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A Kain tenunan (Makassan ceremonial sarong)

Datec 1994

Object number00018175

NameSarong

MediumCotton

DimensionsOverall: 2440 mm, 0.65 kg
Display Dimensions: 1334 x 2414 mm

ClassificationsClothing and personal items

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA 'kain tenunan' or Makassan ceremonial sarong. Likely manufactured in Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is handwoven and the the intricate weave incorporates the `tree of life' motif. This cloth is of a type worn by celebrants at ceremonies and festivities such as weddings, circumcisions and boat launchings. HistoryMakassan ceremonials a rongh and woven using the ikat style of textile weaving, originating from the boat building district of Bira and Araat the extreme south of Southwest Sulawesi. This is the home of the Makassan Konjo clan, who specialise in boat building both for their own use and for Makassan and Buginese clients from other districts. It can be safely presumed that many if not all of the Makassan perahu voyaging to Australia up to 1907 were built in this district. The cloth is of a type worn by celebrants at ceremonies and festivities such as weddings, circumcisions, and boat launchings.The intricate weave incorporates the 'tree of life' motif, one of several decorative symbols that recur widely among the pasisir cultures of the Indonesian archipelago and which can be traced back to the pre Islamic and even the pre-lndic (Hindu-Buddhist) period. A similar tenunan cloth from Bira is in the collection of the Museum La Galego, Ujung Pandang.SignificanceThe Makassan has long had contact with northern Australia.Thi kain tenunan represents a different aspectsof the traditional and modern boatbuilding and seafaring culture of the Makassan.