Pucang horn carvers also feel sting of rupiah turmoil

By Gin Kurniawan

MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): The villagers of Pucang, known for their unique handicrafts carved from animal horns, join Indonesia's bankers in having their traditional lifestyles threatened by the rupiah crisis.

Pucang, at the foot of Mt. Merbabu in Secang, Magelang, Central Java, covers about 118 hectares, and has long been known as a "village of carvers".

About 500 of the 2,300 people living there make their living by carving handicrafts out of horn.

"Most villagers earn their living as artisans," said Muh. Bahrun, 54, who is the village head of economic and rural development affairs.

The villagers' artistic touches and creativity turn originally worthless animal horns into prized pieces of art.

They carve spoons, pipes, tissue boxes, back scratchers, and garuda (the mythical bird which is the state symbol of the Republic of Indonesia) from horn.

The transformation is made using a simple technique which requires only a few tools.

The horns are cut with a knife and filed smooth before being carved into the desired shape.

They are then polished with rempalas (Tetracera scanderes) leaves and -- to give them their unique look -- given a final scrubbing with the ashes of burned coconut leaves.

According to H. Kumedi, 60, who supplies the villagers with horns and buys their handicrafts, the artisans have long wanted to get modern tools to boost their productivity.

This, unfortunately, remains a dream.

"These artisans still rely on their own hands, and the simple tools they have made themselves.

"They do not use chemicals even in the finishing process, a fact which is positive environmentally of course," he said.

There is a good demand for carvings from Pucang which are distributed to regions such as Jakarta, Bali, Bandung and Medan.

They have also been exported to countries like Germany.

Unfortunately, however, a dwindling supply of the raw material has resulted in a drop in production.

The village usually buys the horn from a company in Jakarta through two traders, H. Kumedi and H. Thoyib.

They say the supply problem may be related to the monetary crisis which has jacked up the price of horns and caused the sharp production drop.

Previously, as Bahrun has said, the carvers in Pucang could produce some 10,000 to 14,000 carvings a day, bringing in an average Rp 12 million a day to the village.

Now, only about 7,000 items are carved a day.

In the meantime, bull and black-water buffalo horn prices have risen from Rp 1,200 to Rp 1,600 per kilogram.

The carvers say that Albino water buffalo horns, at Rp 17,000 a kilogram, are the most expensive because of their picturesque transparency which lends itself well to exotic carvings.

Twenty items carved out of albino water buffalo horns cost between Rp 100,000 and Rp 130,000.

Carvings made from the more common kind of horn cost only Rp 10,000 for 20.

"Foreign tourists are usually very interested carvings made from the horns of albino water buffaloes," Kumedi said.

Many efforts have been made by the villagers to overcome the supply problem.

Some have gone to slaughterhouses in Central Java looking for horns but have not been able to buy enough, and when they find horn it is quite expensive.

Other carvers have turned to wood instead as it is easier to get, and Pucang has begun to offer wooden accessories and key hangers for sale.

While this brings in the rupiah, the carvers do not earn as much as they did when they carved from horn.

One reason is that they have been using it as their primary medium for a very long time and their skills have been handed down to them from generation to generation.

The Pucang villagers have been carving horn for such a long time that there is no official record of when they first adopted the craft.

This is why many of the villagers feel obligated to keep the tradition alive and pass it on to the younger generation, said Rohmadi, one of the village's carvers.

But how long can they maintain their lifestyles as the economic turmoil affects the wider population?

There is no definite answer.

Even when things were normal, the villagers didn't question their small profits.

The larger percentage of the profits usually goes to the brokers.

Of the hundreds of Pucang carvers, only a handful have become economically successful through their work.

The majority of them are very simple.

As the holiday season approaches they hope for a higher than usual income as demand normally rises at this time.

This year, however, this hope will simply remain hope.