A popular pastime in Kelantan, flying a wau is not as easy as it looks. Making it is even more difficult, but Yusuf Salleh is willing to share his expertise with anyone who is patient enough. Raja Khalidatul Asrin and Nabilah Hamudin find out
IT is a dying art, but Yusuf Salleh vows to keep wau-making alive. The art is preserved in the east coast and Yusuf wants it to be as popular in Perak.
Fondly known as Pak Yusuf, he said one needs patience and of course to be artistic, to be able to sit for long hours just to complete one wau.
It is called wau in Malay because of the sound the kite makes as it glides across the sky with the help of strong winds.
He said the art connected to the soul and had a magical touch, making it more mysterious as it was linked to many tales and myths.
“The kite frame is fashioned out of light and flexible bamboo.
“The best bamboo is buluh duri, which can be found only in Kelantan.
“The outer skin is first removed and then the bamboo is pared into finer strips.
“These are then scraped with a whittling knife. Each strip is measured, cut according to size and tied into position with white thread.
“The strip, which forms the vertical backbone of the kite, must be stronger and thicker than those used for the wings,” said the 70-year-old artisan.
When the frame is completed, the wings are covered with two or three layers of paper. For the first layer, plain coloured paper is used to cover the entire wingspan. The second layer is usually cut out as decorations, while if a third is used, it serves to provide further decorative features to enhance the overall beauty of the kite.
The traditional practice is to have patterns such as leafy clouds (awan larat), young bamboo shoots (pucuk rebung) or other floral designs. These usually emanate from the central spine to fill the rest of the space on the body. Alternatively, space at the tips of the wings or in their centre close to the spine may be devoted to other decorative features, such as birds or even the state logo.
Pak Yusof said there were many shapes in which the wau was made. Well-known types include the Moon Kite (Wau Bulan) which is perhaps the most popular and most attractive. Others are the Bird Kite (Wau Burung), the Peacock Kite (Wau Merak) and the Cat Kite (Wau Kucing).
These kites are large, reaching about 2m from tip to tail and perhaps 1.8m across the wings. Smaller ones, for decorative use, have in recent years become common.
Many kite-makers add trimmings in the form of a bird’s head with a long neck and a fringe (belalai) of coloured paper above the nose of the kite, transforming the kite into a bird.
Further trimmings (jambul) could be added to the wings of the kite and its tail, he added.
Pak Yusuf said the resemblance between the kite and birds had produced specific names to the different parts of the kite, which ideally had a head, a waist, wings and a base.
Optionally, a kite-maker may add to his kite a bow by affixing a string or a fine strip of bamboo.
Necessary adjustments are made so that the bow, whose span is shorter than that of the wings, does not affect the balance of the kite. The bow makes a pleasant humming sound as the kite is suspended in the air and folk belief maintains that as long as the humming continues, no evil spirit will venture abroad.
“A wau is handled by two men, one to help launch it, or better known as the kite-runner, and the other who actually handles the kite, manipulating it using the string.
“Once launched, a large wau may rise to an initial height of 30m or more before being gradually taken to greater heights by its handler.
“Once steady, the kite may fly on its own when the string is tied to a tree.
“Kites may be left in the sky all night, the sound of their busul can be heard all night long,” said Pak Yusuf.
The wau is sometimes made for competitions and, in the past, opponents would try to bring down their rivals’ kites by putting a blade on the strings, but this practice has stopped.
Pak Yusuf is eager to teach the young generation to make kites and would gladly accept invitation from schools.
“I want this art to thrive,” he said.