III

              In the central provinces, wickerwork objects were, and still are, outstanding parts of household utensils, In this collection there are thirteen kinds divided into ninteen varieties in form.
1.     Cha-lom
        A Cha-lom is a basket for containing things to be carried by hand. The body is woven of bamboo strips leaving the top part about 25 cm. undone. undone. After things are put in a Cha-lom, the bamboo strips that are left undone will be tied up with apiece of string. A Chu-lom is in the shape of a cylinder with a hexagonal-shaped bottom. It was generally used like a shopping or carrying bag. Alrhoufh one can still find a Chu-lom sold on a basketry shop today, the object has become rarely used on everyday life.

                                  cha-lom.jpg (5037 bytes)

2. Fa-chi

A Fa-chi is a cover woven of bamboo strips in the shape of a hemispher. It is for keeping flies and other insects away from food. It has an inner structure made of bamboo sicks. Its made of a thick piece of bamboo strips (with skin) fastened to the body with rattan. There is a hook or handle on its top (photograph no. 2)

4.    Kra-chi (Kheng Nung Kha-nom)

                                                             kra-chi.gif (93010 bytes)
         This is a basket for steaming sweet dishes. It is woven of bamboo strips in a round shape. To use this kind of basketry for steaming, one has to put it in a steamer. This kind of basket is a typical Chinese household utensil (photograph no. 4.1). Sketch no. 4.2 shows how the basket is used.

5.    Kra-bung
       A Kra-bung is a basket. It is woven of bamboo strips and has a hard edge made of a thick piece of bamboo strips fasten with rattan. Two pieces of strong bamboo rods are put crossing one another at the bottom to help support the body. There are three kinds of Kra-bung.
                                                 5.1.     An ordinary one.
                                                 5.2.     A Kra-bung Pak Ban (a Kra -bung with a wider                                                               top part)
                                                 5.3.     A Kra-bung Tuang.
The first kind is usually for containing and carrying rice grains of seeds to a farm or market place. They can be used in pair, like a Kra-chat Hap or singly. (photograph no. 5.1).

    krabung-2.jpg (3592 bytes)

       The second kind of Kra-bung is normally used to contain coconut fruit for transportation (photograph no. 5.2).

The third kind has a higher edge andstronger bottom than the first two. It is for measuring grains,especially rice (photograph no. 5.3).
Compared to a Kra-chat, a kra-bung is used for heavier work.

6. Kra-chat
This kind of basketry is widely used by people in the rural areas. The body is woven of bamboo strips. The edge is made of a thicker piede fastened with rattan.

kra-chat.jpg (2700 bytes)

It has a base made of tripple rattan stems. This kind of basket is always uwed in pair, each of which has to be placed in a carrying frame (sa-raek) that has a hook on its top. The frame is coiled of rattan stems. ln korder to carry a pair of Kra-chat, one has to put a mai khan (a pole) in the hook of the frame leaving each frame at each end of the pole, then place the pole on one's shoulder. There are two forms of a Kra-chat Hap:one is tall, the other short (photograph no. 6.1 and no. 6.2 respectively

Both kinds of Kra-chat are normally used to contain or carry things, often for sale from one place to another. Villagers normally use a pair of fine handiwork when they carry things, especially food, to a monastery.

kra-chat2.jpg (2300 bytes)

7. Kra-chon (a strainer or a sieve)

kra-chon1.jpg (2553 bytes)

A Kra-chon is a kitchen utensil woven of fine bamboo strips to make a delicate network.
It has a hard edge made of thick bamboo or rattan strips. Its. handles are made of thick pieces of bamboom strip or rattan stems. Usually, a Kra-chon appears in two shape: round and square. It is used to separate cream from ground coconut meat .

8. Kra-dong

kra-dong.jpg (3478 bytes)

Kra-dong is a round and flat basket for separating grains. The body is woven with bamboo strips (with skin) Its edge is made of thicker piece and is fastened with rattan

9. Kra-lep

A Kra-lep is a container. It is a wicker-work object traditionally made and used by a Laotian group. Its body is woven of bamboo, its edge fastened with slices of rattan. A Kra-lep is a basket that has a narrow bottom, which is in the shape of a rectangle. At the shorter sides of the rectangle there are handles in which ropes are tied to make it easy for picking up or for holding over the shoulders

The object photographed is from the collection of Associate Professor Denduang Bhumsiri., Silpakorn University.

11. Pley Dek (A cradle)
The body of a Pley Dek is woven of slices of bamboo. Its edge is made of bamboo rods fastened with double rattan stems. There are thick pieces of slices of bamboo put crossing one another underneath its bottom part. The basket is a baby 's day bed. Agrown-up, usually female,will sing a lullaby while she is rocking the Pley. To use it, the basket has to be fastened to ropes on four sides, and the ropes are normally fastened to a beam of a house (photograph no. 11.1)

12. Ta kra Lang Pla

taka-lp.jpg (3374 bytes)

A Ta-kra Lang Pla is a basket in which fish that is prepared for cooking is washed before it is cooked Its body is woven of bamboo strips, its edge fastened with rattan. The top part is round, the bottom square. Underneath the bottom, there are thicdk pieces of bamboo strips fastened crossing one another to support the body.

taka-lp-2.jpg (3782 bytes)

13.    Ta-kraeng
            There are three kinds, namely Ta-kraeng Lang Phak and Ta-kraeng Ron khao and Ta-kraeng Tak khong. All are woven of bamboo strips in a round shape. The edge of the last two kinds are fastened with rattan strips. The other difference is in the desinns in the patterns. The design in the pattern of a Ta-kraeng Ron Khao is finer than the other two, whereas a Ta-kraeng Tak Khong has a rougher design than the rest. These three kinds of Ta-kaeng have different functions.

     trakang.jpg (3759 bytes)

                                13.1         A Tra-kraeng Lang Phak is used to contain vegetable,such as                                                  bean sprout, for washing. Sometimes it is used to scoop prawns in a                                                  canal.
                                13.2        A Ta -kraeng Ron Khao is used for separating rice grains.
                                13.3        A Ta-kraeng Tak khong is used for drying fish or other things. In the                                                  old days it was used for separating charcoal.

14.    Sa-wien

                                                    sa-wein.jpg (2297 bytes)
                     A Sa-wien is a twisted rattan strips. It is used for holding the rice-pot while
                                                                            draining the cooking