Fabric, more fabric and even more fabric


92 year old ikat weaver
   Today we visited Tenganan. This village is home to approximately   families. This is one of three places in the entire world in which double ikat weaving is produced. In double ikat (geringsing) weaving there is a pattern dyed onto both the warp and the weft fabric before being woven.  The elder to the right is using a back loom weave. She is sitting on the floor and there is a wooden piece strapped to her back that helps to stabilize the loom as she weaves. It can take up to an hour to weave 1 inch of the double ikat weaving below due to both the intricacy of the process and the eye strain involved with completing this kind of detailed work in low and poor lighting.
Double ikat weaver daughter of the elder above

 I also found an artisan that did carvings and paintings on palm leaves. He added my name in English and in Indonesian onto my purchase. This now means that I have my name in other languages on things from at least three countries. Cool.


Our second visit of the morning was to see a group of weavers in  Sideman Village. The women are weaving on
spinning thread for the weft of a weaving design

weft threads drying before being woven

Mahagiri is both a restaurant and a resort. Lunch was a buffet style Indonesian lunch catering to both vegetarians and meat eaters alike.  The food at the restaurant was ok but the big draw for this is the gorgeous views of the rice paddies and the mountain in the background. 
Did you know that in the Indonesian caste system if a woman marries down she gives up her higher status and taks on the status of her husband. But, if a man marries down into a lower caste his wife's status changes up as the caste system follows the husbands line. This also means that should they have children and the daughter marries up her parents would be required to be subservient to her and her children because the daughter married into a higher caste.

Day 4 photos

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