Saput Songket Wayang, Karangasem Regency, East Bali, first quarter 20th century, supplementary weft patterning in various fibers on a silk ground, natural dyes.
The wayang kulit figures represent Arjuna, hero of the Mahabharata, with his bow slung on his shoulder.
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Kain Endek , ceremonial textile, Buleleng Regency, North Bali, first quarter 20th century or earlier, weft ikat on silk, natural dyes.
The temple gate of Pura Beji Sangsit in Buleleng typifies the artistic exuberance of Buleleng, as does this endek textile with its bold pattern and colour palette.
Selendang Pelangi woman’s torso wrapper, head or waist cloth, Bali, early 20th century, tied-resist on silk, natural dyes.
The 1920s postcard at left, from a Dutch cruise line, shows a Balinese legong keraton dancer wielding a kris, with pelangi cloths trailing from her jewelled belt.
Lamak Endek, ceremonial runner, Singaraja, North Bali, first quarter 20th century or later, weft ikat on silk, natural dyes.
Patterns on Singaraja endek cloths are often loosely derived from patola, which were highly prestigious double-ikat textiles from India traded into Bali for centuries, most of them certainly arriving in Singaraja harbour, a prominent port in Bali’s lucrative slave trade. Lamak are long runners affixed to shrines during ceremonies, as symbolic “staircases” or “ladders” connecting the world of the gods with that of humans. At left, a lamak on a tall shrine during a temple ceremony in Ubud.
Batik Prada, funerary cloth, South Bali, late 19th or early 20th century, hand-drawn batik, natural dyes, gold leaf, gum adhesive.
After death, an effigy of the deceased called an ukur is made using 108 old Chinese coins arranged like a diagram of the person's bones and nerves. The effigy is burnt with the body to convey to the next world, how the person was configured in life.Wealthy Balinese make ukur of gold or other precious metals, which are arranged on the corpse only when it lies in state prior to cremation, then it is replaced by a simpler coin ukur at the time the body is immolated. The precious ukur would be kept as sacred heirlooms. This cloth is a textile form of ukur, which would have been draped over a noble person’s body when it lay in state in the home. A contemporary coin ukur is pictured at left.
Wastra Pelangi, multi-function cloth, Bali, early 20th century, tied-resist on silk, natural dyes.
Stunning colour and pattern distinguish this large pelangi of fine silk thread. The 1930s photograph at left illustrates one use of pelangi, as women’s head cloths.
Saput Songket Endek Wayang man’s over-sarong, Singaraja, North Bali, first quarter 20th century or earlier, weft ikat on silk, natural dyes, gold and silver supplementary weft end bands.
This cloth would have been used only as a component of important temple offerings, not worn, although its form is that of a man’s saput which is normally worn over a longer sarong for ceremonial occasions. In Balinese ceremonies it is traditional to provide elements of “dress” as part of sets of offerings to deities and ancestors; dress is not only for people to wear, it is also a valuable symbol gift. The endek motifs include paired wayang kulit figures and mask-like motifs derived from palm leaf offerings known as sampian penyeneng. The function of a penyeneng is to ensure happiness (from the Balinese word seneng, meaning “happy”).
Kain Geringsing Wayang Baris, Tenganan Pageringsingan Village, Bali, first quarter 20th century or earlier, double-ikat patterning on hand-spun local cotton, natural dyes (primarily indigo and morinda).
Geringsing are both worn for rituals, and used ceremonially in other ways throughout Bali, as shown in the photograph (taken in Karangasem Regency, but not in Tenganan). The Wayang Baris pattern (left), includes: representations of food offerings piled in a large bowl with incense sticks protruding from them; praying figures; and an arca ancestor figure in pointed warrior’s helmet on a plinth. Baris is a term which refers to the rows (baris) of warriors in a pitched battle.
