Savu's Darkest Blue

The culture of Savu and Rai Jua places great weight on ancestry, birthplace, and community life. The local traditional religion, called Jingi Tiu, requires every member of the village to participate in rituals and ceremonies. Savunese women’s ceremonial dress isdefinied by the two major lineages Hubi Iki (Lesser Flower Blossom) and Hubi Ae (Greater Flower Blossom).

The people of Savu have four primary textiles; the ei ledo, ei raja, ei worapi and ei womedi. The ei ledo textile is worn by the the Hubi Iki (Lesser Flower Blossom) and ei raja textile is worn by the Hubi Ae (Greater Flower Blossom). The ei womedi is a primarily dark indigo blue colour. Medi means black. This is an important colour for traditional communities as it relates to fertility and womb which is where life begins.

The ikat motif on this textile is called boi or sea urchin. It is cooked with coconut milk as part of the annual Pana Rao ceremony. Pana Rao means to heat the oven. This is when alcoholic palm wine may be distilled and Hebe Keware Hawu refers to the way a traditional house has a rounded front aspect.

Warp ikat, two panels stitched together and sewn as a tube, commercial cotton, natural dyes. Ikat, tied, dyed and woven in Sabu, 2024. Size 164 x 61 cm / 64.5 x 24 in