Kain kebat, ritual skirt, Iban people, West Kalimantan. Cotton, warp ikat, early 20th century
Kain kebat, ritual skirt, Iban people, West Kalimantan. Cotton, warp ikat, early 20th century
Where, what, when? In the past 13 years of collecting Iban textiles from Kalimantan, I have done a bit of research to answer one question: Did the Ibans in Kalimantan stop weaving after the big migration from Kapuas Hulu to Sarawak about 400 years ago? The answer is No. The thing is the Borneo chapter of many books on Indonesian textiles usually features ritual textiles from Sarawak. I was surprised when some dealers in the state capital of Kuching told me years ago said many traditional pieces on offer in antique shops there actually come from Kalimantan. Then, some Pontianak-based dealers confessed they have been selling dozens of textiles to their counterparts in Kuching for so many years. That makes sense because it’s easier and cheaper for them to travel to Kuching by bus from Pontianak, the provincial capital of West Kalimantan, than flying to Jakarta or Bali. The only regret is that it never occurred to the Indonesian dealers to document those pieces. This intricate, early 20th century, ikatted Iban ceremonial skirt was purchased in Jakarta. It was brought to the Indonesian capital by a Kalimantan-based runner.