Kelantan AKM: Wau Sobek-making helps generate side income for trader

By Balqis Jamaludin

KOTA BHARU, July 22 (Bernama) -- The art of making Wau Sobek - a traditional Malaysian kite - from paper, is not only a skill Wan Mohammad Luqman Wan Abdul Manaf possesses but has also become a side income for him.

The 30-year-old is determined to continue producing kites over his lifetime as he wants to ensure that the traditional art remains synonymous with the state of ‘Cik Siti Wan Kembang’ and does not disappear with time.

Wan Mohammad Luqman's skillful demonstrations on the making of Wau Sobek at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) booth at the Kelantan Keluarga Malaysia Aspirations (AKM) Tour is a crowd puller.

He feels that the tour is the best platform to display the skill which he learnt from the age of 13 - an art form that rarely catches the attention of the younger generation.

“Demonstrations of making traditional games such as Wau Sobek should be increased in series of tours like this, because it can help increase the market for these kites and in turn help generate income for kite makers like me.

"We also hope that more young people become interested in venturing into this field," he said when met by Bernama at the Kelantan AKM Tour which is taking place over three days from today at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium here.

The youth from Pantai Cahaya Bulan said he learned the art of kite making when he was in Form One from the late-Shafie Jusoh, a well-known kite maker in Kelantan.

"At the time, every school had to send a representative for a wau competition and the teacher chose me. Those of us who were selected to represent the school had to learn kite-making techniques so I learned from Shafie," he said.

The grocery trader said he could earn up to RM2,000 a month through the sales of decorative Wau Sobek which cost between RM100 and RM1,000.

He said among the challenges faced during kite making was creating the patterns, which needed to be done meticulously.

"Making kites also takes a long time because the small patterns have to be carved one by one. For example, one kite measuring 18 inches takes me four days to complete. The equipment needed to make kites are paper, bamboo and rope," he said.

Meanwhile, Kraftangan Malaysia’s Kelantan Branch assistant administrative officer Rosmaliza Ibrahim said the Wau Sobek demonstration received an encouraging response.

"Through the demonstration of Wau Sobek in this tour series, visitors can see for themselves the ways of making the kite. It’s only when we highlight events like this that people will understand why the price of a Wau Sobek is said to be quite expensive - it is due to the complicated process to make them.

"We also really enjoyed seeing the younger generation so excited to see the Wau Sobek and they even snapped pictures to upload onto their social media," she added.

-- BERNAMA