H’Bhieo Eban of Ale B hamlet in Buon Ma Thuot city wakes up in the early morning to prepare vegetables and fruits to sell in the local market. She puts some vegetables in a papoose to carry on her back and some in a bamboo basket tied to her motorbike. H’Bhieo said she uses to carry farm produces in a papoose so the weight will be on her shoulders and back and she can walk “hands free”.

“The papoose has been around since the old days. Our ancestors fetched water and wood in a papoose. Now we no longer have to fetch water from the wharf or collect wood in the forest. Now we carry vegetables and other things to the market. The papoose is still a very useful item.”

In Dak Lak province people from many hamlets carry vegetables and fruits in papooses to the market. In the past it was men’s work to weave papooses for the women to use. Small girls carried small papooses to follow their mothers to the fields.

Ede women use papooses to carry things and fetch water. (photo: VOV)

Y Ky Nie of Trung hamlet said: “Ede women carry papooses and men carry long knives. Ede women take many things with them to the field such as food and water and bring home farm produce, wood, vegetables, and roots.”   

An Ede’s papoose has a tall base of light wood to keep upright when it stands on the ground. A suitable papoose should fit the woman’s back from shoulder to waist.

Y To Bkrong in Tong Ju hamlet said they use old bamboo or rattan to make papooses. Rattan is dried in the sun for a week before being split into thin strips. A completed papoose is hung above the kitchen for several days to keep its colors from fading.

Y To Bkrong said he learns the tips from older people. “I began learning to weave papooses from older people since I was little. I watched them and imitated their techniques. A papoose has three parts: the body, the harness, and the base. The base is made of flamboyant or bead trees.”