The Thread and Thrum of Sulawesi
Yansen Alfred Tuan, our field staff, crossing the river in the hinterland of Sulawesi.
A strenuous journey is what we anticipate every time we plan to go to Sulawesi. Our plan was to do the trip for twelve days as previously we had to go through Polewali to reach Mamasa. But now that a shortcut has been built from Mamuju to Mamasa, we were able to complete the trip in eleven days. One day shorter means a lot when it comes to Sulawesi.
Motorbike taxi carrying cacao to be sold at a weekly market.
Our first stop in Sulawesi was the hinterland in West Sulawesi. Like other areas of Sulawesi, cacao and patchouli oil are still the main income. This year, the global price of cacao more than doubled because of harvest issues in West Africa. This resulted in some weavers focusing to work in processing cacao instead of weaving.
Ibu Sumiati (clockwise; upper left) along with three generations of weavers; Ibu Mariati, Febrina (Ibu Mariati’s daughter-in-law), and Ibu Sosana.
Despite this situation, we were glad to witness the regeneration of weavers. What was even more thrilling was to see this regeneration happen from genuine curiosity. Ibu Sarmiati is a young curate. She had only been in the village for six months by the time we visited the village. She has been learning immersively from the masters themselves, Ibu Sosana and Ibu Mariati. During the six months that she had been learning, Ibu Sarmiati was able to weave a beautiful shoulder cloth.
Women and children identifying the stories on the fabric, while Yansen Alfred Tuan observing the quality.
Every time we go to the field, we make sure to check the fabric one by one, together with the women in the village. The weavers, their daughters, and even the little girls gather to see them. Together, the weavers shared the name of the motif and the stories behind them. For the women, to identify and to know how each image and placement of the images hold meaning, is an essential process for regeneration of knowledge.
I Made Maduarta showing a kandun tree to the young weavers.
When it comes to regeneration of weaving, a weaver also needs to understand dyeing and botany. In Sulawesi, a weaver is also a dyer. However, it is not very common for them to pick the plants themselves because there is a great distance from their house to the field. The weavers rely on their husbands to pick the plants, when they are on the way to the field. One of the plants needed in the dyeing process is kandun or Symplocos sp.
Around seven years ago, Ibu Mariati planted a kandun tree in her backyard. Now the tree is tall and mature enough for the fallen leaves to be collected. We invited the weavers, including the young ones, to see the plant.
Weaving the day away.
Before leaving to return to Bali, we made a plan to see the weavers again by the end of the year. It will be rainy season when we arrive in December, but we are excited to hear their stories again. At the end of the day, it is the regeneration of connection that we want to continue.
