Terendak Matu

In the past, terendak Matu was worn by the Melanau community to shield against the sun and rain especially while attending specific functions held around the Mukah District such as the “kaul” or “worshipping the beach” festival. Nowadays, terendak Matu is popular not only in the Mukah District but has been listed as one of the local products of Sarawak. The making of this handicraft was believed to have started about a hundred years ago and the skills were handed down from one generation to another until today
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One of those actively involved in making terendak Matu is 58-year old Kaslin Sahmi who has been involved in the activity since a teenager. At that time, the terendak was for the family’s usage only. Nowadays, the product is highly demanded by various levels of the communities. According to Kaslin, the cone-shaped frame of the terendak Matu is made from the branch of the sago palm tree. Then, the thinly whittled bamboos are weaved to cover the entire surface of the frame.


The materials used for making the terendak or sunhat are obtained from the nearby forest or at the farm area. A sunhat with 60 centimetres in girth is sold at RM90.00 to RM100.00 each, depending on the design. The hat also comes in other sizes depending on the requirement of customers. In fact, it can be as small as two centimetres in girth which is normally used as a key chain, sold at RM5.00 each.


In elaborating his experiences, Kaslin informed that the outer bark of the sago palm branch has to be peeled in order to obtain the inner bark. It is then dried under the sun before shaped to form a cone with a height of 0.5 metres. The strips of bamboo that are to be woven have to be whittled as thinly as possible and then dried until yellowish white in colour. According to Kaslin, who is the brother to Hajijah Sahmi, the drying process takes more than five days. Later, the dried bamboo pieces are boiled in a special colouring mixture. The choice of colour depends on the weaver’s requirement.


Then, the coloured bamboo pieces are dried under the sun again before they can be woven. Once the weaving process is completed, the surface of the hat is then drawn with various patterns such as flowers, plants and others. Later, the patterns are decorated with fine colourful beads depending on the choice of the weaver.