While in the midst of covering the horrific Muslim-Christian violence in Ambon from Jakarta in 1999, I challenged a photographer who was about to be sent to the Moluccas to find a nice traditional textile for me. My poor friend spent a few days in Ambon city, which then resembled war-torn Gaza, and returned to Jakarta in one piece with this handspun, ikat sarong from the island of Tanimbar in southeast Moluccas. Compared with pieces from Timor or Rote, for example, textiles from Tanimbar have much simpler designs but still, they are valuable, especially this historic piece.