Sleeping mat (pet)

Woven sleeping mats, pet, are made from strips of lontar palm leaf or sago leaves. To make pet from lontar palm, strong young leaves are picked from trees found in coastal areas. Lontar palm leaves are dried, then torn into strips, wet then dried again to ensure they dry straight and strong. Using lontar leaves makes for a thicker, coarser mat, while sago leaves allow for a smoother finish. Traditionally pet were used as mattresses; people would lie on them and on cooler nights wrap it around themselves. Today people tend to use factory-made mattresses and blankets. Casalina Dos Santos in aldeia Iralafai, Lautem sub-district who thinks she may be aged around 90, weaves pet for her family.

Photo: Casalina Dos Santos weaving pet in aldeia Iralafai, Lautem sub-district.

Video: Weaving pet in sub-district Lautem.