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kain lekok women's ceremonial skirts Maloh people, west Kalimantan, Indonesia cotton, flannel, beads, shells, sequins beading, appliqué, lace 52.0 x 45.0 cm; 51.0 x 42.0 cm Australian National Gallery 1982.1300; 1982.1301
Bead and shell appliqué are one of the most ancient means of ornamenting the human body in Southeast Asia and are fixed to matting, bark-cloth and woven fibres. On these twentieth-century examples, a myriad of tiny, gaily coloured seed-beads has been threaded into bands of serpents (naga) and human figures (kakalétau) which have then been stitched to a black cotton base fabric and decorated further with an appliqué of split shells, lace and brightly coloured imported cloth. The linings are made from old fragments of Malay plaid and Javanese batik fabric.
It is also possible to use the comparative material in a number of large ethnographic collections in Europe, the United States and in Southeast Asia itself. The collecting of ethnographic objects began during the nineteenth century as part of the attempt to document the evolutionary ideas of social theorists such as Spencer. However, although many museums contain large and valuable collections of Southeast Asian textiles, including some of the earliest cloths from the region, their usefulness as a point of reference is often limited by the extent and accuracy of the institutions' records. The same applies to the extensive and important photographic archives in a number of museums.
Many textiles illustrated in this book date from the nineteenth century, a period of rococo elaboration in the decorative arts of many Southeast Asian cultures, as it was during the same period in Europe. Many of the grand symbols of sovereignty associated with Southeast Asian royalty were consolidated during this period and have remained caught as the 'traditional' form of dress in the modern era. Coinciding with the colonial domination of nearly the entire region, cultural distinctions between groups became more rigid. Probably more than ever before, clothing became the visible sign of the relationship between an individual and his or her social milieu and a focus for differentiation between individuals and between groups.
Wherever possible, accurate local language names are provided for the textiles illustrated. These terms often provide important information about the history of the textiles and the people who have made and used them and have been gleaned from a variety of sources including published literature and data collected during fieldwork in Southeast Asia. Where there is some doubt about the accuracy of the local language terms provided, this has been indicated by a question mark in parenthesis. In a few cases, the local language names of certain textiles have not yet been recorded. This has been indicated in the captions by a series of period marks. An English language descriptive term for each item has also been attempted. However, the use of anglicized expressions derived from Southeast Asian languages, such as the term 'sarong', are misleading and imprecise. For the same reasons certain national language terms and their English translations now in common usage have also been avoided. For example, the term 'selimut', the Indonesian word for blanket often applied to large rectangular cloths, is quite inaccurate since most of these textiles are in fact men's wraps or ceremonial hangings.
For those readers who are not textile specialists, there are many technical terms that refer specifically to weaving and textile techniques and which may need further elaboration. A full explanation of many of these terms would have required a lengthy appendix so only a basic glossary of the most important has been included. However, interested readers are referred to some of the many works listed in the bibliography dealing with the techniques and processes of Southeast Asian textiles. An exhaustive general treatment of this subject can be found in Emery's comprehensive study, The Primary Structure of Fabrics (1980).
The metric measurements given for each textile in accompanying captions include any fringes where these are a part of the fabric structure. Most of the photographs of textiles are from the collection of the Australian National Gallery and although ethnographic completeness has neither been possible nor been attempted, these examples have been supplemented with material drawn from the collections of other institutions and from photographs taken throughout Southeast Asia. The name of the relevant institution and the record or accession number is provided for each museum textile illustrated.
In west Kalimantan, Indonesia, two Maloh women in festive dress combine their own locally made beaded skirts (kain lekok) with warp ikat and tapestry weave jackets made by their lban neighbours and gold thread brocade shouldercloths from one of the Malay groups of coastal Borneo, probably Sambas.
Detail of Plate 132
Chapter 2
THE FOUNDATIONS
The ancestors of today's Southeast Asian textile artisans have lived in the region for thousands of years. Gradual prehistoric migrations brought peoples from Taiwan and southern China into the region (and, in the case of the Austronesian speakers, out into the Pacific) where they merged with or subsumed earlier populations. The estimated time span of these eras, based on archaeological evidence, varies considerably across the Southeast Asian region. The prehistorian Bellwood points out that 'the Neolithic period begins at different times in different areas of Southeast Asia, but it is generally superseded by bronze-using cultures soon after 1000 BC, and perhaps by as early as 3500 BC in Thailand' (1979: 153).1 The early settlers' languages- Prato-Austronesian, Austro-Asiatic and Thai-Kadai-formed the basis of those of present-day Southeast Asia. From the period of these migrations the cultural foundations were established for many Southeast Asian customs and techniques that are still evident today.
Original cultural traits included a belief in ancestors and spirits, shamanism, omens and magic, extended burial rites, head-hunting and tattooing, the domestication of certain animals, early forms of agriculture and boat-building. No centralized class system seems to have existed: status and authority were based largely on family descent groups in localized districts (Bellwood, 1979; 1985). Aspects of early Southeast Asian life are still reflected in the fabrics of the region, in their motifs and the ways in which they are used.2
Throughout the Late Neolithic and Metal Ages, objects of utility and ritual in the region were decorated in increasingly elaborate styles. Prehistoric burial sites across the region provide sufficient evidence of artifacts, tools, techniques and designs to allow speculation on the earliest forms of fabric and decoration (Bellwood, 1979: Chapters 7 and 8). The crafts of bark-cloth making and weaving were probably well developed before the ancestral migrations occurred.3 Significantly, many of the patterns and motifs that form the striking ornamentation found on prehistoric pottery and metal work are also found in the textile art of the region. For example, the spirals of the 3000-year-old Ban Chiang pots are still recognizable on the regional weavings of Thailand.4 While archaeologists generally end this prehistoric period at the time of Christ when the region became subject to the growing influences of India and China, some of the textile materials and techniques used during the prehistoric period have survived in the region into recent times.
LEAVES, BARK AND FIBRES: THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARLIEST FABRICS
31,32
Unprocessed leaves and plant fibres have long been used to make clothing, and simple garments from these materials have been worn by isolated Southeast Asian groups into the twentieth century. The similarity of many leaf and fibre skirts across the region indicates that the materials have largely determined the shape and structure of these clothes. Their use in remote areas, from Burma to New Guinea, but especially
