 Last month I went to Chiangmai. It was great. The landscape is very beautiful.The last day in this charming town, I woke up early. It was raining.There were full of pretty local girls hold colorful umbrellas walking on the street.
Rom Kradad Saa
Welcome
to Free Zone! This week we will bring you to Bo Sang, a village of Sankhumphaeng
district in Chiangmai province where the hand-painted umbrellas are widely
well-known.
Bo Sang umbrella has
been known as “Rom Kradad Saa” or “Sa umbrella”
that is entirely made of Saa (mulberry bark) paper. No one really know
the history of the umbrella making but there are two oral histories people
believed.
One said that, it the
ancient time, whilst a monk took pilgrimage to Bann Bo Sang, there was
a big storm and his umbrella was damaged. During his way, he found an
old villager named Phuek who had repaired umbrella for the monk and learnt
the techniques of making umbrella at the same time.
The other said that ,long
time ago, a monk went to the North near Burma and stayed for years. There
were both Thai and Burmese came to make merit. One day, while the monk
was taking his morning meal, a Burmese offered him an umbrella because
the monk did not have one. He found it could protect him from both rain
and sunshine. Then he went to Burma to find how the umbrella was made.
After finishing his course, he returned to Bo Sang and disseminated his
skill to villagers.
In fact, even low price,
the process of making Saa umbrella is very complex. Umbrella was made
from bamboo frame and covered with Saa paper. To color, the maker uses
only red earth and lampblack mixed with tree resin and coat over the top
of umbrella. Below is the information about how to make this handmade
umbrella.
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1.How
to get Saa paper
1.1 Peel the mulberry bark and leave it dry.
1.2 Soak it in the water about 6-8 hours.
1.3 Boil the bark with ash or caustic soda for 4-6 hours until it becomes
soft.
1.4 After that leave it with chlorine about 3-8 hours before beaten
until softer.
1.5 Mix the bark with water. Add any color you want while stiring.
1.6 Pour the mixture on the wood frame and apply thoughly before dry
with sunlight.
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2.Assemble
the frame by composing the upper head, the lower head, the rib
struts, the stem and the spring latch together.
3. Because of
the paper shade, villagers have to coat it with resin of tree
to protect sunshine and rain. Then they will hand-painted the exquisite
designs onto the top side of the umbrella elaborately. Mostdesigns of
Bo Sang umbrella are floral, animal and scenic. Some umbrella styles may
add a fringe trim to make them more attractive.
Nowadays, Saa umbrella
is no longer only an equipment to protect rain and sunlight, it is also
a famous souvenir that raise more income to Bo Sang villagers. In addition,
there is an annual Bo Sang umbrella festival that held from 16th-18th
of January. There are parade of people dressed in the traditional Lanna
style, traditional folk dancing, competition of grand drum beating and
beauty contest as well.
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U&K
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Sources:
www.yupparaj.ac.th
www.manager.co.th
www.rakbankerd.com
www.thaiexponet.com
www.chiangmai1.com
http://ns.yupparaj.ac.th
http://travelmax.statravel.co.uk
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