Symbols of Rituals & Meaning

Woven by the Dayak Desa women of Sintang regency in West Kalimantan, kain bidang is a single panel ikat textile. This textile is an important part of ceremonies, offerings are placed on it or it may be used to wrap an offering. The mordanting process to achieve the red dye requires many different foraged plants and must be performed with a ritual. Dayak textiles have long been regarded for their unique designs, many of which were inspired by dreams.

This textile has four different motifs, sandung, perau pengayuh, and buah beruru. Tandan berangan are symbols of success and fertility. Pelangka refers to traditional tool that removed rice husks before there were machines. A pelangka is also used by a medium or tabib to repel evil spirits. The sandung is a shrine that houses the skulls of enemies and/or the skulls and bones of deceased family members and ancestors. The sandung is used as a place of worship during ceremonies that celebrate battle victories. Perau Pengayuh means a boat whose movement is controlled by a rowing device. This perau was once used as the main means of transportation to travel to other villages, whether it was trading with a barter system, or going to a doctor for treatment. In addition, this perau was also used to transport rice from the fields. If included in this fabric motif, it symbolizes that the perau pengayuh is an extraordinary struggle when using a rowed perau so that the struggle is a valuable and unforgettable culture. Beruru fruit is a type of root fruit that has an imperfect flat circular shape with a diameter of 3-5 cm and is dark brown in color. This fruit is one of the antidotes to evil spirits or disturbing spirits for babies who are considered still innocent, usually hung on a swing for babies to sleep with a tebelian snail shell, kencur. If a baby likes to cry and is difficult to coax to be quiet, it is thought that there is a spirit disturbing him so that an object or amulet is needed to ward off evil spirits, one of which is beruru fruit.

Information about the makers will be supplied with each cloth.
Warp ikat, commercial cotton, single panel, twisted fringe, natural dyes. Ikat, tied, dyed and woven in Sintang, Kalimantan, 2024. Size 156 x 58 cm / 61.5 x 23 in