BRIDGING GENERATIONS WITH TOYS

The Pa Daet community aims at keeping the traditional art of toy-making alive

SUPAWADEE INTHAWONG

Ten years ago, a few elderly members of Pa Daet, Chiang Rai, decided to work together to utilise their skills and talent on the preservation of traditional hand-made toys. Today, hundreds of members of Klum Kon Tao Kon Kae (Group of Elderly People) are producing toys as Otop products, running a museum and teaching youth to appreciate the lovely toys of their grandparents' generation.

Children enjoy hand-made toys at the Playable Museum.

Commercially, the group is doing well as their toys have become a popular products of the Mae Suay district, with consistently high domestic and international demands. But perhaps the real success of the group is less tangible.

The elderly members of group, unlike their counterparts around Thailand, are able to spend time with their children and grandchildren working on the toys. No longer are they left alone at home while the younger generations work or attend schools in the cities.

To them, toy making is more than a hobby or job, but is more of a way to connect the gap between the generations.

The toys they make are all natural and use local materials like bamboo. As only non-toxic and natural paints are selected, their toys are far from being colorful and are not even shiny due to the lack of coating. Their appeals lie mostly with the makers' creativity and old-styled charms.

TOYS AND THE ELDERLY

Chuen Aunruen, 73, is one of the founding members of the group. He said he has been enjoying his life a lot since he started making toys, especially during the school breaks when children from all over Thailand would come to Pa Daet to learn the art of toy-making.

"I don't feel lonely anymore. The old people get to meet each others and the young come to see us. Some of them came from such faraway places like Bangkok. Some come with teachers, others with parents, and then, there are foreign tourists, too. They come to stay with us at Pa Daet to learn how to make toys," says Pho Oui, or grandfather, as Chuen is fondly called.

"We also teach the older kids to practice chak tok [thinning bamboo] and take them to the woods to help pick the bamboo. They have fun and we have fun."

Mae Oui Kuan Chaiyawong and her hand-made �kanghan�.	Pho Oui Chuen Aunruen making birds out of straw.

Pho Oui Chuen's signature toy is the kam moon, a bamboo pinwheel that revolves when a rope device is pulled. This particular pinwheel is popular with children, but it requires some bamboo thinning skills to produce.

Pho Oui Chuen and other group members are often asked to demonstrate the art of making the toys to children in Chiang Rai schools and other provinces. They also go to various events and fairs to display the traditional toys.

"At the schools we visit, about three out of the 10 kids are genuinely interested in making these toys and produce good work. These kids would want to make their own toys. Some may show up at our homes later to learn more," said the old toy-maker.

Hand-made toys at the Playable Museum.

"Although there are not many of these kids, it is still a chance for the old-fashioned toys to not be forgotten and to be continued through our teachings. The old people will soon be gone. So the more we teach, the more people will continue making the toys."

Kuan Chaiyawong is 83 and has troubles with her eyesight, but she still possesses an outstanding weaving skill, which is crucial for many delicate toys like the bicycle pinwheel and the "snake".

The woven snake-like figure made of bamboo will lock a finger in its mouth when its tail is pulled. It can even constrict if the person attempts to pull the finger away.

Mae Oui, or grandmother, Kuan said the snake can be used to massage fingers of small children as it can help the development of the muscles.

But the snake is more than a mere children's toy. It was a device used in the courtship of the northerners in old times when young adults of opposite sex were not allowed physical contact. The boy would instead use the snake to ask the girl for a date. If she wanted to go out with him, she would allow the snake to hold her finger, and the two could walk together holding the snake, as if they were holding hands.

TOYS AND THE CHILDREN

Generations come together to make toys.

The children of Pa Daet do not spend much money on toys as they have learned how to make a few on their own through Klum Kon Tao Kon Kae. The group members often teach the toy-making skills in schools, and the children can spend more time at the homes of a few members during weekends.

Adisai Supawa or Tam, 17, has been with the group since he was seven. The young man is able to produce many types of toys and is an instructor in various schools.

"When the schools are organising camps, they like to invite us to show the kids how to make toys. Sometimes I go to the schools with the group, and other times I go with my friends from Pa Daet," says Adisai.

"We teach children to make toys and sell them some of ours. Kids as young as second or third graders are already making toys. We let them start by weaving various figures, which is fun and makes them proud of themselves. These days, the kids of Pa Daet are making their own toys and do not need to buy any at all."

He said the toys made by the group have a unique feature. They can be repaired by the makers themselves, which is different from the modern toys that usually end up in the rubbish bin once damaged.

"At present, there are still customers sending their toys to us for repairs. We fix them and mail them back without charging a fee, as we consider it an after-sales service. The owners have personal attachments with their toys as they can have them fixed rather than throwing them away. We guarantee the free repair throughout the toy's lifetime," said the young man.

TOYS AND THE COMMUNITY

Klum Kon Tao Kon Kae of Pa Daet has grown much since its inception a decade ago. The group is able to diversify their products and now produces no less than 50 different types of toys. The members have learned from each other and the combinations of various skills have resulted in product development.

A group member typically earns 500 to 2,000 baht a month making toys. They have also created a fund to invest in the equipment that would be shared by the community, while the profit of the fund would be distributed back to members. Klum Kon Tao Kon Kae is not only a commercially viable organisation, but is also the jewel in the crown for the Pa Daet community.

PLAYABLE MUSEUM

The Playable Museum was created by the Pa Daet community. The toy makers realised their works have certain appeal to the children and can help the young develop their skills and imagination, so they created a museum to house hundreds of their hand-made toys, all available for the children to touch and play for free.

During weekend afternoons, the young from various villages that comprise Pa Daet would gather at the Playable Museum to play with the toys and attend the exhibitions held at the place. The children learn how a toy is made and appreciate the skill, time, effort and, above all, communal wisdom that is being created and passed on through the making of these toys.m

WEAVING A WAY OF LIFE

In the Northeast, women find strength, merit and status through textile production.

Pichaya Svasti

The Northeast of Thailand, also known as Isan, has long been famed for its jasmine rice and handwoven silk. With their strong yet soft hands, Isan women not only make beautiful silk fabrics from delicate threads but also weave purpose and hope into their lives.

"Weaving is a socialisation process for Isan women," textile expert Suriya Smutkupt said. "Weaving for Isan women is a way of life from birth till death. Isan girls are capable of weaving once their feet can touch the pedals of the looms."

Since 1980, northern-born Mr Suriya who once taught in the Northeast, has tried to answer an important question: "Why do rural Isan women weave?"

In other words, how important is weaving to rural Isan women socially and culturally?

To unlock this secret, Mr Suriya and two fellow researchers, Pattana Kitiarsa and Nanthiya Phuttha, conducted a study into the historic, economic and other dimensions of Northeastern textile production.

RELIGIOUS: A handwoven fabric featuresmaha vessandorn jataka, a tale based on a previous incarnation of the Lord Buddha.

The answers lie in their paper, "Ways of Isan Weavers: Development of Textile Production and the Changing Roles of Women in Contemporary Isan Villages" (1994). The study was conducted in Ban Kood Ta Klai, in the Khao Wong district of Kalasin, Ban Tae in the Uthumphon Phisai district of Si Sa Ket and Ban Thong Chai (formerly Ban Ja Poh) in the Pak Thong Chai district of Nakhon Ratchasima.

What the study found was that Isan women weave for three major reasons. First, weaving is part of their way of life, their village culture, the socialisation process and a rite of passage. Second, Isan women can use weaving as a means to play a bigger economic, social, political and religious role. This reflects the equality of the status of men and women, and the nature of their supporting and complementary roles. Third, Isan women's social and economic role has increased. Many women earn extra income for their families by weaving silk.

"Girls will begin by weaving simple cotton fabrics like pha khao ma," said Mr Suriya to explain weaving as a rite of passage. "When they become women, they will weave and present fabrics to their in-laws on their wedding day. When they become mothers, they will weave the best silk for use when their sons are ordained as monks. At later stages of life, when their eyesight is bad, they will weave fabrics for religious ceremonies and white fabrics for their own funerals," he said.

Mr Suriya started his field studies on Isan weaving in 1980 at Ban Tae, Si Sa Ket province. His first paper, "Traditional Weaving and Womanhood", discussed the idea that textiles and the weaving process are not just for the purpose of production. They are social and cultural procedures that are a complicated and important way to define life as well as women's social role.

Suriya Smutkupt and Pattana Kitiarsa's "Isan Textiles: An Anthropological Interpretation" (1989) and "Conservation of Local Textiles: Experiences from Isan's Anthropological Laboratories" (1991), as well as Pattana Kitiarsa's "Women in Phuthai Culture" (1988), clearly state that the major responsibility of Isan women is weaving.

TIME-HONOURED: Many Isan women still weave using traditional methods and patterns.

This duty is the fruit of the socialisation process and a rite of passage that evolves so women can achieve "womanhood" as expected by their communities.

"In Isan, many people live in small traditional huts. These are built on stilts with a roomy area underneath called tai thoon ban, where looms are usually placed," Mr Suriya said.

He said textiles and weaving are also a major means for women to play a bigger role and achieve higher status in their communities.

Earlier studies by his team explain that mutual support among men and women, a major role in economic and family affairs for women and relatively equal status of the sexes are common in Northeastern villages. In other words, men and women complement each other as members of the family and the community.

The research found there are three major things to indicate the status of Isan women is socially equal to men's.

First, in most Northeastern families, the youngest daughters will not leave the family home after they wed. They will stay with their parents and later inherit the house, farmland and cattle.

Second, after they marry, the man moves into his Isan wife's house and under the care of his in-laws, who provide guidance and counselling to the newlyweds for a successful and happy marriage.

Third, Isan boys and girls are taught their social roles by their parents and relatives, making for a network of mutual social support.

A Northeastern woman uses traditional silk production methods.

For example, girls learn how to weave from their mother and her relatives while boys learn the art of basketry, making fishing and hunting gear, farming tools and sometimes pottery from their father and his relatives. This reflects the working relationship and cooperation between Isan men and women.

"In the past, men would make looms for women," Mr Suriya said.

Despite a certain level of equality between men and women, Isan women in the past lagged behind the males in several aspects. Few had the opportunity to go to school. None could become ordained - the greatest merit-making activity in a Buddhist's life.

To Isan women, weaving is a means to make merit so as to have a better situation in the next life. Although women cannot be ordained, they can make great merit by weaving pha yao, sarongs, pha khao ma and yellow robes for their sons' ordination ceremonies.

In addition, it is tradition that mae yai or mae thuad (grandmothers) in Isan villages make cotton and silk threads, clothes and pillows for presentation to temples during the annual Buddhist ceremonies. Isan women also weave thoong phawes, or flags, for decorating temples during ceremonies for mahachart sermons, according to the paper.

"In the past, Isan women lacked learning opportunities but shared the same dream of weaving fabrics for wrapping religious scriptures. There is an old saying, 'Those wishing to go to heaven may unwrap lower garments in temples'," Mr Suriya said.

Mudmee silk is a staple of the Northeastern weaving industry.

This saying is not a dirty joke. In fact, unwrapping lower garments does not mean undressing in temples. It means making merit by presenting temples with brand new handwoven textiles for wrapping religious scriptures.

Apart from being part of the way of life and raising women's status, weaving activities also reflect women's changing role and social responsibility in accordance with economic need.

Mr Suriya pointed out that women are one of the foundations of development in the Northeast.

Yellow handwoven robes hang on a line.

Nowadays, women enjoy greater job opportunities. Many of them work for the Support Foundation - initiated by Her Majesty the Queen to promote local handicrafts in Thailand and train poor farmers to be artisans - and other employment promotion groups. Many others work in big cities or abroad but are still capable of weaving.

Many Northeastern women who leave their villages for jobs elsewhere when they are young will return to their hometowns to farm and weave after they are married.

As wives and mothers, they can share what they have learned in the outside world, including modern weaving and marketing techniques, Mr Suriya said.

"When it comes to textiles and women in the past and present, Isan women who either had to sell their bodies or worked as maids would return to a traditional way of weaving after retiring," Mr Suriya said.

Despite many social changes, a number of Northeastern women stay at home as their family's moral pillar.

Two or three in 10 women still weave. They have chosen to stay home and live simple yet happy lives. Although they wear modern outfits, they still weave in a traditional way.

"Weaving and textile production are still Isan women's work. Weaving is their source of pride and a way of life," Mr Suriya said.