AUSTRONESIAN ORIGIN

The fishing basket trap is an apparatus used to trap fish with a funnel-like entrance that allows fish easy passage to get inside but difficult to get out. It is usually made from bamboo and other material like rattan, flax etc. The fishing basket trap is an ancient way to catch fish probably used by human beings for many thousands of years. People around the world have the custom of using fishing basket trap that comes with various appearances and names.  But the ones used by the Austronesian people have the most distinct shapes and the most similar names for the fishing basket trap. 

 

Both in streams and by the seashore are suitable locations for using the fishing basket trap. In stream, one must change the water current by stacking the stones to form a v-shape dam, before putting the fishing basket trap at the end of the dam. By the seashore, or a lagoon with calm water, you can sink the fishing basket trap with a float connected to show the location.  The back part of the basket is always an enclosure where a piece of bait is provided.

 

“Bubu” is the most commonly used cognate for the fishing basket trap in Austronesian, in both Taiwan and the Malay Archipelago. There are other names such as bobo,  buebu, vovo, all quite similar to bubu. In Polynesia, “Hinaki” is used by Maori. “Hi” is for fish, and “naki” is for glide.

 

Catching fish with a fishing basket trap is a sustainable way for food resources.  It was a reliable method to get food for our Austronesian ancestors no less than 5000 years ago. The techniques with weaving and making use of the fishing basket were the indispensable knowledge for the people of that time. For the Maori, sharing the fish caught with neighbors is an important social etiquette.