A thin kind of Paper
Myanmar is endowed with beautiful natural scenic spots. Especially, Shan state (North), the
residing place of the Shan nationalities is rich with green environs. In Shan
state, many plants and trees, which are beneficial to mankind, grow in large
numbers. Paper can be made from a kind of fibre and the local people can make a
living out of them.
First, the bark is exposed in the sun and soaked in
water for a night. Then it
is mixed with water, lime and ash and boiled heated. Ten viss of raw material
are boiled for about one day. Afterwards, it is beaten with wooden slab and
stirred while keeping in bamboo tube. When they become crumbled, pour them on a
large cotton sieve with a wooden frame, and separated them to get smooth paper.
Then, these are exposed in the sun for about five to fifteen minutes and pieces
of paper are obtained. A five-member family can make 300 to 500 sheets of paper
a day. The papers are delicate and can folded easily like a piece of cloth and
they can soak water.
Because you can find the raw material all around the country, this kind of
cottage industry involving paper making is carried widely only in the Shan
states. The fine paper we get here is distinctly used to create traditional
elephant figures used in elephant dances in Myanmar.
