The Ornamental Design of Traditional Malay Utensils (Kukuran) in Peninsula Malaysia

Woodcarving is a significant craft in Malay society that reflects the local traditions and customs. It is a manifestation of craftsmen artistic skills and intutitive ideas into a piece of wood. It is also manifestation of the creative process of imitation, denaturalization, stylization and abstraction. Historically, the Malay craftsmen have created many attractive traditional art forms and one of it is the coconut graters (kukuran). The ornamental carved kukuran is closely related to its Malay woodcarving tradition and philosophy. The aim of this paper is to illustrate this tradition of the great traditional Malay kukuran, the testiment of its time through its visual characteristics and design composition. This study presents an analysis of six kukuran, which were gathered from the state museums in Peninsular Malaysia. The discussion is focused on the formalistic and iconology aspects of the kukuran carving ornaments. The finding briefly shows the fusion of Malay concept of beauty, Malay culture and the understanding of Islam had been manifested in these domestic utensils - the ornamental kukura