Wau Bulan Kite Making

The wau bulan takes its name from the crescent - bulan, moon - formed by the wide swept tail, and it is the largest and most elaborate of the Malaysian kite forms, made in Kelantan and Terengganu at sizes up to two and a half metres across. The frame is split bamboo, chosen and aged, bent and lashed; the covering is paper, and the decoration is cut and layered floral paper work applied in bands, traditionally in the colours and motifs of the maker's own line. A bow of bamboo with a strip stretched across it, the busur, is fitted above the kite so that in flight it hums, and a flying wau over a Kelantanese field is heard as much as seen. Flying was traditionally done after the rice harvest. The wau bulan appears on the tail of the national airline and on old coins.

Highlights

• Split bamboo framing - the aged, bent and lashed structure under the paper.
• Cut-paper decoration - layered floral work applied in bands by hand.
• The humming bow - the busur stretched above the kite to sound in flight.
• Crescent tails up to 2.5 metres - the moon shape the form is named for.

When to go

All year; after the harvest for flying, and the Pasir Gudang festival in February. Half a day.

Practical notes

Workshops are small family businesses with irregular hours - ask locally or go through the cultural centre. Large kites are impractical to carry home. Flying is seasonal and weather-dependent.

Nearby

Kota Bharu's museums and the central market are close; the beaches are east.