Touch of Elegance

Young women from this remote area of Sulawesi will create two of these textiles at the same time, tying the pattern into threads, dyeing the threads and then weaving this into cloth. It will take up to 2 months to complete the work and the income she receives for this is substantial to help her family.

On the western slopes of the Toraja highlands, the To Mangki Karataun people live in virtual isolation; during the rainy season, their villages are inaccessible for months at a time. In the mythic past the great ancestor descended from heaven to give Karataun weavers four basic motifs known as ba’ba de’ata, the ikat of the divine.

The motif on this textile is called Lelen is a motif that is originally from the old traditional compound Malolo and is said to represent a cord between people that cannot be severed. It refers to our mutual interconnectedness and is believed to symbolise our interdependence with others. In the same way sepu’ or betelnut is exchanged, it shows a connectedness founded on respect between family or friends and an intention to find a harmonious outcome in the ensuing conversation.

Information about the makers will be supplied with each cloth.

Warp ikat, single panel, twisted fringe, commercial cotton, natural dyes. Ikat tied, dyed, woven in Karataun, Sulawesi, 2017. Size 177 x 23 cm / 69.5 x 9 in