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AFP
Pantai Cahaya Bulan, Malaysia
Shafie Jusoh loves traditional Malaysian kites so much that he can't get a good night's rest unless he's been working on them daily.
"I need to make kites everyday, if not I can't sleep," the 69-year-old said. He began making them when he was a young boy, skipping classes to entertain his flights of fancy.
"If you don't do it everyday, you will lose the technique," he added.
Shafie is among a diminishing group of Malaysian master kite-makers who have dedicated their lives to breathing life into the ancient craft.
A colourful giant two-metre kite with extended wings greets visitors at the entrance of Shafie's dark and dusty studio in a sleepy village in Kelantan state.
"I made this kite 30 years ago. You need 25 men to fly it," the self-taught kite-maker quipped proudly as he showed a faded photo of it soaring in the air.
He recalled one particular visit to Paris many years ago, where he had brought over 30 Malaysian kites to an exhibition and all were sold quickly.
"To the foreigners, the kites are just so unique and they love it" he said.
After thinning out several bamboo sticks, he bends and ties them with strings to form the main kite frame.
Separately, using a small knife, he cuts out intricate floral designs on an assortment of coloured paper. These are painstakingly pasted onto tracing paper which is then glued to the main bamboo frame.
The kite is then left indoors for a day to let the glue dry.
A ribbon is attached tightly to two ends of the kites and this produces a loud"swoosh" sound when the kite makes sharp turns in the sky.
The entire process can take between two weeks to three months depending on the size and the intricate nature of the kite.
"You need both the passion and the patience to make kites," Shafie explained.
There are several kinds of Malaysian kites, with various shapes based on stingrays, cats and peacocks. There is also a kite called"wau jala budi" where its curvy shape, some believe, is inspired by the outline of a woman's body.
But the"wau bulan" or moon kite with its lower tip resembling a crescent, an Islamic symbol, is the most popular in Kelantan.
It takes around a week or two to produce a small moon kite and is sold for around 400 to 500 ringgit, said Shafie. Some moon kites though can be as high as three metres. The bigger models can cost as much as 9,000 ringgit.
The"wau bulan" is also the inspiration behind the Malaysia Airlines logo.
