Gembol Woodcraft: The High Valuable Artistic “Wood Tumors”

In a glance, tree roots and jungle wastes may look nothing or worthless. But with the skillful artistic touch, they would be the precious works of art. In Kendari City, various high valuable works are generated from these tree roots and jungle wastes. Various monumental woodcrafts are created. This popular craft of Kendari is called as “Gembol”.

Gembol craft is one of popular craft products in Kendari. The name of this craft is somewhat unique. This woodcraft is made of “gembol” or tree “tumor”. From its shape appearance, this woodcraft looks like wood sculpture, but it has a basic difference. The unique shapes of gembol craft products are not human-made works, but they are nature-formed instead. These natural unique shapes are originated from several kinds of tree, such as jati (teak), cendana (yellow sandalwood), and some other trees which thrive in Kendari and Muna area. With little artistic touch, the wood tumors change into the new unique forms with their high artistic value.

To produce the best products, the tree tumors are processed in several steps.

Firstly they are cleaned and peeled neatly, following their grooves and shapes using a machine. Then the woods are polished so that the wood fibers become more graphically visible on the surface. After the peeling process is done, the shaped woods are smoothed. Various forms are created from the woods. They can be designed to produce chairs, tables, and the other furniture. They can also be used to form relief, and additional touches of intaglios or carved calligraphy can also be added. At the final process, the shaped woods are varnished.

Gembol craft central area resides in Khairil Anwar Street, Wuawua, Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Various woodcraft products are displayed at the shops and galleries in this area. The common new faces of the wood tumors are relief, clock, ashtray, chair, table, animal statues, etc. These gembol craft products look unique, highly artistic, and fantastic. The price of gembol crafts are varied, depending on their shapes and uniqueness. The shapes resembling animal, human, or something natural are usually worth more price.