Proceedings of the IV th International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2005), 2006, 307-316

Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia:

Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge

NOVELLINO, Dario
Ethnobiology Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury,
Kent CT2 7NR, UK. darionovellino@libero.it

Southeast Asia is the location of about one-fifth of the world’s remaining tropical forest, on which at least
thirty million forest-dwellers depend (De Beer and McDermott 1996). Geographically, it encompasses
Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Peninsula Malaysia as part of the mainland, and the vast
archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines. This paper focuses on selected regions of Island Southeast
Asia that are inhabited by indigenous communities sharing similar land use and natural resources manage-
ment strategies1. In the first section, Southeast Asia basketry is approached from a historical perspective.
Hypotheses on the similarity between artistic motifs and designs across the region are outlined. The second
section provides a summary of weaving techniques, use of plant materials and symbolism of baskets and
textiles, with particular reference to Borneo and the Philippines.
Key words: basketry traditions, ethnobotanical knowledge, social significance, Island Southeast Asia

The Historical Background and bamboo house structures have occasionally

Prehistoric migrations and plaited crafts left traces that can be discerned by discoloration
in the soil (Scott 1984). More durable items such
During the glacial and interglacial eras of the as fishnet sinkers and spindle whorls, made of
Pleistocene, land bridges connected the archipela- both pottery and stone, have survived. Spindle
gos to mainland Asia, providing the means for the
whorls attest to the production of thread, probably
movement of animals, plants and different waves
cotton and suggest weaving (Scott 1984:19). In
of Palaeolithic cultures. From about 5000 years
the Philippines, these objects have been associat-
ago, these Australoid communities of hunters and
ed with the Iron Age that - in the region - is con-
gatherers were overrun by a new wave of migrants
sidered to run from the second or third century BC.
who spoke languages in the Austronesian family.
to the tenth century. In Palawan, Ming and Sung
Bellwood (1985) has suggested that Proto-Austro-
jars with prepared lime content, attest to a betel-
nesians settled on Taiwan, approximately by 4000
chewing complex as far back as 2500 BC. It is
BC., and their descendants moved into the Philip-
likely that this complex was associated with a vast
pines by 3000 BC. and migrated southward into
array of bamboo containers for betel-chewing and
the Indonesian archipelago by 2500 BC.
It is plausible to speculate that, in Island South- woven wallets made of pandan and rattan.
east Asia, baskets and plaited artefacts travelled
along the same prehistoric routes that allowed the Island Southeast Asia and Melanesia
distribution of bronze pieces. Woven items, nets, Cultural traits
snares, bark clothes and the textiles in which Au- The distribution of animals (especially mammals)
stronesian speaking peoples dressed are missing in Indonesia seems to have followed the western
from archaeological record. Instead, their wooded islands’ orientation along the Sunda shelf, which

1 The Museum of Paleobotany and Ethnobotany at the Botanical Garden of the “Federico II” University of Naples (Italy)
has a rich collection of baskets and other artefacts (e.g. fish traps, snares, hunting and agricultural tools and ritual objects).
These have been collected since 1987, in the course of my research and appraisal missions. Between 1989 and 1999,
I was responsible for setting up the Southeast Asia ethnobotanical collection of the Museum. This includes artifacts from
six ethnic groups: Batak, Pälawan, Hanunóo (the Philippines), Sakai, Bonei (Sumatra), Ot Danum (West Kalimantan).
308 Proceedings of ICEB 2005

also allowed land migration to Mainland Asia. motifs and designs are widespread across the
Instead New Guinea and some South-eastern region and some scholars have taken these simi-
Moluccan islands lie on the Sahul shelf, which larities as evidence of a shared prehistoric South-
allowed passage to Australia in prior ages. Be- east Asian and Pacific island culture. Overall,
tween these continental shelves there is an imag- archaeological findings attest to the existence of a
ined transitional area, the ‘Wallace Line’ bisecting common aesthetic among Southeast Asian arti-
the archipelago. In 1864 Alfred Russell Wallace sans of the Bronze Age and prehistoric Oceanic
drew two lines dividing the archipelago; with potters (Taylor and Aragon 1991:66-67).
the first he wanted to delimit two distinct faunal The oldest objects excavated in Oceania are
regions, what he called the ‘Indo-Malayan’ bronze wares from Vietnam’s Dongson culture
(Asian) and the ‘Austro-Malayan’ (Australian) - (600 BC.-AD. 100) and pottery from the Lapita
the second line, further east, separated two human Pacific cultures (1500-500 BC.). The latter is
stocks: the ‘Malayan’ and the ‘Papuan’. To draw named after an archaeological site in the Melane-
this distinction, Wallace relied on various charac- sian region of New Caledonia. Bellowood (1985)
teristics: physical type, language, culture and even has speculated that Lapita people might have been
‘intellect’. To a certain extent, the line he drew the early Austronesian speaking communities
indicates an ethnologically crucial transition zone, travelling from Southeast Asian mainland east-
although the boundaries between language phyla, ward through the Pacific islands and then into
physical races and key cultural traits do not al- Indonesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Instead, others
ways coincide (Taylor and Aragon 1991). (Green 1982; Spriggs 1984) have suggested that
Since Wallaces’ time, numerous scholars have the Lapita cultures developed independently in the
attempted to identify the key cultural traits sepa- Pacific, probably near the Bismarck Archipelago.
rating Island’s Southeast Asia from Melanesia. By and large, the designs found on these pre-
Generally speaking, the former has been associat- historic artefacts have represented a source of
inspiration for many generations of indigenous
ed with salient traits such as weaving, metallurgy,
artisans (Taylor and Aragon 1991). According to
grain-crop staples, the strong influence of world
Waterson (1988:44-45) some design elements of
religions and the existence of complex forms of
Toraja textile, wood surfaces and etched bamboos
socio-political organization. The latter, instead, has
are identical to those pan-Southeast Asian motifs
been identified with a living litic tradition, the
seen on Bronze-Age kettledrums. Heine Geldern’s
absence of textile weaving, an orientation towards
diffusionist theory suggests that Indonesian art
tuberous-crops, the presence of small-scale politi-
styles have been largely influenced by a proto-
cal organisations led by ‘big men’, and an empha-
Vietnamese Dongson culture (Solheim 1975;
sis on the division of domestic residence into com-
Newton 1988). My own comparison between
munal men’s houses and women-dominated house
two isolated geometrical motifs from excavated
units. However, Taylor and Aragon have pointed Dongson drums redrawn by Marcia Bakry of the
out that “boundaries between world culture areas Smithsonian Institution and contemporary Philip-
often do not coincide with political boundaries, and pine basket motifs shows striking similarities.
trade has long united peoples and art traditions Today, diffusionist approaches have been chal-
across the boundaries drawn on maps by scholars, lenged and most scholars agree that Southeast
colonial governments, or politicians” (1991:25). Asian societies have created their own designs
autonomously, developing symbolic associations
Motifs and designs: the question of a between decorations and particular trees, vegeta-
common aesthetic tive appearance and behavioural characteristics
Little is known about the evolution of basket tech- (Taylor and Aragon 1991:35, see catalogue in
nologies among Austronesian speaking societies Heyne 1950, Burkill 1966 [1935]). In line with
in both prehistoric and historical times. Given the this approach, Bernet Kempers (1988) has argued
perishable nature of the material used, archaeolo- that geometric and figurative motifs were created
gists have been unable to establish how plaited by different people, without any direct knowledge
objects and decorative patterns differ from one of Dongsonian designs. Toraja house carvings and
time level to the next. On the other hand, similar textiles include geometrical and curvilinear motifs
 Novellino: Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia: Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge 309

that Heger (1902) [quoted in Taylor and Aragon implies that this plant did not fruitfully accompa-
1991] has defined as quintessentially Dongsonian. ny the Austronesian speaking migrants who set-
However no Dongson drums have ever been exca- tled on the Pacific islands” (Scott 1984:49).
vated in the Toraja region of Sulawesi. Overall, it According to Dyen (1965), Philippine langua-
is difficult to establish whether certain decorations ges (except Ilongot) fall roughly into a northern
are autochthonous or acquired from elsewhere. and a southern group, the latter includes Tagalog,
For instance, in Borneo, evidence suggests that Visayan and the Sulu-Mindanao languages, as
the popular aso’ motif might have been inspired well as Dusun and Murut in Sabah. Each group
by the encircling dragon design found on Chinese shares more or less 40% of the basic vocabulary.
trade ceramics from the Ming and Ching period. Overall, the languages spoken in the Philippines
and Indo-Malay Archipelago “share deeper struc-
Linguistic evidence tural characteristics as root words composed of
Lacking archaeological data on Southeast Asian two syllables, word-building by reduplication,
plaited art, linguistic evidence may provide useful and the use of infixes as well as prefixes and suf-
insights on the identification of a common prehis- fixes” (Scott 1984:33). With reference to Philip-
toric substratum. Today’s linguist records suggest pine language families, Scott has pointed out that
that “various Austronesian cultures that make up these linguistic similarities are of two different
the vast majority of Indonesian peoples developed order of significance: 1) loan-words indicating an
from one primary cultural substratum, which in turn introduction along with the objects to which they
has long been in contact with a second cultural are attached (but not necessarily an introduction
substratum, that of the Papuan-speaking peoples by the very people to whom the terms are native);
in eastern Indonesia and New Guinea” (Taylor and and 2) a vocabulary of basic concepts (e.g. tree,
Aragon 1991:61). kayu) suggesting an actual family relationship.
Plant names of Austronesian origin have
spread well beyond Southeast Asia, through Poly- Weaving techniques, plant materials
nesia and other pacific islands. This is the case of and social significance
coconut palm: nior (Malay), nju (among several
Loom weaving
people of Borneo), niug (Pälawan and Batak – the
Philippines), niyog (Bicol, Bontoc, Igorot – the The technique of interweaving the splints, wheth-
Philippines), niugao (Subanu – the Philippines), er baskets or other items are produced, is known
niwer, niwel and nimel (Seram – Indonesia), niu as basketry (Taylor 1973:144-145). True weaving
(Samoa, Tonga, Fakaofo, Futuna, Maori, Hawaii, is different from basketry, even when a frame
Marquesas, etc.), nihu (Malagasy), etc. (Finley is used. However, certain weaving techniques
1970:119). Some cognates for basket decorations such as twining, are regarded as an intermediate
and designs have spread as widely as the names of archaic technology between basketry and loom
the corresponding plant material. People like the weaving (Gittinger 1979:226). In true weaving,
Kenyah (Kalimantan, Indonesia), Pälawan (the “the warp threads – the base threads stretched
Philippines) and Dusun (Sabah, Eastern Malaysia) parallel to one another on the loom frame – are
share similar terminology associated with the rice divided into two sets of alternate threads, which
complex and similar definitions for basket decora- can be raised and lowered relative to one another
tions, like the well known ‘mata punai’ motif (the to permit insertion of woof threads between them
eye of the punai dove). Conversely, other impor- in one movement” (Taylor 1973:146).
tant plants (and related local names) did not spread By and large, in mainland and Island Southeast
as widely, probably due to cultural and environ- Asia, weaving occurs among more sedentary soci-
mental circumstances limiting their distribution. eties where farming (often integrated with the
In spite of lexical similarities, the names of some domestication of animals) features as their main
cultivars (e.g. rice cognates: padi, palay, paräy, source of livelihood. Weaving and textile produc-
pagey, etc.) are regarded by linguists as genuine tion is generally absent amongst traditionally no-
(i.e. not borrowed developments of an old madic societies or communities that are heavily
Austronesian term for rice plants). The absence of oriented towards wild forest resources (or both) -
the word rice from Oceanic languages “naturally and where domestication of animal for food (except
310 Proceedings of ICEB 2005

peoples. Drawing on the work of Geirnaert (1989:

64) and Kartiwa (1982), Taylor and Aragon (1991:
37) report that ‘the West Sumbanese began incor-
porating metallic threads into their locally made
lambelekko skirts in approximately 1985 – the
direct result of interest in Indian silver and gold
thread after a number of exhibitions held in Jakarta
around 1980 showed songket textiles from Sumatra
as well as ordinary Javanese cloths (lurik) into
which metallic threads had been woven”.
Studies on the influence of foreign elements
into Indonesian art suggest that criteria for the
adoption of innovations are those of the receiving
Fig. 1 A Gia-rai woman weaving textile. Gia Lai, culture. For instance Visser (1989:81) notes “tex-
Central Vietnam. tiles are not chosen at random but rather… delib-
erately, for their colours and motifs or patters, in
for fowl) is absent. In Southeast Asia, belt loom or order to fit the value system of the receiving cul-
tension loom represents the dominant weaving ture”. Moreover, the introduction of new material
technology: the warp is kept in tension by two bars and new dyes may enhance the production of crafts
– one attached to a stationary object and the other having new shapes, designs and colour - but still
fastened to a belt around the weaver’s waist. Hence, produced according to the traditional technology.
tension is controlled by the weaver’s body (Fig. 1). In West Sumba, Geinaert (1989:64) noted that:
These horizontal looms spread widely through the “towards the end of 1983, the shelves of Waika-
Pacific island and “the occurrence of the back- bubak’s shops were laden with unusually bright
strap loom both in Indonesia and in pre-Columbian orange and red skeins. About three months later,
South America has been pointed to as evidence of one could observe these two colours combined in
trans-Pacific contacts” (Bock 1974:298). lambelekko skirts on the streets”.
In Southeast Asia cotton is the fibre most
commonly woven on looms and, in the island of Basketry and pottery
Mindanao (the Philippines), the fibres of Musa Evidence indicates that sophistication in basketry
textilis (abaca) can also be used for this purpose. is not always matched by the same level of profi-
Cotton threads are spun using spindle whorls. ciency in other cultural skills. For instance, the
Penan hunters-gatherers of Sarawak produce the
Contemporary adoptions of materials and finest rattan mats in Borneo with intricate woven
designs designs, but other objects of their material culture
Writing on the art of Indonesian’s outer island, are very basic in terms of style and manufacture.
Taylor and Aragon have argued: Generally speaking, those cultures producing fine
“As design formats are either borrowed or in- baskets are less specialised in pottery, or do not
dependently developed and elaborated throughout engage in this practice at all. Some communities
the archipelago, they take on new meanings. Valid have customarily mastered both pottery and bas-
parallels between the designs used in a culture and ketry skills. However, basketry – in comparison to
other characteristics of that culture may be identi- pottery – seems to be more resilient. Today, in
fied, but design elements and design formats are Southeast Asia, pottery has virtually disappeared
adopted by people of different cultures in other from the majority of indigenous societies. My
regions – where they may be reinterpreted or lose own findings reveal that some Pälawan communi-
their meaningfulness entirely” (1991:34). ties of the Philippines manufactured clay pots
In Southeast Asia, the borrowing of new ideas (kurän) until about thirty/forty years ago. I have
and designs has continued over centuries, often no evidence of this practice surviving anywhere
in ways that are unusual and unexpected. For on the Island. During the mid-nineties, in the vil-
instance, in recent times, new motifs have been lage of Apau Ping, Long Pujungan District (East
adopted from museum exhibitions by remote-island Kalimantan), Bernard Sellato identified two
 Novellino: Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia: Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge 311

traditional potter makers. He claims that the “two forming square or rectangular checks. A variant of
Leppo’Ke Kenyah women, one elderly and one this weave is found in certain baskets in which the
middle-aged, still make clay pots once a year after warp is crossed and the weft passes through in
the harvest. The people of Long Aking abandoned regular order, so as to produce hexagonal open-
pottery some ten years ago, and other villages ings. In wickerwork the warp is rigid; the smaller
even earlier” (1997b:237). and more flexible weft passes under one and over
Pälawan word for pot (kurän) resembles simi- one of the former. In crossed weft, two sets of
lar cognates in the languages of East Kalimantan wefts cross each other at an angle and interlace a
(kudan, hudan, kuron, etc.), all subsumable to a rigid warp. Diagonal or twilled weaving is partic-
proto-Austronesian etymon, kuDen. According to ularly common. It occurs when two or more weft
Sellato “the semantic field seems to refer globally strands pass over two or more warp elements, but
to the notion of a ‘container’ (thus, kudan tanà, not the same in adjoining rows; also warp and
‘earth container’), with emphasis on a short cylin- wefts both run diagonally [see Cole’s study (1956:
drical or round shape, although locally the term 58) among the Bukidnon of Mindanao].
seems to focus more specifically on pot and even In Sarawak, the Bidayuh tambok is different
cooking pot” (ibid). Overall, in a matter of few dec- from the majority of diagonally woven baskets, as
ades, metal pots have replaced traditional earth- the weave starts on a cross and, after the turning
wares entirely. On the contrary, plastic containers “the sides are woven into a standing warp with
have been unable to provide a satisfactory substi- thinner strands started at the base corner. Some
tute for baskets; especially in terms of comfort, tambok have vertical struts worked in, others have
durability and diversity of uses. one or more several plaited or chained reinforced
bands of fine creeper fibre around the body. The
Basketry techniques
lip is finished with a rim or plaited work which
In Southeast Asia, basketry and weaving are gen- takes in all the warp ends” (Munan 1989:44).
erally women activities (Fig. 2). However, in Sar- There is great variation in baskets’ sizes and
awak, also men weave ‘meeting mats’ on an im- shapes, and a general distinction can be drawn
provised loom, using strips of tree bark and split between rigid and soft baskets. Rigid baskets are
rattan lengths (Munan 1989:41). Unlike the major- often strengthened at the four corners and have a
ity of baskets and mats, this particular mat is worked base supported by crossed rods. Often, the corners
vertically/horizontally rather than diagonally. are reinforced by wooden supports forming four
The most common types of weaves are all rep- protuberances that give stability to the basket. By
resented in Southeast Asia: 1) checkerwork; 2) wic- and large, baskets for transporting agricultural crops
kerwork; 3) crossed weft; 4) diagonal or twilled. tend to be rigid, while those for carrying heavy
In the first type of weave, the warp and weft are loads are more flexible and expandable. Flexibi-
of uniform size and pliability, and each element lity is also a characteristic of those baskets for per-
passes over one and under one of the other, thus sonal belongings such as ambong, made by the
Penan of Borneo. Ambong is manufactured using
two weaving techniques; the base is made of coiled
fibres while the sides are plaited diagonally. It
does not have a cover, and the lip is completed
with a row of woven loops through which a string
is first threaded, then attached to decoratively
woven carrier straps (Munan 1989:45). Another
flexible basket is the Iban selabit made of rattan
with loosely textured rhomboidal patterns; this is
used to transport heavy loads such as heirloom jars.
Another woven item widespread across the region
Fig. 2 A Batak woman weaving a basket (begias) with is the winnowing tray, circular or elongated, made
sabsaban (probl. Dinochloa palawanensis). Palawan, of split bamboo or rattan and used to clear freshly
the Philippines. pounded rice from chaff. Winnowing trays can be
312 Proceedings of ICEB 2005

small-size baskets. In East and Central Kaliman-

tan, the latter two species, together with Calamus
pseudoulor and Daemonorops didymorphilla, are
cultivated for domestic and commercial purposes.
Plaited caps and headbands made of rattan, were
used by Kenyah, Kayan and other Bornean groups.
In Palawan, on ceremonial occasions, Batak wom-
en wear rattan headbands decorated with strips of
coloured cloth.
Generally, fibres for basketry are obtained from
the outer shiny layer of rattan canes. However,
some baskets are woven with the epidermis of the
petiole and rachis (stripped of its leaflets); one
example of this is the Semai tangguk basket made
of Daemonorops grandis.
Differently from rattan, bamboo is particularly
abundant in seasonally dry, monsoonal forests and,
often, it is found in disturbed areas. In primary
evergreen rain forest, bamboo grows mainly along
Fig. 3 Ot Danum woman wearing the
sun-hut while cleaning pandan leaves. watercourses (De Beer and McDermott 1996:38).
West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The most economically important genera include
Bambusa, Dendrocalamus and Gigantochloea
used also for secondary purposes, e.g. as a surface (Roa, Dhanarajan, and Sastry 1987, quoted in De
on which seeds are dried, and coconut endocarp is Beer and McDermott 1996:38).
grated. Common in Borneo is the conical shaped Rattan, compared to bamboo and pandan, is
sun hut made of a combination of different mate- more versatile. Cultural preferences in the choice
rials (e.g. Nipa fruticans leaves, split rattan, split of material do exist, and are not necessarily dictat-
bamboo). Because of its particular shape (Fig. 3), ed by ecological factors. The Batak of Tanabag
the area of the cone is worked by a diagonal tech- have a sufficient natural supply of rattan in their
nique dividing it into three main sections, meeting area, but they prefer Dinochloa and Schizosta-
at the top (Munan 1989:52; Sellato 1997a:231; chyum bamboos as basketry material. Pälawan first
Hose and McDougall 1912:214-215). choice basketry material is rattan, but they also
use species of the genus Schizostachyum and Bam-
Plant materials busa. Bamboo is also the primary basketry mate-
A vast selection of plant materials is used in the rial for the Nuaulu of Seram (Indonesia) and in-
production of woven items. By and large, rattan clude ‘soft bamboos’ such as Gigantochloa atter
palms, bamboo and pandan are the preferred sour- (wanate tuni), Dendrocalamus sp. (wanate onar)
ces of fibres. Semi-woody rattan climbers are a and niune ikine. Some bamboos are restricted for
typical component of many forest types across most clans (e.g. tenne), with certain exceptions (as
the region. There are twelve recognised genera of for Neipane-manunte) (R. Ellen personal commu-
rattan with about 600 species found in Southeast nication). The Negritos of Peninsula Malaysia make
Asia (Dransfield 1979) and include: Calamus, use of rattan and bamboo in basketry and, often,
Calospatha, Ceratolobus, Deamonorops, Korthal- wild pandan is a favourite material.
sia, Myrialepis, Plectocomia, Plectocomiopsis, Lower quality materials used in basketry in-
Pogonotium, Retispatha. clude species of the genus Donax (Donax cannae-
Calamus diepenhorstii is an important provid- formis, D. arundastrum, etc.). In Eastern Kaliman-
er of basketry material in Peninsula Malaysia fol- tan, the Penan use Bovan (Donax cannaeformis)
lowed by C. manan and C. ornatus. Slender rattan for weaving ba‘anak (baby carriers). This mate-
species such as Calamus javensis and C. viridispi- rial is softer than rattan, and more resistant than
nus (P. Malaysia), C. trachycoleus, and C. caesius pandan. In Sarawak bemban (D. arundastrum) is
(Borneo and Palawan) are employed for the finest woven into the fabric and only show up in oblique
 Novellino: Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia: Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge 313

Cultivated pandan is widely used in Borneo for

similar purposes.
Often a woven item can be composed of differ-
ent materials. For instance, Batak bamboo baskets
have a rattan component framing the basket’s
mouth. Borneo sun-huts are another good exam-
ple of woven items made of several plant species,
as well of combined techniques. According to Sel-
lato, in Kenyah sun-huts, ‘the hat brim is a whole
thin strand of rattan, attached with vegetable fibres
to the circumference of the plaiting. Some huts
Fig. 4 Hanunòo-Mangyan women weaving baskets of
have an underlayer of sang leaves (Licuala valida
Corypa elata (buri) interwoven with Lygodium and sometimes L. spinosa). All normally have a
japonicum (nitu) fibres. cross-work of three or four flat sticks – usually of
talang palm stem, Arenga undulatifolia – as stiff-
light, like damasque (Munan 1989:41). Other eners, and a plaited skullcap of da’a (pandanus)
low quality weaving materials include the fibrous sewed to the inside of the crown” (1997a:231).
inner cuticle of several trees, such as Artocarpus Vegetable fibres can be used in combination
spp. (Skeat and Blagden 1906:377). with non-plant material. For instance ingan bas-
The leaves of non-climbing palms are also kets made by the Melanau and Bidayuh people of
used in basketry. In Borneo, leaves of Metroxylon Sarawak have a leather lid of dear skin, framed
sagu are employed in the making of fans, sun hats, into a strip of rattan. These baskets can hold up to
and food covers. Those of Nypa fruticans are used 60 kg of rice seeds (Munan 1989). Carrying bas-
in the manufacture of rough mats and boxes for kets have shoulder straps made of the bark of dif-
rice cakes (Munan 1989). In the Philippines, leaves ferent plants. In Palawan, Trema orientalis, and
of Corypha elata are also used for analogous pur- the bark of various species of the Moraceae family
poses. The Hanunòo of Mindoro use Corypha elata (especially Artocarpus sericicarpus), are com-
fibres to weave bags (Fig. 4). The use of Lygodium monly used for this purpose. The material for
creepers (e.g. Lygodium splendens, L. japonicum) shoulder straps varies greatly from region to re-
is equally widespread; its dark fibres are inter- gion; and - in Peninsular Malaysia - the Semai use
woven with other material for decorative purposes the bark of Hibiscus macrophyllus (Avé 1988).
and lashing.
Amongst the Batak of Palawan two species of
Colouring Matter
bamboo: lawas (probl. Schizostachyum lumam-
pao) and sabsaban (probl. Dinochloa palawanen- Batak basket motifs are obtained by intertwining
sis) are commonly used in bichromatic twilled uncoloured and black bamboo fibres; the latter are
plaiting. Sabsaban strips are strong and more blackened with soot, and a poultice of leaves or
durable than lawas. The latter, because of the wi- pounded bark is rubbed on them (Fig. 5). The fol-
der spacing between nodes, provides longer strips lowing plants are used as a fixative for the smoke:
that are ideal for the weaving of large baskets balingasag (probably Barringtonia curranii - bark);
and flat winnowing trays. Amongst the Kenyah of budakan (a vine - bark); kamute (Ipomea batatas
Sarawak, woven trays (tapan) “are made of bam- - leaves); karampi (Abarema clypearia - bark);
boo and rattan and are oblong, about 45-50 cm long kasuy (Anacardium occidentale - bark); kulagbaw
and 35-45 cm wide” (Chin 1985:190). Avé (1988) (a vine - bark); mananang (a tree - bark); tagung-
reports that, in Peninsula Malaysia, the Semai use tung (a tree - bark); ragaraga (Artocarpus sp. -
half canes of Daemonorops geniculata or Cala- bark). Bamboo tubes are blackened with the soot
mus insignis as support around the winnow, which of burning bagtik (Agathis philippinensis) or sa-
is fastened together with split canes of Calamus leng (Canarium asperum) resins (Novellino
javensis. Two species of wild Pandanus (barasan 2003). The process of rubbing and blackening is
and bankuang) are used by the Batak of Palawan repeated three consecutive times to ensure that
to weave sleeping mats and multi-purpose boxes. soot adheres firmly on the bamboo surface.
314 Proceedings of ICEB 2005

purpose. Munan (1989:90) lists seven plants used

by the local indigenous people of Sarawak as dye-
stuffs: engsana (Pterocarpus indicus) [the sticky
sap yields a reddish colour]; engkerbai (Styloco-
ryne spp.) [the leaves are chopped, boiled and
mixed with lime to yield a pinkish-red dye];
engkudu (Morinda citrifolia) [the root skin is
boiled and mixed with lime to make a rich brown-
red dye]; entemu (Curcuma spp.) [this wild tur-
meric yields a strong orange-yellow dye. The root
is pounded or grated, mixed with cooked rice and
lime, and the resulting paste is kneaded into the
yarn]; piling (Abarema spp.) [the leaves are
chopped, boiled, mixed with clean clay and then
applied to the cloth or yarn to be dyed. The paste
can also be applied on mats yielding a brown
colour]; tarum (Marsdenia tinctoria) [this creeper
is chopped, steeped in water and smeared with
lime. The liquid looks yellow but it stains material
Fig. 5 A Batak girl blacking bamboo with blue]; tengar (Ceriops spp.) [the bark is pounded
soot and using plant fixative. Palawan, the and then steeped in boiling water to make a brown
Philippines. dye] (Munan 1989:88).
In Borneo, the black dye is also extracted from
Occasionally, Batak baskets and pandan mats the leaves of Pithecellobium sp. and the red dye
are coloured with tumeric (Curcuma sp.), yielding from the fruits of a rattan palm (Daemonorops
an orange yellow dye. Curcuma chunks are draco). Other rattan species used as a source of
dipped into shell lime (apug) and smeared on the red dye include Daemonorops didymophylla
weawe to emphasise the pattern. Elsewhere, in the (Borneo), D. propinquus (Peninsular Malaysia)
Philippines, among the Bukidnon of Mindanao “a and D. ruber (Java). In East Kalimantan, amongst
permanent black is achieved by applying juice of the Kenyah of Long Pujungan, the red colour is
the banana blossom or of the tuba-tuba (probably obtained from the aing tree (Archidendron clypear-
Jastropha curcas) to strips which are then held in ia, Fabaceae) (see Martin 1995 quoted in Sellato
the smoke of a burning resins” (Cole 1956:57). 1997:232). During the preparation of dye, aing
The colouring of mats is also achieved by soaking wood chips are boiled with the pounded leaves of
fibres in liquid dye obtained from talisay (Termi- iyem (probably Glochidion sp. or Symplocos fas-
nalia catappa) and tagom (Indigofera tinctoria ciculata) (Sellato 1997). The boiled wood chips of
and I. teysmanni) (ibid: 59). In the Philippine aing yield a sticky red sap that is moulded into a
island of Mindoro, the Hanunòo-Mangyan culti- thick paste and then rubbed directly on the fibres
vate cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) and a species (ibid: 232).
of indigo (Indigofera suffruticosa). The thread With reference to the dyeing of sunhats in East
from which loin-cloth, skirts and jackets are made Kalimantan, Sellato (1997a:231) reports that a
is coloured with a dye obtained from indigo “resin (nyatang) is burned, and its smooth black
plants. Indigofera species are perennial shrubs. soot is collected from the bottom of a cooking pot.
The pigment is found in the leaves, and plants are A red inner bast is scraped thinly from the sela-
harvested three or four months after sowing, this man tree, mixed with a little water, and pressed
involves cutting the stems 10-20 cm above the between both hands to collect sap. This sap –
ground. Fresh leaves with stems are soaked in which acts as a mordant – and the nyatang soot
water for several hours during which fermentation are then mixed together, and the mixture is rubbed
of the indican glucoside occurs. on the whole surface of the hat”. Nyatang
In Borneo, dying techniques are quite elaborat- producing trees have been identified as belonging
ed and numerous species are employed for this to the genus Ficus (Moraceae) and also include
 Novellino: Weaving traditions from Island Southeast Asia: Historical context and ethnobotanical knowledge 315

species such as Antidesma ghaesembilla (Eup- dangerous effects (Vogelsanger 1980:116). Over-
horbiaceae) and Vaccinium bancanum (Ericaceae) all, the copying of old designs is considered less
(ibid: 231-232). Among the Penan of Eastern dangerous than the reproduction of motifs re-
Kalimantan, meni, Macaranga constricta (Eup- ceived in dreams (Freeman 1979).
horbiaceae) is the main source of black dye: the The social significance of baskets has been
leaves are boiled and a fine grey clay is added, the documented across the region, although ethnogra-
rattan strips are then boiled for 24 hours. Lakeu phy sources are scant. Munn (1989), for instance,
tuak, Fibraurea cholorolensa (Menispermaceae) is informs us that among some Dayak groups of
for yellow dyes, and kevango, Breynia racemosa Sarawak, beautifully decorated woven bags and
(Euphorbiaceae) is used for a black dye (R. Puri small baskets are carried by a bride visiting her in-
personal communication). laws to demonstrate her skills in customary craft
making. Common to many groups is the percep-
Weaving, symbolism and worldviews tion that the first woven basket is an important
In Southeast Asia, rice is generally accredited step towards adulthood.
with personality status and, according to oral tra- Amongst the Batak of Palawan, novices con-
ditions, this plant originated from a human sacri- sult adult basket weavers for practical advices.
fice. Basket designs that are carefully reproduced Thus, their own ‘knowing how’ is constantly
and well-executed are believed to please the ‘life- integrated with that of expert basket weavers, who
force’ of rice. Motifs may be received in dreams, may be specialised in particular designs. Such
and through other forms of contact with the spirit exchanges allow the constant interaction and ne-
world. Specific motifs are believed to activate gotiation between idiosyncratic ‘know-how’ and
powerful forces, hence causing sickness and cultural knowledge, leading to innovation and
even death. Thus, special norms must be fallowed improvisation. Basketry knowledge also features
before introducing novices to the weaving of ‘pro- in Batak worldviews. In their description of the
hibited’ patterns. after-death journey, Batak narrate the encounter
In Borneo, sun-huts include motifs inspired to between the ‘life-force’ of dead persons and
local cosmology. Dragon imagery (the well known Angogro. The latter is described as a sort of giant
aso’ motif) associated with the lower world, is not standing at a gate. When ‘life-forces’ of deceased
only painted as interior decorations or on warri- persons reach the gate, Angogro asks them to
ors’ shields, but is also applied as beads on rattan construct anything representative of their culture
baby carriers. Basketry patters – as those on kan- and of their gender. Generally, a ‘life-force’ of a
owit baskets (named after a community of the deceased female may be asked to weave a basket,
middle Rejang in Sarawak) are characterised by while a male ‘life-force’ may be requested to
naturalistic abstractions such as ‘curved snakes’, carve a bamboo container or to make bow and
‘rattan leaves’, ‘leeches’, ‘bamboo shoots’, ‘bird’s arrows. Angogro provides fibres and wood for
footprints’, ‘stars’, etc. (see Munan 1989:49). On construction, and the ‘life-force’ of the deceased
Bornean sun-huts, similar motifs are associated should use its own skill to transform the raw
with creatures of the lower and upper worlds. material into an object. ‘Life-forces’ that fail to do
In Borneo, the design of warfare clothing in- so, will be thrown by Angogro against a tree and
cluded motifs intended to increase the warriors’ no trace of the ‘person’ will be left. In the Batak
success. Traditionally, Iban males offered trophy myth of Angogro, bodily practices and technolog-
heads to senior women using a textile, known as ical skills, such as basketry, provide the conceptu-
puà. According to Freeman (1979), Iban warriors al basis for ethnical ideas about the person and, at
slept beneath puà to receive guidance from dei- the same time, are indicators of both social and
ties. Similarly, experienced weavers received new intellectual mastery. The inability to conform with
puà designs in dreams. Iban women regard the Angogro’s requests, is a sign that the person has
weaving of new designs as a dangerous practice. not led a life in accordance with his/her customs,
In fact, through such activity, the weaver estab- and thus he/she has not fulfilled the basic condi-
lishes a direct contact with the spirit world and tions of sociality (Novellino 2003).
protective talismans are used to counter potentially
316 Proceedings of ICEB 2005

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