Textiles of Southeast Asia. Robyn Maxwell
1982: 219 fn. 6). The term uki' (ukir, to carve) suggests that the patterns on these loincloths, like the patterning (okir) on cloths woven by the Maranao women of Mindanao, are closely related to the carving done by men.
The realistic scenes of village life including buffalo-drawn ploughs, dogs, chickens in cages and traditional houses found on this cloth are rare on Southeast Asian textiles. The scene evokes images of fertility and prosperity, and the large number of figures suggests the importance of this cloth. The figure in the lower left corner is probably female, while a man sits in the shelter accompanied by his prize fighting-cock. The curved roof of the structure, a rice granary rather than a large dwelling, is identical to those still fou nd in Sa'dan Toraja villages today and this is reinforced by the effect of the floating weft threads which suggests thatching. The empty shape in the upper right-hand corner probably depicts a fish-pond in the rice fields.
In contrast to the human figures, which appear in red, the buffaloes are worked in blue thread, with the heads turned to show their wide horn span. One appears to have a highly valued light blaze on its forehead. The schematic designs in the other supplementary weft bands in red, blue and green, include the star-shaped motif known as doli langi' (spots of heaven), like the buffalo a symbol of wealth and abundance.
A platoon of local Filipino soldiers from a regiment raised in Luzon early this century. Despite their recruitment into the American colonial army, the men still wear their traditional loincloths and brass leggings.
hita; hitilirrati man's loincloth or girdle Oirata district (?), Kisar, South Maluku, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat, supplementary weft weave, twining 10.6 x 301.2 cm; 13.0 x 250.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1985.383; 1985.384
These nineteenth-century men's cotton loincloths demonstrate the contrast between the warp patterns in subdued red or brown, blue and neutral warp ikat and the bright yellow supplementary weft ends which hang when worn in front and behind. Loincloths with these elaborate, asymmetrical, supplementary patterns were reserved for ceremonial wear. The same ancient warp ikat motifs are also found in horizontal bands on woman's cylindrical skirts. While zigzag patterns appear to depict snakes, and other Kisar loincloths also contain bird motifs, the meaning of the hooks and spirals is unknown. Small human figures appear along the borders of the shorter cloth. Loincloths on Kisar, as elsewhere in Southeast Asia, are no longer worn as originally intended and are now used as girdles and shawls.
tanda sirat; klapong sirat end-panels of a man's loincloth Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes, brass bells supplementary weft weave, supplementary weft wrapping 42.0 x 28.6 cm; 47.0 x 31.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1149
The decorative ends of the long wrap-around loincloth (sirat) of the Iban (and those of other closely related Dayak groups in Indonesian Kalimantan such as the Desa and the Kantuk) are usually worked in supplementary thread patterns, usually red and indigo-blue on a white foundation weave. Both panels are sometimes woven in one length of fabric to be cut and sewn to a separate length of plain cloth, in this instance apparently a length of red Indian imported cotton fabric. However, the designs on each sirat end are usually characteristically different. On this late nineteenth-century example, the patterns on the rear panel are contained in narrow bands of supplementary weft weaving (pilih) while the front panel consists of a square of supplementary weft-wrapped design (sungkit) filled with stylized figures. The anthropomorphic figures are reduced to crosses on the front, and pairs of similar stylized figures also appear on the back.
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Despite the replacement of bark-cloth, certain ancient forms of clothing originally made from the fabric are still being used. One example is the decorated loincloth which is still the main male garment of many largely isolated mountain cultures throughout both mainland and insular Southeast Asia. Most loincloths are made of plain, woven fabric with elaborately patterned ends that hang down front and back. The patterns on the end sections of loincloths produced during the last century often resemble those on some of the earliest stone statues found in the region.11
45
Over time the functions of certain textile types may change. Nowadays, for example, heirloom Toraja loincloths (pio) are used mainly as ceremonial banners. Sacred woven cloths taking the name of loincloths (cawet) are also worn around the necks of male participants in certain sacred rites in Bali.12 The cotton tunics worn by Toraja women were also originally made from bark-cloth, and sometimes bark-cloth has been retained as a lining for cotton garments. In fact, the use of bark-cloth has survived in Borneo and south Sumatra mainly as a foundation or lining for other materials.13
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Elaborate matting skills probably existed in prehistoric times. Interlacing (or plaiting) usually requires only a simple instrument to strip the fibre and, as with textiles and the wooden apparatus used to make them, no ancient mats have survived thousands of years of hot, wet, tropical conditions. We are left with imprints on prehistoric pottery which was beaten with basketry or corded paddles.14 Matting and forms of twining, however, may have been the forerunners of more recent textile traditions, and like bark-cloth fabric, are still the basis for textile seats, mats, bags and some types of tunics decorated with shells and beads.
halili petondu woman's tunic To Kaili people, central Sulawesi, Indonesia bark-cloth, cotton, mica appliqué, embroidery 79.0 x 58.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.590
The major motif on this early twentieth-century tunic from the north-west region of central Sulawesi is the petondu, the buffalo motif depicted as a schematic star with eight curling embroidered points. Although the graceful curve of the buffalo horn is an ancient symbol in this area often appearing on painted bark-cloth and woodcarving, in this instance the appliqué is applied to commercial cotton cloth. Bark-cloth (nunu) is used, however, as a lining. The visual impact of the garment is increased by the addition of mica discs among the red and orange fabric diamonds.
The earliest types of clothing may have included plaited hats, baskets and carry-bags. Similar patterns can be achieved through interlacing and weaving and this suggests that the same visual aesthetics were retained with the change from one technology to the other. On the other hand, the designs on woven textiles, whatever the basic fibre, contrast markedly with those on painted bark-cloth, and appliqué textiles that follow bark-cloth styles. These techniques allow both angular and curving shapes and a greater freedom than can easily be achieved by weaving.15
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The motifs on basketry and mats are often similar to those on woven textiles. Across the island of Borneo, for example, decorative designs on both mats and textiles have been identified on Metal Age objects found there. Burial sites dating between 1600 and 400 BC in the Niah Caves of Sarawak have yielded shell discs,16 beads, bone needles, wooden coffins and pottery ornamented with bold, rectangular meanders and spirals in red, black and cream.17 The designs on mats and other plaited objects made by the Kenyah-Kayan and Ot Danum-Ngaju people exploit hooks and spirals using black and undyed fibres, while patterns in the same style can be found in the supplementary pilih designs on Iban women's skirts and jackets. While most body tension loom weaving uses a simple 'one-under-one-over' tabby weave, twill weaves which have created textures on cloth quite akin to plaiting or matting have also been produced in many parts of Southeast Asia, and discoveries of fragments of twill weave vegetable-fibre fabric in the Niah Caves in Sarawak are the oldest known woven fabric yet to be discovered in insular Southeast Asia. Twill fabrics in Borneo Gager Gerlings, 1952: Figs 18-21) have been made with leaf fibres such as lemba or doyo (Curculigo latifolia), although it seems that the Ifugao textiles of this genre were woven from twisted bark fibres.18