Title
Pouch
Year/Period
Late 19th century
Region
Malay Peninsula
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 7.5 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm
Accession No.
XXXX-10218
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Alfred Dent Machado, 1897
This pouch is finely plaited with pandan leaves or 'mengkuang' in 'mad weave' or 'anyam gila' in curled work. Pandanus storage bags such as this are used to carry small items like tobacco, betel quid and money.Anyam gila refers to a complicated basket weaving technique used in this region. The pattern contains three-dimensional rhombs, cubes and six-pointed stars, achieved by working two strips of pandanus leaves in three directions. It has been said anyam gila basketry was so called as its complexity coulddrive a weaver mad. During the early 20th century, in Singapore prisons, female inmates, had to learn the mad weave as a form of punishment.
