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Wooden land planer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction
The wooden land planer (or bamboo land planer ) is an important tool for paddy rice cultivation. It is usually made from wood or bamboo.

Most of the Amis villages in  the East Coast plains or in the East Rift Valley are located in areas of flatland less than 500 meters above sea level. Their agricultural techniques were influenced by non-indigenous farmers early on. From these  farmers, the Amis incorporated the plow and irrigation methods for cultivating paddy rice. Most of the farm tools were  influenced by the Han Chinese, but uses were modified to fit the local conditions.

Description
The wooden/bamboo land planer is made with five or six round bamboo sections, or pieces of wood tied with bamboo or ramie rope into a flattened rectangular shape and connected to a yoke.

Production methods
Once the planting and harvesting of the fields were completed, the men would spend time making farm tools such as the wooden/bamboo land planer. No matter if they were using bamboo or wood, the materials would first be dried in the sun. Then, they would be cut into rounded sections of similar length. The bamboo or wood sections were then bound together using bamboo or ramie to form a flattened rectangle. Along the flattened side, coarse wire was attached to connect to a wooden yoke.

Uses
The wooden/bamboo land planer is mainly used for leveling agricultural or residential land. It can also be used for storing foodstuffs indoors, and may even be hung for this purpose.

National Museum of Natural Science