie down for the next three hours to reassemble my brain. I cannot afford
four hours off in one fell swoop.
Of course, other than formal didactic lessons, there is
another method, sometimes called “pillow talk” whereby the
linguistically challenged ex-pat can, by association with a Thai national on
a daily (or nocturnal) basis, garner the threads of conversation and even
arrange these in sentences. I have one associate who in this way has picked
up Thai from a variety of “teachers” to become fluent within five years.
But even this method has its own hazards. Who knows what else he may have
picked up as well (but perhaps I’ll leave that for my medical column)? It
was also heartening the other evening when as usual he rattled away in Thai
to a young lady, impressing me immensely, but apparently not her. “Khun
poot Lao” she told him. I smirked and chortled in the darkness of the bar.
My Thai might be “mai geng”, but at least it’s Thai - not Laotian!
In the solitude of my own lounge-room I have studied Thai
in another way. I turn on Thai television and watch endless game shows where
two or three comperes spend hours at a time shouting at each other,
interspersed with “Oooohhhs” and similar sounds. I remember reading that
if you cannot speak Thai these shows are excruciating, and if you can they
are even worse. Fortunately they are currently only excruciating, but on the
plus side, the African Grey parrot who watches with me now does a passable
line of “Oooohhhs”.
But Thai in its very basics seems to be designed to
confuse the anglophile. Even if you have managed to come to terms with the
“mah” = come/horse/dog/Chinese grandmother quartet then there are the
delightful “near” and “far” antonyms represented in the Thai
language by “gly” and “gly”. Confused yet? And if you don’t
believe that antonyms can be represented by the same word then you also
don’t believe that the Pope is a Catholic. However, “gly” and
“gly” are merely primers for the “who sells the chicken egg”
mouthful - the oft repeated “kry ky ky gy”. Fortunately, I leave egg
purchasing to my maid, the long suffering Suchida, who I notice has taken up
learning English, being perhaps for her a better option than attempting to
understand my Thai. I’ll even pay for the book!
I have also read that there is a centre in the brain that
deals with learning foreign languages which shrinks as we get older. I now
firmly believe that I have been short-changed in that department, or perhaps
it is just that the particular brain part wasn’t Sanforized. Having now
decided that my problem is physical I shall insist that those around me who
would scoff at my paltry efforts should remember not to make fun of the
handicapped. Especially when it is “Poot Thai mai geng.”
Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel. 66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax: 66-38 427 596
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]
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