THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 241

TRADITIONAL TEXTILES
Traditional fabrics are still fashionable for clothes and furnishings in Indonesia and con-
tinue to be hand-woven in some areas of Bali and Lombok. They also have ritual func-
tions , with specific weaves used in certain ceremonies, such as the striped bebali produced
in Pacung (see Surya Indigo Handweaving Centre ). Hand-woven textiles are widely avail-
able for sale across Bali and Lombok and are often displayed to their best advantage on the
special carved wooden hangers sold in some ikat and souvenir shops.
IKAT AND SONGKET
Easily recognized by the fuzzy-edged motifs it produces, ikat weaving is common
throughout Indonesia, woven on backstrap, foot-pedal or, increasingly, on semiautomatic
looms, from either silk, cotton or rayon. The word ikat derives from the Indonesian verb
“to tie”, and the technique is essentially a sophisticated tie-dye process. Bali is quite un-
usual in favouring weft-ikat , or endek , in which the weft yarn (the threads running across
the fabric) is tie-dyed into the finished design before the warp begins. This produces the
distinctive blurred edge to the predominantly geometric and abstract designs. Gianyar has
several excellent endek showrooms and workshops , and there's a highly regarded producer
in Sidemen ; on Lombok, the weavers of Sukarara are the ones to seek out.
Warp-ikat (in which the threads that run lengthwise are tie-dyed) is more common else-
where in Indonesia, including on Sumba and Flores, where the textiles typically feature
bold humanoid motifs and images of real and mythological creatures and are widely sold
in Bali's resorts.
Warp- and weft- ikat are complicated enough, but double ikat , or geringsing , involves
dyeing both the warp and the weft threads into their final designs before they're woven
together; a double- ikat sarong can take five years to complete. There are just three areas
in the world where this method is practised - India, Japan and Tenganan in eastern Bali.
Not surprisingly, geringsing is exceedingly expensive to buy, and has acquired an im-
portant ritual significance. At first glance, geringsing can look similar to the warp- ikat of
Flores, because both use the same dye combinations, but the Tenganan motifs have a highly
charged spiritual meaning, and their geometric and floral designs are instantly recognizable
to the people of Bali.
The art of embroidered ikat , or supplementary-weft weaving, is known as songket . This
uses metallic gold and silver yarn to add tapestry-like motifs of birds, butterflies and
flowers onto very fine silk (or, increasingly, rayon or artificial silk). Songket sarongs are
worn on ceremonial occasions, and dancers wear songket sashes. Sukarara in Lombok is
the best place to see songket being woven.