193
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 other animals. One has already been consumed. Although the horns suggest a water buffalo and the scaled body of one creature suggests a crocodile or dragon, these brown monsters seem to have arisen entirely from the vivid imagination of the weaver. Tampan depicting large ferocious animals were one of a number of style categories produced during the nineteenth century. Overwhelmed by the larger figures, the human forms depicted here are simple standing figures with pronounced genitalia. The background is filled with small hooks which repeat the bold strokes in the creatures' tails and the prows of the ships. Nineteenth century
dodot bangun tulak alas-alasan pinarada mas royal ceremonial skirtcloth Javanese people, Surakarta, Java, Indonesia cotton, natural dyes, gold leaf stitch-resist dyeing, gluework 357.5 x 207.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.3167
This late nineteenth-century cloth belongs to a category of Javanese cloths known as kain kembangan (flowered cloth). These stitch-resist dyed cloths have an ancient history of sacred and ceremonial use in Java, and combine a number of auspicious elements. The black and white colours are considered especially propitious. It is decorated with scenes of animals and foliage known as alas-alasan (forest-like pattern), which are whimsically worked in fine gold leaf gluework (pinarada mas). While many of the small animals and insects depicted on the cloth are dangerous to humans and threatening to life-giving crops, their presence may serve as a form of symbolic protection since the particular name of the cloth (bangun tulak) suggests the notion of repelling evil (Solyom and Solyom, 1980a: 260; Veldhuisen-Djajasoebrata, 1985). These huge skirtcloths (dodot) are worn in the courts of central Java, and this indigo and white example also has gold leaf gluework on those reverse sections of the cloth that are revealed when it is draped around the loins. Royal bridal couples appear in these textiles during the manten lemon part of the marriage ceremonies.
COOLING CLOTHS: TEXTILES AS PROTECTION
Throughout Southeast Asia cloths are used in many sacred activities that are intended to ensure the safety of the individual, the prosperity of the group and the equilibrium of the universe. Textiles appear both in times of unpredictable disaster and during the regular cyclical rituals associated with agriculture, fertility and prosperity. Different cloths or sets of cloths are appropriate to each level of ritual. While those used in bride-wealth exchanges or in cases of individual illness or misfortune are the property of families, the cloths used at agricultural fertility rites often belong collectively to the clan or village and are stored in a
