Ikat Textiles of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is famous for having outstanding textile arts. Warp ikats, referring to main threads being tied and dyed is particularly of superior craftsmanship. Among the countries in the region, Indonesian textiles and Lao textiles are particularly of exceptional variety and magnificent quality.
If you plan to travel to Indochina and Southeast Asia in general, take a notice of this remarkable art form. Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar as well as Vietnam have long history of textile arts. Local markets, where villagers come to shop, often adorned in locally produced garments, is a good place to get a taste of local textile styles.
While warp ikats can be found throughout much of Southeast Asia, nowhere else one can find such an astounding assortment of textile patterns than in Timor, the easternmost of the eastern Nusa Tenggara islands of the Indonesian archipelago.
Timor, although a very small island, has a long tradition of weaving. Timor ikats have always been an inherent part of each household’s activities. Cloth has been produced predominantly for one’s personal use, to wear as wrap-around or a head cloth, to use as a blanket or for special ceremonial occasions, whether weddings or funerals, child birth or harvest festivities, to ward off evil spirits in order to treat an illness or to ask for forgiveness.
Each family typically developed its own style of weaving, whether using unique colors or patterns. Although most weavers invented their motives that were part of family heirlooms and passed from mother to daughter, most weavers adhered to ikat styles traditional for their native village or a region.