Royal Blossom

The culture of neighboring Savu and Rai Jua islands places great weight on ancestry, birthplace, and community life. While many have converted to Christianity, the traditional belief system, Jingi Tiu, still prevails. It requires all village members to participate in rituals and ceremonies, in which textiles play an important role.

This cloth, a tubular skirt called ei raja, is worn by members of the Hubi Ae or Greater Blossom lineage. Its name refers to the three stripes of supplementary warp patterns crossing the piece, a technique called raja in Savunese.

The ikat motif on this cloth is called Bunga Lehu refers to the motif that was found on old Batik head scarves. Before batiks were introduced to Savu, the men wrapped their heads in white woven cloth. Lehu comes from the Portuguese word lenso which means handkerchief. The headscarves were the size of a handkerchief.

Information about the makers will be supplied with each cloth.
Warp ikat, supplementary warp patterning, two panels stitched together and sewn as a tube, commercial cotton, natural dyes. Ikat tied, dyed and woven in Sabu, 2023. Size 170 x 61 cm / 67 x 24 in