Textiles of Southeast Asia. Robyn Maxwell
This rice barn in the Karo Batak region of north Sumatra is decorated with motifs similar to those found on textiles. The plaited bamboo under the roof forms geometric patterns while a long lizard shape is depicted along each side of the lower wall.
Hooked rhomb designs are evident in the painting on this grave structure of a rich Katieng woman from Ratanakiri province, Cambodia, and the finial displays a serpent-headed ship, an ancient transition symbol throughout Southeast Asia. Graves of similar appearance decorated with woven cloth over a bamboo frame are erected by the Jarai of southern Vietnam (Leuzinger, 1978: 235, Pl. 298).
(detail) uhu wai kalung (?) communal mat Punan Aput people, Long Sulé, central Kalimantan, Indonesia rattan fibre, natural black dyes interlacing 570.0 x 154.0 em Australian National Gallery 1986.1247
kain pilih woman's skirt Iban people, Layar River, Sarawak, Malaysia cotton, dyes supplementary weft weave 47.0 x 52.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1985.1 746
This black, red and white woman's skirt in the distinctive supplementary, floating weft weave known to the Iban as pilih, has the same dramatic visual impact as the two-coloured plaited mats of the non-textile weaving Punan of central Kalimantan. The reverse sides of both mat and textile reveal the same pattern in negative. While the meaning of the formal patterning on the cylindrical skirt is uncertain, the mat motifs include representations of the mighty hornbill in various schematic arrangements, depictions of the North Star and the eye of the blowpipe, and several vegetative patterns. Many of these designs closely follow Kenyah-Kayan motifs from the same region of Borneo. Like Iban textiles, such huge mats are stored as heirlooms and displayed by families on ritual occasions. Both black and white items demonstrate the continuation of ancient skills and patterns into the twentieth century.
pha biang ceremonial shawl Tai Phuan people, Xieng Khouang, Laos silk, cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft weave 236.0 x 42.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1986.1922
The asymmetrical design structure of Lao shawls, with an undecorated centre and unequal ends of different patterning that are sometimes stitched to the central section, is similar to that of men's loincloths elsewhere in the Southeast Asian region. So too are the intricate hooked lozenge patterns that form the basis of this design. On this early twentieth-century Tai Phuan cloth, rows of birds, paired dragons and long-nosed lions have been placed between the formal decorative bands. This cloth uses bright yellow, blue, white and green supplementary silk wefts against a deep lac-red foundation weave of mixed silk and cotton.
kelambi pilih jacket Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft weave 114.0 x 46.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1148
The natural world is a popular source of designs for the weavers of Southeast Asia. The bands of floating red and blue pilih motifs on this early twentieth-century jacket could only be exactly explained by the weaver who made the jacket. However, the various hooks and spirals have been identified by one experienced Iban weaver to include gourd seeds (igi genok), horse mango (buah bunut), forked roots (akar besimpang), the long rice vessel (tungkus asi panjaz) and diamond patterns (buah lunchong). Similar patterns are repeated on the front. A jacket of this length is worn by a ritual orator (lemambang) while officiating at Iban festivals (gawat).
pua kumbu ceremonial cloth Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 279.0 x 167.5 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1097
pua sungkit ceremonial cloth Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft wrapping 112.0 x 213.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1982. 1296
pua kumbu ceremonial cloth Iban people, Layar River, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 126.3 x 222.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.611
Iban textiles are decorated in the same tricolour as their ancestors' pottery. These three huge, nineteenth-century woven cloths (pua) were used by the Iban in ceremonies invoking the presence of benevolent ancestors and spirits. Such is the power of pua woven by ritually experienced women, that malevolent beings can be kept at bay on such occasions by a display of these fine textiles. The patterns are highly schematic depictions of ideas drawn from the natural world and the shared repertoire of Iban mythical and legendary designs. It is possible that the borders of the ceremonial cloth in Plate 52, which are worked in a different style, were made by a second and younger weaver, a customary way for less mature women to gain textile experience. Clearly from a different district, the motifs in Plate 54 are filled with striking, checkered ikat patterns in black and white forming a strong contrast against the dark maroon ground. While exhibiting similar designs, the pua in Plate 53 is worked in the weft-wrapping technique (sungkit), in which the pattern is established during the weaving process.
gamong ceremonial cloth Ifugao people, Luzon, Philippines bark fibre, natural dyes twill weave Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago 113768-2
(detail) ulos gobar; uis gobar ceremonial cloth Toba Batak people, Silalahi district, north Sumatra, Indonesia cotton, dyes twill weave, supplementary weft, supplementary warp 183.0 x 121.0 em Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden 869-20
These red, blue and white cloths display a similar design structure, as broad warp-orientated bands and a twill-weave pattern of concentric diamonds are the major decorative features of each. Both textiles have an important role in burial rituals. The gamong are specifically made as outer shrouds. For the funeral, one panel of the cloth may be only loosely attached to facilitate the custom of tearing away part of a burial cloth so that other spirits will not disturb the deceased or his living kin out of their jealousy of such a fine fabric. The gobar design is the most prestigious cloth in the north-western district of Lake Toba, and is used in life and in death by the most senior members of a lineage. A carefully structured system of rank applies to all Toba Batak ulos textiles (sometimes also known here by the Karo term uis). They are exchanged on all ceremonial occasions when the alliances forged through marriage between the clans or lineages (marga) are reiterated. Both textiles date from the late nineteenth century.
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Most mat designs show surface patterns achieved by interlacing different coloured fibres; other types of mats are decorated with those ancient ornaments, shells and beads. With such objects, there is no clear division between mats and textiles. The decorative techniques merge, similar designs appear in both media and the objects themselves often serve the same functions. The existence of objects made from both woven cloth and plaited matting further obscures the distinction. The largest examples, the huge beaded mats from south Sumatra, are supported by plaited matting that is covered with handspun cotton cloth and decorated with strands of ancient beads.19 Although little is known about these remarkable objects, the iconography of the beaded designs is closely related to motifs that appear on woven and embroidered cloth from the same region. The use of decorated, sometimes beaded matting for ceremonial paraphernalia is widespread. In particular, the containers for betel-nut ingredients are decorated with beads, and in many places other types of decorative plaited