Let The Artisans Speak

Some peoples are good at speaking. Others are good at their hands, the artisans. They feel more comfortable with their wares and the trade than with others in any formal event.
However, something different was tried out in a seminar at Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia last August. A keris (wavy blade dagger) maker, a coppersmith, a boat maker, a kite maker, and a weaver were persuaded to make a presentation each in front of a gathering of academics, researchers, and curators. They elaborated the methods and practice of craft making in their area of specialty, and a brief history on how it all started, mostly with them as the actor as well, of course, and what have changed, if any.
Each presentation was followed by another delivered by researchers or academics elaborating on the scientific basis of the steps taken by the artisans in producing their crafts. They, the artisans, were oblivious to those scientific basis, but the achieved those that they set out to do.
The results of that juxtaposition, artisan on the practice of their craft and researchers in providing the scientific explanation of all those steps, are fantastic. It gives insight into how the artisans come to know the processes and ingredients that are suitable for their crafts. The keris maker even has an age old home brewed organically-based acid for etching the keris.
Greater understanding of the role of each other and mutual respects I believe are another significant achievements of the seminar.