The Malay's Egg Basket In A Wedding Culture.








In a Malay wedding culture, a visitor will always carry back home 'bekas telur' or an egg basket with one boiled egg inside. It is a sort of token gratitude from the host.I am just not sure why it must be an egg,probably a symbol of fertility or maybe a take away fast food to eat while travelling back a distant to their home.


When I was a kid in the seventies I recalled that a lady visitor will bring sugar as a usual gift and also other kind of kitchen ware as a gift. The man will give money to the bride or groom's father
upon arriving at the wedding. As a kid you can eat fried chicken,curry meat,bryani rice and eat as much as you can especially ......if the bride is your sister!!

Traditionally the eggbasket was made from Pandanus Utilis leaf or 'Daun Mengkuang'.
Boiled egg will be put inside the basket with shredded Pandanus Amaryllifolis leaf or 'Daun Pandan' as a fresh fragrance combine with jasmine flowers.It smells very good!!

I recalled few years back in 2006, my third sister Rashidah asked me to make an egg basket from clay. She wants it to be in a shape of a Rose flower for his first son's wedding.It take two month, night and day to finish about 500 pcs of it.Very heavy and tiring task!! She also wants it to be yellow Rose gilded with gold and green leave.The content to be was not actually an egg but a gold plastic egg with a Ferrero Roche chocolate inside,sponsored by one of my brother. Gradually nowadays design and content had change but the culture are still the same.

A week ago a guy in Kuala Lumpur, had an interest in the Rose's Egg basket just to make a sample. So I bring it out and take a photo. 3 pcs was sent to Kuala Lumpur and will be exhibit
at Kuala Lumpur Craft Center.

Comments

santoshi said…
Its really a strange custom. I think there is some logic behind this custom, as you mentioned its a symbol of fertility.
The egg basket looks great particularly the silver coloured one.
Art of My Life. said…
Santoshi,

Thanks for your comment.In Europe and US there is Easter Day which they also used egg.... but they paint the egg beautifully and with cute design.
kaydeenasa said…
salam encik
egg basket tu terdapat di pasaran ke?

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