After discussing the Sumba Ikat motif, this time we want to share ‘How to make Sumba Ikat Weaving’. With various long and long processes, making this Sumba Ikat cloth has a high value. This blog consists of 2 parts. This first part discusses:
How to Make Sumba Ikat Woven Fabric (Part 1):
1. Spinning
2. Kabukul
3. Pamening
4. Drawing the Motif
5. Tie & Color
How to Make Sumba Ikat Woven Fabric part 1
1. Spinning
Lamini
The process of separating seeds from cotton. The best cotton for spinning is freshly harvested.
Pandi
Cotton is parsed using a ‘pandi‘ to make it easier to spin.
Kanuhu
Cotton that has been unraveled, rolled up, shaped like a cocoon.
Pahudur
The process of spinning cotton into yarn using a tool called kindi or ndatar.
2. Kabukul
The yarn is rolled using a piyapak to form a ball or oval.
3. Pamening
Menghani
This activity is carried out by two people. Yarn in the form of a ball, parsed on a wooden frame called wanggi pamening, with the length and width according to the size of the fabric you want to make. A strand of thread that has been stretched to the size of a cloth is called a hiamba.
Karandi
Make a knot for every 8 threads using mattress rope or kalita (string from gewang leaves). This stage is carried out for every 1 hiamba liran.
Puha Wanggu
Insert the karuma, or guide rope, between each karandi.
Pandapil
This stage serves to accumulate and unite several hiamba lirans that have been handled. This stage is divided into two steps, namely utu and upu.
i. Utu
Combines 2 or more lirans. Can be up to 10 lirans.
ii. Upu
Insert karuma / guide rope between each karandi combination of several liran. The way it works is similar to the puha wanggu stage.
Kawari
The threads are arranged in order.
4. Drawing the Motif
Walah
The hiamba in wanggi pamening (a wooden structure used to support strands of thread during the spinning stage) is transferred to wanggi walahu or Kapala hondung. This Wanggi or Kapala will be used continuously from the process of preparing the motif image until the binding process is complete.
Patangi
Ensure that the stretched thread is tight on the wanggi/kapala, before drawing the motif.
Karandi (Ready)
To make picture columns, the hiamba is divided into several parts by making a karandi tie on a piece of bamboo. These columns will later become the drawing space for drawing motifs. While the karandi tie serves to prevent the thread from shifting while or after the motif is drawn. Because the himba that is circumcised consists of several lirans, later for one image, several fabrics with the same motif will be produced.
Draw
This stage can only be done by those who are experts at drawing motifs on threads (hiamba). The equipment needed is a red-blue pencil, a ruler, and a small container filled with water. Image motifs can be the result of the artist’s imagination or based on images from the customer.
5. Tie & Color
Hondung
The stage of tying the hiamba for the motif will later be white. The goal is that when dyed blue, the motifs covered by the rope will not be exposed to blue dye. To tie the hiamba, you can use kalita (rope from gewang leaves) or raffia rope.
Tapu
Tie the hiamba for the motif which later will be colored red, so that when it is dyed blue, the part that has been tied will not be exposed to blue dye.
Nggiling
This stage is the process of dyeing the hiamba to a blue color and then drying it in the sun. This process can usually only be done by women and there are various taboos that need to be maintained so as not to fail.
Katahu Mau
After dyeing blue (usually 4 times dyeing), then the bond for the motif that will later be dark blue is opened.
Puha Mau
At this stage, the hiamba is again dyed blue (usually 4x), thus achieving a much darker blue color than before.
Katahu Parara
This is the stage before dyeing red. After drying for several days, until the hiamba is completely dry, then all the ties on the motif which will later be red, are opened.
Hondung Mau
[Hondung Mau Kangurak & Hondung Mau Matua]
On the other hand, the motifs which will be colored light blue (mau kangurak) and dark blue (mau matua) are tied together. So that when dyed red, the already blue motif does not change color because it is mixed with red.
The hiamba is washed until it is completely clean to remove the remaining blue color. Then dried in the sun until completely dry.
Kawilu
This stage is known as petroleum, where the hiamba is dipped in a finely ground hazelnut concoction to produce oil. The goal is that when the hiamba is dipped in red dye, the color will stick.
- Servant Drying and Condensing
After being dyed and the hiamba has been evenly exposed to the candlenut concoction, then the hiamba is dried in the sun and aerated, for at least 2 weeks. Once it feels quite limp, not stiff, it means that the hiamba is ready to be dipped in red dye. The photo above shows a collection of threads, not himba being dried in the sun.
Red Dip
After going through the oiling process, the hiamba is ready to be dyed red. Usually, hiamba undergoes 2x immersion.
Katahu
After the hiamba is completely dry, it’s time to untie all the motifs. At this stage, you will see the overall shape of the motif and the results of dyeing all the colors.
See the video:
The second part will be published next week. See you~