By Johan Suhaimi - Brunei Online

Kaban Basi

Kaban Kupar

Umpok Anam sagi and ampat sagi

Lemarih Buntak

Umpok Basi and Umpok Keratas

Umpok Silat

Luggage in the past was quite special. It came in unusual and yet functional sizes and shapes to fit the people’s lifestyle. The most common were the Kaban Basi and the Kaban Kupar.

The Kaban Basi was shaped like a suitcase but made from iron. These were imported into the Brunei community from as far as Wolverhamton, England in the west and China in the east. The luggage or kaban as it was known locally ranged from one foot to four feet long, and a diametre of two to six feet. It had a hinged lid, and a simple lock system citilised that a padlock to secure it. The lid and the base of the Kaban Basi were ribbed or reinforced with an extra metal attachment. The kaban basi had a concave side rather than the square straight side common in boxes. A mirror was fitted on the lid of the kaban. Handles were attached on the sides, the opening and sometimes on the lid. There were several metal loops for tying the kaban to ensure it wouldn’t split open on a voyage.

The kaban kupar was a wooden box made or imported from India, China, Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia. Several pieces were made locally. The materials used were hardwood like bulian, selangan batu, jati and the like. No nails were used to make the chests. A clever combination of genius wood fitting and pegs were used to make the wooden chest.

The Kaban Kupar’s size varied from one foot to five feet high and from two to six feet long. Inside the kaban kupar were decorative shapes, tiny drawers and compartments, secret hiding place and tiny wooden boxes called Anak Kaban.

These items served the need of the common public at the time. Because the kaban was heavy, the lock was put on the chest, and the keys came from the manufacturer. The fitting on the top, sides, edges and base were made from copper or brass. Handles were set on the sides of the kaban.

The Lemarih Buntak was a small cupboard for easy handling. The cupboard or chest of drawers was made so that when a person moved from one house to another, it could be easily tied with ropes, tilted on its sides and carried by holding the ropes that formed the handle. This was convenient for the owners who did not have to remove the items in the cupboard or drawer while shifting from one spot to another.

The Umpok Anam Sagi and Umpok empat sagi were containers made from palm leaves. The plating of leaves created the shape of the six-sided containers. They were made into two pieces and meant to fit each other. One was the cover and the other was the body.

These containers varied from the size of a person’s palm to as big as three feet in width and length. The Umpok was used for storing clothes, and was the hand luggage of that time.

To hold the two pieces together, a cloth string was used to tie it up. Clothes stored in these containers were usually made fragrant by the leaves they were made from.

The Umpok Basi was a metal container, while the Umpok Keratas was a paper container. The Umpok Basi was round and was used for keeping turbans and songkok.

It was imported from Europe.

The one brought in from Mecca was also round and had a convex lid with a handle.

The ladies made the Umpok Keratas from paper mache.

The main structure was made form nipah leaves to give it shape, which was then covered with a thick layer of rice paper coating pasted on with the use of the Ambuyat (sago) glue. This Umpok served the same purpose as that of the metal Umpok from Mecca.

The Umpok silat (a container made from the fan palm leaves) was special. It was used for storing and transporting jewellery or valuable items like gold ingots. The Umpok silat was round or square.

On its base were thatched nipah shoots or plaited bamboo, depending on the availability of materials during its making. The basic shape was covered with the shoot of the silat leaves (fan shaped palm leaves), on the lid and the body. The leaves were stitched in place and directly on top of the container, on the rim and the frame to keep the container in shape.