Written piece
Weaving 'pua kumbu' / Weaving traditional Iban cloth
Shih Yen Chang
Malaysia
About this piece
This is a poem about weaving pua kumbu, a ceremonial cloth of Iban people. Iban people are indigenous people of Borneo, famous for their tribal tattoos and weaving.
This woman is a warrior.
Protect her!
For weaving is dangerous work,
Evil spirits are drawn
To the blood-red dye.
A bracelet of tattoos,
A pair of pala tumpa for protection,
Scorpions and centipedes repel spirits.
This woman is a warrior.
Leading the women to war.
She leads the ngar,
To colour cotton threads
In a wooden bath carved like a boat.
Dip and dye, drip and dry.
Ikat and tie
To create the patterns of the pua.
She weaves by night,
Batang belida to keep her weaves tight,
Sitting with her backstrap loom,
Weaving by the light of the moon.
Hush! If you listen hard on a quiet night,
You hear the shh-shh sound of threads
Coming to life,
Whispering their stories to the weaver.
Dreamweaver weaves her dreams into fabric,
Hopes and stories come alive, inch by inch.
Patterns on the fabric become clear,
Hornbills, crocodiles, ferns – all appear.
Red, white, brown, ochre, black,
The magic of pua kumbu,
Sacred, ceremonial cloth.
This weaver is a warrior.
This is a poem about weaving pua kumbu, a ceremonial cloth of Iban people. Iban people are indigenous people of Borneo, famous for their tribal tattoos and weaving. Weaving was considered dangerous because it was a spiritual activity that put the weaver closer to evil spirits. Therefore, protective tattoos were needed. Pala tumpa, meaning ‘head of bracelets’ is a protective tattoo. The tattoo, usually of scorpions or centipedes, is worn as a pair, encircling both forearms like a bracelet. The ngar is a ceremony to dye cotton threads for weaving. Traditionally, the dyes are natural, coming from plants. The threads are dipped in a bath shaped like a wooden boat. Ikat, or to tie, is the process that creates the pattern on the cloth. Batang belida are long sticks used on the loom.