Revitalising Traditions of Cloth While Encountering a Magical Island

Walakiri Beach, Sumba, Indonesia ©JanaHesse

In 2017 I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. From there I travelled to explore the craft of the archipelago's unique traditions. In search of the urge to support the artisans and the heritage of a historically significant textile industry, we founded a fashion label, driven by the desire to work for the preservation of the beautiful cloth of Batik and Ikat Weaving. 

Indonesia is an exceptionally diverse country, rich in culture, heritage, tradition and artisans. As for centuries, the group of islands has been on the path of central trade routes. A country with great resources, spices, paper, oil and fabric, trading across the world. Trade has left its footprints influenced by India, the Islamic World, China and Southeast Asia. 

Fabric still plays a central role in today's life cycles and major ceremonial and regional celebrations. Each region, religion and culture has developed their own unique style of fabric making and symbols.However, Indonesia has been hit by modern influences. Although there is no lack in demand, production decreased tremendously and the tradition of cloth is slowly vanishing. Families continuing their heritage of textile making are facing little respect for their strong effort in maintaining knowledge and quality in the developing of cloth. Being exploited by fabric suppliers and big traders they are losing their hopes of passing on their craftsmanship to the next generation. 

Transportation, Java, Indonesia ©JanaHesse

In search of the great Masters of artisanry 

We travelled to many different regions of Java including cities such as Yogyakarta, Pekalongan and Bandung to work with artisans creating Batik fabrics. However we found our great inspiration in natural dying techniques and the weaving of Ikat cloth on the remote Island of Sumba. 

On the lookout for learning about natural dyeing techniques and the art of Ikat weaving, we came across the natural dying expert Kornelis, who lives with his family on Sumba. 

Sumba, is a hot dry island south of Komodo and Flores. In Indonesia, Sumba is known as the “Wild Corner” or the “Forgotten Island”: a place where traditions and myths still determine everyday life. Here you come across wild nature characterised by Savannah in the East and rainforest in the West. 

At the end of the world, to the middle of nowhere, please! 

On a plane from Jakarta to Bali, from Bali to Waingapu - the capital of Sumba, we are awaiting our arrival with no notion of what to expect. Just after arriving at the airport, we drive on a gravel road to our accommodation, a Sumbanese hut in the middle of the mountain ranges, surrounded by looms and colourful yarns. 

Already sweaty and tired from the thick air, we leave in search of something to eat. Many places, like our accommodation, are remote. Even the drinking water has to be taken from a well. We set out and walk several kilometres to the nearest beach. Luckily, we find a little “Warung” - Indonesian, for food stall. Mercifully, the last freshly caught fish of the day is ours! 

Cheers to Kaki Lima - Indonesian for street food! 

A journey of discovery 

Through profound research, that we conducted before our arrival, we came to Sumba to meet the natural dye master Kornelis Ndapakamang. Kornelis is so kind and generous, that he invited us for 10 days to give us an insight into natural dyeing methods and the traditions of Ikat weaving. 

What we didn’t know nor expect before our arrival was the great kindness and excitement that we would receive from him and his wife. Willing to share and show us the treasures of their unique homeland and remote unknown corners, as well as passing on the knowledge of a lifetime experience in the art of Ikat weaving. 

With our own skin we experience how rich Sumba is in spectacular rituals and unprecedented locations. A landscape of huge megalithic tombs, unusual huts, deserted beaches and beautiful Ikat fabrics - in the middle of the Indian Ocean, enlivened by warm people. 

The Marapu culture - a standstill without time 

In Sumba, a low majority of 65 percent of the population is Christian, the majority of which are Calvinists. The daily life of the Sumbanese is still shaped by their own religion “Marapu” and its traditions and rituals. 

Here, where old traditions are still alive, on our first excursion we come across a village shaped by heavy megalithic graves. The residents of the village are very welcoming and invite us to sit together on the terrace. An old woman with deep wrinkles, whose age we can only guess, tells of the cult of the dead in her village. Her strong presence, softened through her fragile body wrapped in indigo dyed cloth, enchants me into a stillness, lost in time, which I had almost forgotten existed in my own world. 

Mystical Island Villages 

In the traditional villages like Tarung and Waitabar, we notice a similar mooring structure of the villages. We were surprised that most of the houses look like towers and stand on stilts. Kornelis explains to us that the space under the houses offers a cool retreat. Animals use this space to lay in the shade and women find a private retreat to weave on their looms. The top of the house is used to store sacred heirlooms. 

Keeping the Ikat Weaving culture alive

The Sumbanese are well known for their handwoven Ikat Textiles. The pattern, design and colours are deeply connected to Sumbanese culture. Myths relating to the ancestors are expressed through ideas visualised through weaving. 

Sumbanese avoid the killing of spiders, for each time the spread of a spider's web is broken, someone will die. It is believed that the threading of the spider and the thread of the woven cloth bind the living to their ancestors. So spiders are quite a common choice as a carved motif. 

Contact with many outside cultures and modern traditions has ineffably resulted in new designs being incorporated, including motifs derived from Dutch and Chinese culture. However, even in a world where cellphones and outside contact to cultures exist, the Sumbanese still rely on ancient traditions, in which the cloths narrate the stories of marriage, funerals and the afterlife. 

Ikat weaving is an incredible art, its process of creation can take up to a total of 6 months. Raw materials need to be found, spun to a yarn and dyed before the process of weaving can begin. The weaving itself requires a vast amount of knowledge and patience. Obviously, the making requires skills, as well as the unique dye resist process and can’t be learned in a few days. It involves years of learning, patience and pratice to acquire the craftsmanship of Ikat weaving. 

Spending our days side by side with Kornelis and his family we get to know more about weaving traditions, dying techniques and their strong passion for preserving the culture of cloth. Opposite to Kornelis's house an empty school building is being used as a space for teaching young women Ikat traditions. 

The project was initiated by Kornelis and his wife in cooperation with an NGO from Java. Moreover, the idea is to support young individuals learning about the complexity of the creation process of Ikat weaving. Since cell phones, computers and other technological advantages have occurred, young people have a new focus and time after school is no longer spent with older generations learning weaving traditions. The word Ikat- meaning to “tie” or “bind” has also tied many generations and supported the island. It is important to the elderly to keep this ritual and its richness alive.

Natural Dye 

We also realised that weaving is tied to gender, fertility, femininity - leaving women as the weavers. While the men are included in the process of dying, they are forbidden from participating specifically in indigo dyeing since it is believed that they would become infertile. Indigo dyes, which are charged with supernatural potency, are not permitted to be handled by women who are menstruating or pregnant, only by those who are post menopause, for only they claim to withstand the smell, which apparently reeks like a corpse. 

Indonesia is a country in which you can still encounter remote areas where textile weavers and dye masters continue dying with natural resources, Kornelius being one of them. He uses a variety of natural dyes. The outcome of different colours can be derived from mordant plants, symbolic species, alkaline ash, betel nut and the root bark of the Morinda tree. 

The results are radiant, leaving the colours Indigo for the blues, mango leaves for pale green, mangrove bark for black, turmeric for yellow and Morinda for red. The yarns may need to be dyed several times over many months to achieve the darker colours. Lime from the sea coral is one example of what is used as a fixing mordant. 

The natural dye process includes many rituals and cultural aspects that cannot be shared nor completely understood by outsiders like us. We can listen and watch, but many traditions differ, depending on religion, society and place and are passed onto future generations, to people from their own communities. Nevertheless, what we did understand was the deep connection from the dyer to his plants and trees, asking for permission from nature. 

Natural dying processes do not only help to preserve the environment, but have also helped generations to learn about plants. They don’t harm our rivers, nor the craftsman, however they are very time consuming and their results are rather unpredictable. 

It has become quite questionable to us, if the traditions result from a longing for past traditions or demonstrate a demand from western “green fashion” and authentic “art”. Regardless, we spent all the days astonished by the devotion and passion of Kornelis and his family.

Designs by Jana Hesse & Stephanie Chandra in collaboration with Indonesian Artisans of natural dye, Ikat Weaving and Batik.

Silence does not ask questions, it only gives answers

On our days off, when we were not busy dyeing and learning the art of weaving, we set off to explore the island's beaches. In Sumba you can find the most beautiful long sandy beaches livened up by horses, cows and sometimes, unfortunately, crocodiles. During what feels like a two-hour drive, we rock with Kornelis and his wife to loud music towards the sunset at Walakiri Beach. 

The Walakiri Beach 

We weren't promised too much and when I arrive at Walakiri Beach, I can't believe my eyes. We are running towards the sunset, in front of us a spectacle of colours amidst the branches of the mangroves. 

When we decided to travel to the lonely island, it was originally out of a great interest in natural dyeing techniques and the art of Ikat weaving, but it didn’t take long till we realised that we were going to dive into a completely different world. Thanks to Kornelis and his wife, its was the most authentic experience we could have asked for. 

The art of going nowhere 

On the day of departure, we can only part wistfully from this magical island. I wonder if I'll ever find Sumba the way I do now, whether this place will be overtaken by tourism and a digital reality, will the tradition of Ikat remain alive? 

Sumba, is an indescribable island of the archipelago. For everyone who is looking for freedom and a travel experience beyond the norm, if I could, I would highly recommend a trip to Sumba, but words fail me here. I don't want a place like this to lose its unique fascination. I wonder if tourism can preserve rather than destroy? 

Can the lost island really be found? 

Although the outcome of my trip to Indonesia was very different from what I had originally imagined, I will forever hold this beautiful place in my heart. I collected life time memories and impressions that have stuck with me since. Life is very different on the great archipelago, different from what I am used to, but getting to know a place so foreign was like exploring own hidden feelings, that I never knew had existed within. 

I tasted new flavours, changed my routine, met the most generous people and dove into distinctive and important traditions. 

The beauty as well as the conflict and contradiction of Indonesia is told by its unbelievably rich mix of cultures, religions and ethnicity. Ajacent to the mosque stands a cathedral, right along the street two young girls walking hand in hand- one veiled wearing a hijab and the other in a t-shirt and a pony tail. Constantly I noticed a mix full of opportunities and love, but just around the corner a tension of prejudice and strong judgement. 

Now the time has come. I sit on the plane and feel like I'm homesick already,

homesick for the unknown rich in its purity of life.