Lawo Butu
Ceremonial Tubular Skirt (2006)
There are ten grades of cloth in the Bajawa region of Flores, ranked by motif size, type, and quality. Every weaver must ’’graduate’’ from each level before making a higher-grade textile. Lawo butu belong to the highest grade, and very few weavers are qualified to make them. Lawo butu skirts are sacred in Ngada culture, and some have been preserved in clan treasuries for over 200 years. Antique lawo butu are priceless, particularly since new ones are so rare. If the old clan piece is intact, a female elder might wear it to the dedication of a new clan shrine. Often the old lawo is in tatters, and the elder simply lays it across the shrine’s main post for the consecration. These old pieces are stylistic touchstones for modern weavers, who can use them to replicate traditional clan motifs like the beaded boat, tadpoles, octopi, and water-boatmen on this piece.
Ceremonial Tubular Skirt (2006)
- Tied by Leonardus Woukurry
- Dyed, woven, and beaded by Katarina Paba
- Langa village, Flores
- Warp ikat
- Cotton, natural dyes, beads and shells
- 75 x 174 cm. (29.5 x 68.5 in)
- Code # T.FL.BA.045
Ayub Fransiskus Surry Patty wearing a cowrie shell necklace from the clan treasury, Bajawa, Flores