Iban Dayak. Sarawak State, Borneo Island, Malaysia.

Handspun cotton, dyes. L: 73" (185.4 cm), W: 27" (68.6 cm).

Woven in the rare sungkit technique, this textile is categorized as "lebor api" (consuming fire) and was associated with head hunting rituals. The primary motif in the center field has been interpreted as "buah angkong", as species of mango, a fruit shaped like a head and a metaphor for a trophy head. The dots surrounding the fruit motifs are identified as "buah mata antu" (spirit eye). The motifs at the top and bottom borders represent images of the culture hero Keling who guards the ends of the design to prevent the escape of the powerful spirits within the cloth. After a successful head-hunting raid, the trophy head would be carried into the longhouse, cradled in one of these textiles.

The description of these motifs were liberally borrowed from those used by John G. Kreifeldt on another example of this type, published in

"Woven Power, Ritual Textiles of Sarawak and West Kalimantan", page 38/39.