Lau Pahudu Rara
Ceremonial Tubular Skirt (2001)
The cultural memory of the Sumbanese reaches back to the first of their ancestors to reach the island. They call these semi-mythical figures marapu uma ndapa taungu--’’the first to arrive’’--and honor them with textiles like this exceptionally fine lau skirt. The dominant motif on this lau is called karihu, or seashell, and recalls the sea journey that brought the ancestors to Sumba. The people of Rindi village revere their ancestors, and accord the same reverence to ancestral motifs. Only a woman of wealth and rank would wear a symbol like the karihu.
Ceremonial Tubular Skirt (2001)
- Tied by Luta Lapu
- Dyed by Tamu Rambu Hamueti
- Woven by Hau Rimu
- Rindi village, Sumba
- Warp ikat, supplementary warps
- Cotton, natural dyes
- 63 x 160 cm. (25 x 63 in)
- Code # T.RE.RE.013
Crafting supplementary warp patterns, Rindi, East Sumba
The lower supplementary motif, called kambhiha or the ’’horse’s hoofprint,’’ reinforces the wearer’s status. To this day, horses are wealth in Sumba, an island of grass-covered hills and few roads. Horses are part of the bridewealth gift exchange at marriage, and a riderless horse leads the bodies of the noble dead to their massive stone tombs.