The universal roofing or sides of a Malay house is attap nipah leaves stretched over bamboo rafters and ridge-poles.
The attap is made from the long, arrow-like leaves of the dried nipah palm. The pieces of attap for roofing are generally about five feet in length.
The nipah is short and more like a giant cactus in growth. Its leaves are stripped off, then bent over a bamboo rod and sewed together with fibers of the same palm. When dry they become glazed and waterproof.
The scientific name for Nipah palm is Nypa fruticans. Nipa belongs to the family Palmae. Nipa is sometimes called “the mangrove palm” because it thrives well in the mangrove environment, favoring brackish water environments such as estuaries or shallow lagoons.
Attap nipah
