Kite flying/Fighting

 

One  season that drew keen interest each year as it came along was the kite season. This was during the October to December months which coincided with the North-East monsoon when the stronger wind conditions were ideal for flying the paper kites. This season had a larger following than the others, as it drew participation not only  among the youths but also some adults.

There were essentially two categories of kite flyers, There were those who flew mainly ornamental kites for the sheer pleasure of watching them aloft at great heights. Some of these ornamental kites were very decorative with a variety of patterns and attachments such as long trailing tails.

There were also names for some patterns, such as "chap sotong" (pattern resembling cuttle fish based on the Malay word  "sotong"  for cuttle fish). Or  "chap dumb dumb" (resembling the pattern on draught boards, as the Malay name for the game of draughts is "dumb")

The ornamemtal kite flying enthusiasts were the smaller of the two groups. It was the other group of enthusiasts which provided much excitement eash season, as the main activity was to fly the kite in combat to sever the thread of an opponent's kite to set it free from its owner.

The proponents flew their kites with the sole intention of challenging one another not just on their skills in combat but also the quality of their glass-coated thread. The thread for fighting kites had to have the ability to slice and cut the thread of an opponents's kite. To perform this task, the thread had to be coated with powdered glass so that it became a cutting tool. This was quite an elaborate process.

To make the  glass powder, discarded electric light bulbs were preferred, as the glass was thin and could could easily be ground to powder form. The other essential item was a type of glue that would be mixed with glass powder to provide adhesion. The glue used was from the hoof of cattle which had to be liquefied through boiling in water. A length of thread would be wound on a bobbin and left immersed in a mixture of glass and hoof glue, and left for adhesion to take place.

The thread would then be strung out to dry. The glass-coated thread was strung to the kite and there would usually be a length of about 10 metres. This would then be joined to normal thread with sufficient length for the kite to be flown higher. The combat zone was usually not at great heights. This was to ensure that combatants had sufficient control of their kites to exceute their killing strategies and manoeuvres. Also, kites lost would not be lost with long lenghts of thread.

This group of enthusiasts was made up of teams of people, as the activities involved some team work. On an afternoon out, each team would need to have more than one kite and just as many bobbins of glass-coated and normal thread. The leader of each team was the flyer who controlled the kite in combat. The other members of the team, were usually deployed to retrieve and collect kites that had been cut free.

This provided much excitement, and fights between opposing teams were common occurrences. Some teams were known by the patterns they had adopted on their kites. It was always interesting to witness the aerial combats between strong teams, each flying kites with its own patterns and designs. The kites that were severed became trophies and were often the causes of disputes and fights. Shouts of "hanynut" indicating that a kite had been severed was a frequent call. This would naturally trigger a rush towards the falling kite.

This activity is somewhat restricted to designated areas. However, it has gained recognition and stature. There is now an annual kite festival and also a kite flying association.