Textiles of Southeast Asia. Robyn Maxwell
pua kumbu ceremonial cloth Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat, embroidered braid 232.0 x 136.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1980.1658
These two textiles provide an excellent example of the role of dreams and the transmission of cultural symbols in Iban weaving. The pua in Plate 172 was collected and carefully documented in the late 1940s by Emeritus Professor Derek Freeman and Monica Freeman. It was woven by Kajut anak Ubu, who deliberately followed a pattern said to have been created in the 1930s in the remote Ngemah River of the Kapit district by another weaver, Jiram anak Balit, after a dream revelation. (Monica Freeman saw and recorded Jiram's original design.) The design with Kajut anak Ubu's own embellishments is described as the teladan pattern with the flying-tiger or sea-tiger (remaung tasik) design. The Iban in the Balai River system at this stage were still working in natural dyes, although with diminished use of the many hooks (gelong) that are a feature of the finest Iban pua kumbu.
Of this design, the Freemans note: 'The remaung tiger spirit is one of the most powerful entities in Iban mythology being especially associated with warfare and head-hunting. The remaung is invoked on the occasion of head-hunting rituals, when offerings are put out for it on the top of the roof of the longhouse. The tiger spirit, it is believed, is able to fly and it is said to streak through the air, making a strange roaring noise, to carry off these offerings. Looked on as immensely powerful, and therefore potentially dangerous, the remaung is not invited actually to enter the longhouse' (Freeman and Freeman, 1980).
The same basic design, however, can also be found on much older Iban textiles. The remaung tasik pattern is also clearly recognizable in Plate 173 combining elements of stripes and wings with carefully articulated feet and hands. As well as the rich red and black over-dyed tones, this cloth displays brilliant highlights of bright indigo blue in both the central field and the side stripes. This textile appears to date from at least the early twentieth century, although it may well be even older. This suggests that patterns such as this were clearly part of the known repertoire of Iban weavers, and it is evident that many Iban women dream about and create new patterns that integrate many old established designs. In fact, in this way talented Iban woman are able to express their own creativity with some modesty since the dream pattern is considered to be a revelation received from an ancestor-deity.
ulos pinunsaan ritual cloth for clothing, wrapping and shroud Toba Batak people, Porsea district, north Sumatra, Indonesia cotton, natural dyes supplementary warp weave, supplementary weft weave, warp ikat, twining 125.0 x 225.0 em Australian National Gallery 1984.256
bulang woman's headcloth Simalungun Batak people, north Sumatra, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft weave, supplementary warp weave 187.0 x 35.0 em Australian National Gallery 1984.1247
On certain Toba Batak ritual textiles (ulos), such as the ulos ragidup and the seemingly identical ulos pinunsaan, (also known as pinussaan and nipussaan after the term sometimes used for the white inset panels, pussa), the widest band of supplementary weft patterns (pina halak) at each end are distinctly though schematically male and female. The male pina halak band is composed of elongated triangular shapes (baoa) while the dominant female motif in the other pina halak band is the rhomb (boru-boru). (The terms tulang baoa and boru are also used to refer to key elements in the Toba Batak kinship system.) When using the cloths to cover the dead or to envelop the living, Toba Bataks are careful to extend the end appropriate to the gender of the recipient.
A complicated and ordered sequence of weaving the intricate, supplementary weft ends containing these male and female motifs, in the sacred tricolour of black, white and red, is strictly observed - even by younger weavers who are uncertain or ignorant of the sexual references of these ancient motifs. In the Porsea district on the eastern shores of Lake Toba, the three central sections of the ulos pinunsaan are woven separately, cut and then sewn together with the side panels to form a completed cloth. The ulos ragidup that are woven by the Toba Batak peoples south of the lake and the brick-red woman's headcloth (bulang) from the Simalungun Batak (sometimes also referred to as the Eastern Batak or Batak Timur) have an elaborately woven central section. The two end-panels are not woven separately but are worked on a second, white warp which is inserted during the weaving process (Gittinger, 1975: 13-15). This difficult and lengthy procedure can only be understood through an awareness of the supernatural powers that these traditional cloths are thought to possess and the notion of an unbroken, circulating warp as a metaphor linking male and female realms. Both cloths probably date from the early twentieth century.
kain bidak (?) shouldercloth; skirtcloth Pasemah region, Sumatra, Indonesia silk, natural dyes, gold thread supplementary weft weave, weft ikat 250.0 x 112.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1980.728
The ornate, metallic thread foliated elements on Pasemah ceremonial gold and silk textiles contrast strangely with the simple, narrow, weft ikat stripes and the rows of riders on animals at each end. The foundation weave is predominantly red-brown. These archaic symbols of transition proliferate on the textiles of the Lampung region to the south. The sex of the riders is clearly represented and the cloth is a rare example of a Pasemah textile of this type with explicit male and female ends. Nineteenth century
tengkuluk; pelung shouldercloths, waist -sashes Pasemah-Bengkulu region, Sumatra, Indonesia cotton, metallic thread, natural dyes, silk supplementary weft weave 38.0 x 220.1 cm; 34.4 x 230.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1133; 1984.572
While little remains of identifiably male and female character in the end sections of these cloths, the subtle but deliberate differences suggest a comparison with the explicit sexual symbolism found on many textiles woven by Sumatran peoples further to the north. On these cloths the schematic patterns appear in elaborate, continuous supplementary weft brocade on either red or indigo grounds. Fringes formed from silk floss have been added after weaving. Early twentieth century
(detail) tengkuluak; kain sandang woman's headcloth; shouldercloth Minangkabau people, Batu Sangkar district, west Sumatra, Indonesia cotton, silk, gold thread, natural dyes supplementary weft weave 271.0 x 74.0 em Australian National Gallery 1984.574
The characteristic bright red and orange silk bands which are woven into the sumptuous gold brocade cloths from the Batu Sangkar district of the Minangkabau highlands also appear to include both male and female elements. The end-panels stand out against the deep purple centre. Cotton textiles with similar bright multicoloured bands are also woven by the Angkola Batak people to the north. Nineteenth century
pua kumbu ceremonial cloth Iban people, Sarawak, Malaysia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 203.0 x 136.8 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1096
This huge pua was made to be hung at various longhouse ceremonies. T he exact meaning of its formal design is not known although the large, stippled, spiral motifs depict highly stylized river serpents (nabau). Food, in the form of small creatures, is depicted upside-down swimming towards the serpent. Early twentieth century
This image of the Raja of the Lio domain of central Flores was taken from an early twentieth-century photograph. The wide ikat shawl, maroon headcloth, huge ivory bracelets and heavy gold earrings are still used as ceremonial dress for traditional leaders in that domain.
semba mosalaki man's ceremonial shawl Lio people, Flores, Indonesia cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 113.5 x 209.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1980. 1656