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Hanging by a Thread: Natural Metallic Mordant Processes in Traditional Indonesian Textiles1

Di Ambang Kepunahan: proses mordan dengan menggunakan logam dari tumbuhan dalam pembuatan kain tradisional di Indonesia

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Abstract

Hanging by a Thread: Natural Metallic Mordant Processes in Traditional Indonesian Textiles. Despite the availability of synthetic dyes and the impact of significant religious, social, and economic change, textile weavers in more remote areas of Indonesia continue naturally dyed textile production as a living tradition. This paper documents mordant plants in Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, and nine islands in eastern Indonesia (Bali, Flores, Java, Lembata, Nusa Penida, Rai Jua, Savu, Sumba, and West Timor). These plants, such as various Symplocos species, are hyperaccumulators of aluminum compounds. Other plants used as sources of alkaline ash, of saponifiable oils and fats and for ritual purposes in the dyeing process, are also recorded.

Di Ambang Kepunahan: proses mordan dengan menggunakan logam dari tumbuhan dalam pembuatan kain tradisional di Indonesia. Ditengah maraknya pemakaian warna sintetis serta terjadinya perubahan dalam keyakinan, keadaan sosial dan ekonomi, penenun di beberapa daerah terpencil tetap memproduksi kain warna alam sebagai sebuah tradisi. Jurnal ini membahas tumbuhan mordant atau perekat warna serta tantangan yang dihadapi dalam pemakaiannya di daerah Sulawesi dan Kalimantan serta di sembilan pulau lain di Indonesia mencakup Bali, Flores, Jawa, Lembata, Nusa Penida, Rai Jua, Sabu, Sumba dan Timor Barat. Tumbuhan mordant yang dibahas, seperti Symplocos, menganndung zat aluminum yang tinggi. Tumbuhan lain yang dipergunakan sebagai sumber abu alkali, minyak dan lemak saponifiable, serta yang dipakai dalam ritual proses mordant juga dibahas dalam artikel ini.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all participants at the two Nusantara Weaver’s Festivals, with special thanks to Tamu Rambu Hamueti (Rindi, Sumba); Ita Yusaf, Zailani Aksa, (Ndona, Flores); Kornelis Ndapakamang (Labanapu, Sumba); Veronika Kanyan (Sintang, Kalimantan); Yohanes Beda (Tapobali, Lembata); Marta (Malolo, Sulawesi); Daud Mangalatung and Nurhayati Masika (Sulawesi); Willi Daos Kadati (Kupang, Timor); Rosalia Bubu (Belu, Timor); Robert Koroh (Amarasi, West Timor); Eu Rosina Dane (Mehara, Savu) and Obo Tede Dara (Seba, Savu). Thanks are also due to Rogier de Kok, Brian Schrire and Tim Utteridge, Dick Williams, Jack Cannon, Kate Weatherley and Roy Hamilton. We would also like to thank The Ford Foundation, CIFOR and People and Plants International for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia

    Anthony B. Cunningham

  2. People and Plants International, Fremantle, Australia

    Anthony B. Cunningham

  3. Yayasan Pecinta Budaya Bebali, Bali, Indonesia

    I. Made Maduarta

  4. Threads of Life: Indonesian Textile Arts Center, Bali, Indonesia

    Jean Howe & W. Ingram

  5. Institute for Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Steven Jansen

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Correspondence to Anthony B. Cunningham.

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Cunningham, A.B., Maduarta, I.M., Howe, J. et al. Hanging by a Thread: Natural Metallic Mordant Processes in Traditional Indonesian Textiles1 . Econ Bot 65, 241–259 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-011-9161-4

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