Ceremonial textile (pua)

This fine ceremonial textile, constructed from two similarly ikat patterned and dyed panels, features an overall design rich in saturated red, enhanced with figural motifs in gold whose details are emphasized in black. Abstracted figures and simple tendril-like forms populate the borders at each side of the central panel, which is finished with classic geometrical forms at each end. The designs in the center and in the paired, patterned side stripes are created by black, white and red warp ikat. The white yarns and the red-black-white yarns are handspun singles that are paired. The remaining colors are commercially spun yarns, also paired.

The culture and spirituality of the Iban people is interwoven with the natural environment of Borneo, an island the Iban have inhabited for many generations. The genre of pua is the woven textile most readily associated with the Iban. The dyeing and preparation of textiles is highly ritualized in Iban society and the finished textiles–with their figurative motifs–are used to convey cultural and spiritual teachings. In this respect, both the process and the finished cloth are among the Iban’s most cherished cultural practices.