Who really created the first kite?

Who really created the first kite?

JAKARTA (JP): Many of us grew up with kites, either flying
them or simply watching others fly them. But, how many of us ever
wondered who created the first kite?

Some kite lovers and historians believe that kites originated
in China more than two thousand years ago. But American Tal
Streeter, a leading authority on Asian kites, feels that the
first kites were made by Indonesians, not the Chinese.

Aware that he has no concrete evidence to support his stance,
Streeter states kites logically should be related to people who
worked with sails because of their consciousness of wind, water
and sky.

"I think the Chinese have never been conscious of water
because China is a huge continent. It's more likely that
islanders like Indonesians or the people of Malaysia had that
consciousness," Streeter told The Jakarta Post recently.

Historians prefer to award the Chinese the credit of creating
the first kites because of very old written documents which
support their stance.

The earliest recorded use of a kite is in 196 B.C. when
Chinese General Han Hsin flew a kite over the palace he was
besieging to calculate the distance between his troops and the
palace walls. Armed with this knowledge, he had a tunnel dug and
entered undetected.

There is no written record of kites in Indonesia or other
Southeast Asian countries because the writing tradition didn't
start until much later.

Chinese kites are made of silk and paper which means that they
could only have been constructed in advanced civilizations.
Indonesian kites, on the other hand, were made from leaves and
had flying lines made of pineapple fiber (Agave cantala).

Logically, the first kites must have been made of natural
materials like those from Indonesia, said Streeter.

Inhabitants of Muna regency in Southeast Sulawesi, for
instance, still have Khagati kites which are made of the dried
leaves of a kind of cassava plant locally known as ubi gadung
(Dioscorea hispida).

The Sasak tribe, the indigenous people of Lombok, make kites
from banana trunk layers, said Streeter.

Traditional American kites were actually inspired by Javanese
kites.

"Around the year 1800, American journalist and entrepreneur
William A. Eddy introduced the kite, which was known at that time
as the Malay kite to the Americans. He made some changes in the
Javanese kite he saw, and later his kite was to become the first
archetypal, traditional American diamond two-stick paper kite,"
said Streeter.

However, not really understanding the principle behind the
Javanese kite, Eddy's kite was more stable but not as flexible as
its Javanese counterpart.

Streeter said that Javanese and Malay kites are compatriots,
but have no connection to other Asian kites.

"Japanese and Korean kites are very influenced by Chinese
kites, but not Indonesian kites," said Streeter, who wrote a book
on the Japanese kite called The Art of Japanese Kite in 1974.

Similar

One type of Japanese kite, however, is very similar to an
Javanese kite because, according to history, it came to Japan
from India on a Dutch trading ship during the Dutch colonial
period in Indonesia.

Streeter is currently writing a book about Indonesian kites,
which he considers very special but lacking the means to be
introduced to the world.

"I blend it with traveling in Indonesia. Therefore people can
use it also as a guide for traveling in Indonesia," said
Streeter, adding that only in Jakarta do people fly big fighting
kites.

Responding to an opinion that Indonesian kites are less strong
because they have bamboo frames, Streeter said that bamboo is
strong enough and is actually more artful. Most kites made
outside Indonesia have started using fiberglass for their frames.

"If people use fiberglass, I think it's only a matter of
availability. Many Americans love to use bamboo too, but it's not
so easy to find it," said Streeter.

Streeter love for kites is not only reflected in his books,
but also in his name card which is illustrated with a robot
flying a kite.

"Kites are so wonderful that I believe robots, too, will love
to fly them," said Streeter who has flown kites since he was 10
years old.

"And, kites are associated with a feeling of relief, with
peace and with nature. That's why children respect this wonderful
feeling, which I think should be discovered also by adults," he
said. (als)