Tourist attractions in Yala and Narathiwat : Tiphali Atabu, 68, is a veteran kriscraftsman from Yala’s Raman district.In 2003, he founded the Kris RamanCraftsmen Group in his hometown andopened his home as a learning centre.The wavy-edged blades he creates havea unique design. He crafts the shapeof each handle into the head of aphangka, a bird in literature similar to afish-eating nok kraten, or kingfisher.In the old days, kris identified socialstatus, said Tiphali. A general, forexample, had a kris with the head of abird decorated with gold or gems andthe blade had seven curves, while akris for a commoner was not decoratedwith any precious ornament and theblade had only five curves.