Textiles of Lampung

Lampung is the name of a region in Southern Sumatra that in the period up until the 1920's produced some of the most beautiful and striking weaving traditions within the Indonesian archipelago. These cloths are often collectively known as 'ship cloths' because ships were a common motif, especially in the grandest Lampungese textiles. Lampung weaving used a supplementary weft technique which enabled coloured silk or cotton threads to be superimposed on a plainer cotton background. The most famous Lampung textile is the 'palepai', ownership of which was restricted to the Lampung aristocracy of the Kalianda Bay area. More widely spread geographically and amongst different classes of society were smaller cloths known as 'tatibin' and 'tampan'. All of these cloths were used for ceremonial purposes during major life events, such as weddings and circumsions. They were symbols for the transition from one stage of life to the next.

References

http://www.dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/View/Collections/Pacific_Islands/ID_011092