Mention has already been made of some of the daily occupations of the
people. We have found the women caring for the home and preparing the
rice and other foods which are served in the house. At no time did the
writer see a man, other than a slave, take any part in such household
duties; but when on the trail each would do his share in preparing the
meals. In the village we found the women and children carrying the water
and wood and, at rare intervals, doing laundry work. Instead of soaping
and rubbing soiled clothing, they soak the garments in water, then place
them on stones and beat them with wooden paddles or clubs. The articles
are alternately soaked and beaten until at least a part of the dirt has
been removed. It is also the privilege of any woman to engage in the
manufacture of basketry, or to act as a potter.
In the manufacture of baskets the woman makes use chiefly of bamboo and
rattan, though other materials, such as _pandanus_ are sometimes brought
into service. Three weaves or their variants are employed. The first is
the common diagonal or twilled weave, in which each element of the weft
passes over two or more of the warp elements. In this way most of the
rice winnowers, transportation baskets, knife sheaths, and the like are
made. In the second weave (Fig. 22), the foundation of the basket is
made up of parallel horizontal rods, or strips of bamboo. These are
laced together by warp strips which pass alternately under one and over
one of the foundation rods, crossing each other at an angle, one above
the other below the rod. The trinket baskets carried by the women, the
larger waterproof receptacles known as _binota_, and the covers for wild
chicken snares are in this technic. A variant of this weave is found in
the rattan carrying frames and in some fish traps (Fig. 23). Here the
warp strips cross one another at an angle, at each meeting place
enclosing the horizontal foundation strips. Unlike the second weave
described, the warp strips do not pass alternately above and below the
horizontal foundation, but retain the same relation to it throughout the
entire length of each strip. A coiled weave (Fig. 24) is used in the
manufacture of tobacco boxes (Plate XIX) and in the rims of women's
baskets. In this type the foundation consists of a series of horizontal
rattan strips or rods which are sewed together in the following manner.
A narrow strip _A_ passes over two of these parallel rods _2_ and _3_ in
a left handed spiral. At the top of the loop the strip passes under a
similar strip _B_ which binds rod _2_ to the one above. Passing downward
inside the basket, the strip _A_ goes beneath the strip _C_ which binds
rods _3_ and _4_ together. These are drawn tightly while damp, thus
forcing the foundation rods so closely together as to make the basket
practically water-tight. Pitch from the _tabon-tabon_ nuts may also be
rubbed over the outside surface, thus making the receptacle impervious
to water.