Textiles of Southeast Asia. Robyn Maxwell
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While linked or enmeshed patterns of realistically depicted human figures decorate many woven textiles, it has been suggested that certain schematic designs such as the sekong rhomb and key motif of the Toraja, may also be viewed as genealogical figures (Schuster, 1965: 341-6). In many cultures where these decorative designs appear, revered and deified ancestors and clan founders are believed to play an active part in the everyday affairs of their descendants. Elsewhere in the region, anthropomorphic designs may have a quite different and specific meaning. On the beaded skirts and jackets of the Maloh of west Kalimantan, the kakalétau motif depicts both guardian spirits and also slaves whose fate was controlled by the class of nobles with the right to make and wear the finest beaded textiles (King, 1985;J.R. Maxwell, 1980). In some examples of Maloh art, this motif is truncated to form a mask or face (udo). Similar images are found on funerary structures in Kalimantan where they serve to frighten away marauding spirits.
(detail) beti jut atoni; mau jut atoni man's cloth Atoni or Dawan people, Timor, Indonesia cotton, dyes warp ikat 175.0 x 104.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1980.1655
Patterns built up of interlocking figures are found in many parts of Southeast Asia. On this Dawan cloth, the largest blue and white warp ikat motifs are clearly depicted with five fingers and toes suggesting their anthropomorphic form. Whether these jut atoni (human ikat motifs) were once intended to depict specific ancestral figures is now unclear. However, the cycle of generations is wonderfully portrayed by the interlocking and repeating arrangement of these motifs of abundance. The background of the central panel is filled with tiny birds and other small creatures. Mid-twentieth century
(details) paiepai ceremonial hangings Paminggir people, north Semangka Bay region, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft weave 304.0 x 63.8 em; 277.0 x 62.5 em; 302.0 x 65.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1985.504 (Gift of Mrs Bamberger, 1985); 1982.140 (Gift of Russell Zeeng, 1982); 1984.1192
A type of palepai, in which the motifs are worked in horizontal bands, shows seated (or male?) figures with curling limbs wearing head-dresses or horns. In the past, palepai (the largest of the supplementary cotton weavings of the Paminggir people) passed to the eldest son of the local clan or district leader as a symbol of hereditary leadership. In certain cases, the palepai textiles have been found cut into two, perhaps as a result of disputes over inheritance. These cloths are predominantly red, blue and orange and date from the nineteenth century.
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Not all spirits and ancestors are depicted in the form of anthropomorphs. On the warp ikat abaca textiles of mountain Mindanao, the popularity among the Mandaya of creatures with features resembling both humans and crocodiles has been explained in terms of the crocodile's sacred character (Cole, 1913: 194-7). Similar ambiguous figures appear on many eastern Indonesian textiles, and in this region reptiles such as crocodiles and founding ancestors are intertwined in local legends. The crocodile spirit (antu baya) is also a prominent figure in lban mythology although it is depicted with great caution when it is used as a motif on their textiles. When displaying such dangerous creatures, lban weavers often include motifs representing food offerings. The presence of small animals or humans placed near or within the bodies of other large ferocious creatures of terrifying ppearance, such as those sometimes found on Lampung tampan may be explained in the same way.72
pori situtu' ceremonial hanging; shroud Toraja people, Rongkong district, central Sulawesi, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 265.0 x 157.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1126
sekomandi ceremonial hanging; shroud Toraja people, Kalumpang district, central Sulawesi, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 261.0 x 152.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1129
(detail) pori lonjong ceremonial hanging; shroud Toraja people, Rongkong district (?), central Sulawesi, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 955.0 x 175.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.600
Human forms are evident in many schematic and interlocking spiral patterns throughout Southeast Asia. Such designs appear on each of these three late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century Toraja warp ikat textiles. The seko or sekong pattern is still a popular Toraja design, though the term itself now has no known meaning other than the name of this pattern and some of the textiles on which it appears. Anthropomorphic forms are also discernible in the patterns on the enormous pori lonjong (long ikat cloth), which is nearly ten metres in length. Side bands appear on all Toraja ikat textiles, as they do on most lban pua, and are evidently an archaic design feature. Slightly different red and blue-black dyes were a feature of the Rongkong and Kalumpang-Makki valleys, and the cloth in Plate 190 features the blue found on many Rongkong cloths rather than the characteristic over-dyed black of the Kalumpang area.
kain manik; sapé manik woman's ceremonial skirt; ceremonial jacket Maloh people, west Kalimantan, Indonesia cotton, dyes, beads, brass bells beading, appliqué 42.0 x 50.0 em; 51.0 x 45.0 em Australian National Gallery 1982.1297; 1982.1302
Throughout Southeast Asia initiation into adulthood often involves tooth-filing, which emphasizes clearly the distinction between humans and animals. Monsters with pointed fangs are carved into the ends of wooden funerary structures in certain parts of Kalimantan as an appropriate image to frighten spirits who might disturb the dead. The mask-like face may also serve to frighten marauding spirits when it appears on textiles. On this Maloh skirt, the face or mask image (udo) is depicted interlocked with the water serpent (naga). An old Malay handspun cotton plaid, worked in natural dyes, has been used as the skirt's lining. The beaded jacket with the human (kakalétau) design is lined with striped cotton and is fringed with brass bells. On both garments bright yellow, orange and white motifs stand out from the black, blue and green beads. Early twentieth century
pua kumbu ceremonial cloth Iban people, Sut River, Kapit district, Sarawak, Malaysia cotton, natural dyes warp ikat 234.0 x 124.2 cm Australian National Gallery 1981.1117
Collected by the anthropologist Derek Freeman and Monica Freeman in 1950 at Rumah Nyala on the Sut River, this red, black and white pua depicts the crocodile spirit (antu baya). Of this design, the Freemans (1980) comment: 'The crocodile is believed to stand in a kind of totemic relationship to the Iban, and to keep a special surveillance over their lives. It is thus customary for an Iban who does not want the food that he or she has been offered, to touch this food while uttering the words: Udah, aki. These words which mean: "It is done, grandfather," are addressed to the crocodile.'
To satisfy the powerful spirit that she has daringly recreated and which might, upon the completion of the textile, come to life and attack her, the weaver has placed small human figures as food between the jaws of the confronting crocodiles. These figures may also represent 'an individual who has committed the "sin" of refusing food, and is about to be taken by a crocodile' (Freeman and Freeman, 1980).
tampan ceremonial cloth Paminggir people, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia handspun cotton, natural dyes supplementary weft weave 67.0 x 81.5 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.579
While boat structures are evident at both top and bottom of this tampan, the scene is dominated by two huge terrifying creatures with bared fangs intent on devouring