Sumba Woven Fabric An Ancestors Skill Preserved

The apparel is not only about the beauty, nor is it only about image -it has been part of the human civilization. This rings especially true for the Sumbanese, who has since ancient time been august in creating and assembling their wardrobe…

 

The exhibition on Sumba, held in Jakarta recently, has reminded us that the island-one of the 550 in the East Nusa Tenggara province- is not only blessed with breathtaking underwater sceneries or magnificent pearls, but also stunning woven fabric.

The traditional ikat (resist dyeing) woven fabric is indeed a familiar sight in Asia, but the people of Sumba has managed to prove that a weaving skill inherited from their ancestors can produce ones that deserve special honors.

The beauty of Sumba’s woven ikat is inseparable from the technique-regarded as being the oldest in Indonesia’s traditional textile history-used in making it. The secret of this method lies in the tieing of the lusi,or lungsin (warp) thread.

The warp thread is known in the weaving process as a thread that is stretched on the loom according to the fabric’s desired width. Both of its ends are tied and will function as buffer threads. The pakan (weft) yarn, will then be inserted to intersect with the warp thread.

For the double ikat weaving process, the warp and waft threads are binded with waterproof materials before they are dipped in the dyeing mixture. This process is repeated according to the number of colors desired.

The warp thread is tied to produce the pattern’s design when it is dyed. One first has to arrange the threads in a wooden or bamboo frame to get ties that matches the desired design. The design is formed by tying the fabric, which has been stretched bit by bit according to the design, using kalita or gewang threads, or plastic threads.

After dyed with the first color, the fabric is dried and the next phase will be to undo the kalita (bind) in the next pattern to be dyed.

The binding is carried out during the dyeing process. Thus, the dye would be absorbed to the edge of the bound threads, resulting in a faint mix of colors. Yet this “imperfection” is what makes ikat fabric special.

Source : warisanindonesia.com