A Short History of the Bor Sang Umbrella Craft
The origins of the Bor Sang umbrella craft are rather ambiguous, but all stories seem to point to a pilgrim monk who stopped by to practice mindful meditation in the village. Then the stories diverge, as to whether he or an elderly local introduced the craft to the villagers.
In the early days, villagers would make umbrellas during non-harvest seasons. Various umbrella parts would be fashioned out of natural products – bamboo strips for the ribs, soft wood for the cap and handle, natural latex for the varnish and sa paper for the ‘sail’. All the patterns were drawn using natural colours derived from tree barks and plants. Now acrylic paint is more common.