Editing Flores (section)

=== Textiles ===
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Vrouwen van de Ngadastam met spinstaafjes weeftoestel en spinnewiel TMnr 10006048.jpg|thumb|Ngada women with spinning rods, loom and spinning wheel.]]

Weaving on Flores makes use of cotton grown in the low-lying zones of the island.<ref name="hoopn_ikat">{{cite web|author=Peter ten Hoopen|title=Ikat from Ngadha, Indonesia|website=ikat.us|publisher=Online Museum of Indonesian ikat textiles, curator: Dr Peter Ten Hoopen |url=https://ikat.us/ikat_flores%20group_ngadha.php|access-date=2024-06-08|ref={{SfnRef|Hoopen|, ''ikat.us''}}}}</ref>
Each ethnic group on Flores has its own tradition of dyeing, weaving and trading in textiles.{{sfn|Hamilton|1994}}

==== Dyes ====

The dyes used are essentially [[Indigo dye|indigo]], [[turmeric]]{{efn|
[[Turmeric]]: ''wuné'' in [[Ngadha language]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kikusawa|first1=Ritsuko|last2=Reid|first2=Lawrence A.|date=January 2007|chapter=25. Proto who utilized turmeric, and how?|editor-last1=Siegel|editor-first1=Jeff|editor-last2=Lynch|editor-first2=John|editor-last3=Eades|editor-first3=Diana|title=Language Description, History and Development: Linguistic indulgence in memory of Terry Crowley|series=Creole Language Library 30|pages=341–354 (see p. 343)|url=http://www2.hawaii.edu/~reid/Combined%20Files/A67.%202007.%20Kikusawa%20and%20Reid--Turmeric..pdf}}</ref>
}} and morinda.{{sfn|Hamilton|1994}} [[Lamaholot people]] use maize starch to size the yarn before dying.{{sfn|Barnes|1989|p=15}}

; Blue (indigo)

[[indigo]] grows in the temperate zones at middle elevations;<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/>
It is the most commonly used plant base for blues and black dyes. Bar a few exceptions, it is always used in ikat.{{sfn|Barnes|1989|p=15}}

; Red (morinda and others)

''[[Morinda citrifolia]]'' (''mengkudu'',<ref name="texttrip">{{cite web|title=Flores ikat – its all about the villages|website=asiatextilejourney.wordpress.com|date=December 2015|url=https://asiatextilejourney.wordpress.com/tag/ende/|access-date=2024-06-20}}</ref> ''keloré'' in [[Lamalera language|Lamalera]]{{sfn|Barnes|1989|p=28}}), extensively used in the archipelago as a source of red dye, does not grow well on Flores and, according to Hoopen, is scarcely used here.<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/> But its use is reported in N'Dona (just east of Ende), where it is mixed with various [[mordant]]s including [[Aleurites moluccanus|candlenut]] (''kemiri'', very oily nut).<ref name="texttrip"/> Barnes also reports its use in the villages of Ili Mandiri, East Flores<ref name="barnes31">{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Ruth|year=1989|title=Ikat Textiles of Lamalera: A Study of an Eastern Indonesian Weaving Tradition|type=Studies in South Asian culture, vol. XIV|publisher=E.J. Brill|pages=31|isbn=90-04-08753-2|issn=0169-9865|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zt77EAAAQBAJ&dq=what+is+%22kajo+kuma%22&pg=PA31}}</ref> – and describes at length the arduous process for its preparation and application.{{sfn|Barnes|1989|p=28}} Close by, weavers from the village of Larantuka may use the tree called ''gemoli'' for red dye.<ref name="barnes31"/>

Powdered leaves of a plant (tree?) called "lobah" are used in N'Dona (east of Ende) to obtain bright reds.<ref name="texttrip"/>

; Yellow (turmeric, mango and others)

Yellow translates as ''kuma''.<ref name="barnes31"/>
In the [[Sikka Regency|Sikka area]], [[turmeric]] was used for producing yellow monochrome warp stripes, as well as orange or green stripes by overdyeing with either morinda or indigo; sometimes mango bark was used for that purpose.<ref name="yellow">{{cite web|title=Yellow dyes|website=asiantextilestudies.com|url=http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/yellow.html|access-date=2024-06-08}}</ref> <br>
At Doka<ref name="dokamap">{{cite web|title=Doka (Bola district), map|website=google.com/maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sanggar+Doka+Tawa+Tana+-+Desa+Wisata+Umauta/@-8.7127642,122.307397,16.04z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x2dad2190b9d59f9f:0xa85b3c83f6076567!2sBola,+Kabupaten+de+Sikka,+Nusa+Tenggara+oriental,+Indon%C3%A9sie!3b1!8m2!3d-8.744265!4d122.2997081!16s%2Fg%2F121ln153!3m5!1s0x2dad210d99bd461d:0xf4ab010632bf67c5!8m2!3d-8.7143687!4d122.3092659!16s%2Fg%2F11fwdv8xln?entry=ttu}}</ref> 
in the 'Iwang Geté or Krowé{{efn|name="krowe"|
Iwangeté or Iwang Geté is a small region in [[Sikka Regency|Sikka regency]], that encompasses the villages of 
Watublapi (Hewokloang district),<ref>{{cite web|title=Watublapi (Hewokloang district), map, with Héwokloang to the west|website=google.com/maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sanggar+Budaya+Tenun+Bliran+Sina+-+Watublapi/@-8.7007277,122.3106116,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2dad1f9b22619e13:0xc81deaff7fbe7d22!8m2!3d-8.700733!4d122.3131865!16s%2Fg%2F11f0kwrr9t?entry=ttu}}</ref> 
Héwokloang, 
Kloangpopot (Doreng district),<ref>{{cite web|title=Klo'angpopot, Doreng district, Sikka regency|website=m.nomor.net|url=https://m.nomor.net/_kodepos.php?_i=desa-kodepos&sby=010000&BK_HP=Laptop&_en=ENGLISH&daerah=Desa-Doreng-Kab.-Sikka&jobs=Kloangpopot|access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kloangpopot (Doreng district), map|website=google.com/maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kloangpopot/@-8.712828,122.352609,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2dad21c34d6ff0f3:0x59502f201439b4e2!8m2!3d-8.7128333!4d122.3551839!16s%2Fg%2F11p_0cvsjg?entry=ttu}}</ref> 
Hale (Mapitara district),
Hebingare,<ref name="krowe">{{cite web|title=Ikat from Krowe, Indonesia|website=ikat.us|publisher=Pusaka Collection, Online Museum of Indonesian ikat textiles|url=https://ikat.us/ikat_flores%20group_krowe.php|access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref> and
Doka (Bola district<ref name="dokamap"/>).<ref name="yellow"/>
Krowe is another name for this area, although neither names are quite accurate.<ref name="krowe"/>
}} region, a more durable deep mustard yellow is produced from turmeric, [[Mangifera indica|mango]] bark, ''[[Morinda citrifolia]]'' (''mengkudu'') tree [[Bark (botany)|bark]] (not root), [[jackfruit]] bark and powdered [[Lime (material)|lime]] (''kapur sireh''). Dyers of that region also mix turmeric with mango bark.{{efn|Textiles from [[Palu'e|Palu’é island]] have narrow yellow-orange warp stripes dyed with a mixture of [[turmeric]], [[Betel|betel pepper]], [[areca nut]] and [[Lime (material)|lime]].<ref name="yellow"/>}}<ref name="yellow"/> Another yellow was obtained from a combination of mango bark and morinda, without the addition of oil or loba.{{efn|The combination of mango bark and morinda, without oil or loba, was used in Flores and in Solor.<ref name="yellow"/>}}<ref name="yellow"/> <br>
At Ile Mandiri (East Flores regency) and Loba Tobi{{efn|name=lewotobi|
Loba Tobi or Lewotobi are common names for the district of Ilé Bura; ''tobi'' is the local Lamaholot name for the tamarind tree.<ref name="lewo">{{cite web|title=Lewotobi textiles|website=asiantextilestudies.com|url=http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/lewotobi.html|access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref>
}} 
a beautiful yellow dye was obtained by boiling the wood chips of the 'yellowwood' tree, known locally as ''kajo kuma''.<ref name="yellow"/> <br>
[[Manggarai people|Manggarai]] used to export ''Arcangelisia flava'' (''kayu kuning''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Setyowati|first1=Rini|last2=Sudarsono|last3=Setyowati|first3=E. P|date=2014|title=The effect of water-soluble stem extract "Kayu Kuning" (''Arcangelisia flava'' L. Merr) on the growth inhibition of ''Candida albicans'' ATCC 10231 and ''Trichophyton mentagrophytes'' in vitro|journal=Biology, Medicine, & Natural Product Chemistry|volume=3|issue=1|pages=15–19|doi=10.14421/biomedich.2014.31.15-19|issn=2089-6514|url=https://www.sciencebiology.org/index.php/BIOMEDICH/article/download/13/2|access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref>) to Java for the yellows in batik.<ref name="yellow"/>
Another export (from Flores and [[Adonara]]) in the same domain was a hardwood tree called ''kajo kuma'', literally 'yellow wood', which gives a yellow dye.<ref name="yellow"/> In the 1980s it was still brought to Lembata for that purpose.{{efn|The dye from ''kajo kuma'' was obtained by soaking fine wood chips in cold water without the addition of lime. Several immersions were required to produce the right shade. It is not clear whether this ''kajo kuma'' was ''laban'' or some other dyewood.<ref name="yellow"/>}}<ref name="barnes31"/> <br>
''[[Vitex pinnata|laban]]'' as a dye is hardly used any longer in the Lesser Sunda Islands.<ref name="yellow"/>

; Green colour

In some regions of Flores such as East Flores and Ende, green is hardly found in any textile.<ref name="green"/> Green warp stripes are most likely to be found in textiles produced in the area of Sikka Natar, and from [[Lamalera language|Lamalera]] on [[Lembata|Lembata island]].<ref name="green"/> <br>
It is produced almost exclusively by applying alternatively blue and yellow dyes, but in [[Lamalera language|Lamalera]] region it is obtained by crushing leaves and using the green juice thus produced{{sfn|Barnes|1989|p=15}} – notably from ''[[Annona squamosa]]'' (''dolima'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Robert Harrison|year=1996|title=Sea Hunters of Indonesia: Fishers and Weavers of Lamalera|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=368|isbn=978-0-19-828070-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4TR6q_hPM18C&dq=tree+%22gemoli%22+-bolgheri+-guado&pg=PA368}}</ref> <br>
At Nita Kloang in the region of Krowé{{efn|name="krowe"}} (Sikka regency) a green dye is made from the edible leaves of the Indian Coral tree (''dadap''), which may include such species as ''Erythrina variegata'', ''[[Erythrina subumbrans|E. subumbrans]]'', ''E. indica'' and ''[[Erythrina fusca|E. fuspa]]''). The tree is used as a shade plant for cocoa and coffee plants. For the dye, the leaves are crushed with turmeric root and powdered [[Lime (material)|lime]].<ref name="green"/>

; Synthetic dyes

The earliest [[Aniline#Uses|aniline dyes]] may have reached Indonesia in the 1880s, and brought to Flores by the Dutch steamers that serviced [[Ende (town)|Ende]] and [[Larantuka]].<ref name="green"/> Up to the 1920s, they were likely only blue, red and magenta rather than green.{{efn|In 1923, almost two-thirds of the 672 tons of aniline dyes imported into the Netherlands East Indies consisted of synthetic indigo. The remaining synthetic dyes would have been mostly purple, red, orange and yellow. Even today the number of homogeneous green dyes and pigments remains significantly less than that of any other major colour.<ref name="green"/>}}<ref name="green"/> <br>
It is impossible to say how quickly synthetic greens were incorporated into Lesser Sunda Island weavings. Any green that was included in early weavings from around the turn of the century is likely to have faded to blue or brown by now (Brackman 2009, 61). Certainly by the 1950s and 1960s more modern lightfast synthetic greens were being used in the stripes in Sikkanese sarongs. They continue to be used in this way today without undermining the regions traditional textile culture.<ref name="green"/>
As of 2016, most areas of Flores still retain a degree of their former textile culture{{efn|Other areas that have retained a degree of their former textile culture are [[Lembata]], [[Savu]] and [[East Sumba Regency|East Sumba]].<ref name="green"/>}} and still use synthetic green only sparingly, compared to other places that are losing or have lost their textile culture, such as Manggarai and Ngada.{{efn|Other regions that are in the process of losing or have already lost their textile culture are [[Bali]], [[Sumbawa]], [[Solor]], [[Adonara]], [[Alor Island|Alor]], [[Rote Island|Roti]] and [[West Sumba Regency|West Sumba]].<ref name="green"/>}}<ref name="green"/> In Sikka, it seems that chemical green has been frequently used since at least the 1960s and probably earlier.<ref name="green">{{cite web|title=Green dyes|website=asiantextilestudies.com|date=2016|url=http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/green.html#i|access-date=2024-06-08}}</ref>

==== Textile particularities of some areas ====

; Ilé Bura region

In the past, the whole Ilé Bura{{efn|name=lewotobi}} region was a major centre of weaving, which was an important contribution to family income. As of 2016, weaving is confined to just three villages – Lewo Tobi,{{efn|name=lewotobi}} Lewouran and Riang Baring, the latter being the most active.<ref name="lewo"/>

; Iwang Geté region

People of the Iwan geté{{efn|name="krowe"}} region produce a very distinctive ikat cloth: the widest bands (called ''ina geté'') bear such motifs as lizard (''teké''), a circular motif seen on some antique plates (''pigan uben''), spinning wheel (''jata selér'') and pineapple flower (''petan puhun'').<ref name="krowe"/>

; Ngadha region

Traditionally in the Ngadha region, everyday clothing is a plain, stark indigo sarong. But there is also a type of ikat, often called Bajawa ikat after its capital, that is decorated with primitive-type designs and using only indigo dye. One characteristic of this ikat is the very intense blue, seen nowhere else in the archipelago; this comes from the high concentration of indigo due to long and repeated steepings of the cloth into the tincture. It also means that the motifs, made by ties on the warp, should have come out white but are more often of a very pale blue because the pigment bath has had time to seep into the yarn beyond the resist of the ties.<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/> <br>
The other characteristic of Ngadha ikat is in the motifs. Horses (''jara'') are a frequent one, as they are a sign of high social rank; this ties up with the fact that decorated cloths were traditionally worn only by respected clan members.{{efn|In the Ngadha region, tradition required that younger people would wear only plain or nearly plain cloths. But advancing in age was not sufficient to be allowed more prestigious, adorned cloths; one also had to go through various levels of initiation and arrange for great feasts, notably those where buffalo would be slaughtered. Only members of the upper strata of society could afford those, and ikat adorned with narrow bands of horses was a marker of that aristocratic status.<ref>{{harvp|Hamilton|1994}}, cited in {{harvnb|Hoopen|, ''ikat.us''}}.</ref> These days, this is no longer a traditional law but there remain in some communities the sense that only people of high social standing should wear these prestigious garments, even if there is a reluctance to talk about such class distinctions.<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/>
}} The particularity here is that they are executed as stick figures, by which they resemble some prehistoric cave drawings. This gives them a strikingly 'primitive' appearance and makes them highly sought-after items.{{efn|The Ngadha, and the Manggarai to the west, have long had a legend about 'little people' who lived among them till as late as the 1500s. Add to this their primitive, cave-drawing-like images on Ngadha ikats ; and that the [[Ngadha language|Ngadha]] and Keo languages are curiously 'nude' versions of [[Malay language|Malay]], as if encountering difficulties in assimilating its full complexity. For example, the Austronesian family of languages makes an abundant use of prefixes or suffixes (which form new words by adding extensions either before or after root-words, such as [per-]form or child[-hood]), whereas the Ngadha language uses no prefixes or suffixes. This has led linguist [[John McWhorter]] to speculate that maybe these two rudimentary languages came into being through contact with the 'little people' of Flores, ''[[Homo floresiensis]]''.<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=McWhorter|first1=John Hamilton|author-link1=John McWhorter|title=Flores Man vs. Sulawesi. A linguistic mystery in the Lesser Sunda Islands|format=audio|date=April 30, 2019|website=slate.com|series=Lexicon Valley|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/04/john-mcwhorter-on-the-languages-of-flores-in-indonesia.html|access-date=2024-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=McWhorter|first1=John Hamilton|author-link1=John McWhorter|date=October 2019|title=The radically isolating languages of Flores: A challenge to diachronic theory|journal=Journal of Historical Linguistics|volume=9|issue=2|pages=177–207|doi=10.1075/jhl.16021.mcw|url=https://www.academia.edu/26566146|access-date=2024-06-10}}</ref>}}<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/> <br>
Most of the ikat on Flores is produced in villages located in the temperate, middle elevation zones – where indigo can be cultivated. The best known are Jerebuu<ref>
{{cite web|title=Jerebuu village and district, map|website=google.fr/maps|type=scroll back to see the limits of Jerebuu district|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jerebuu,+Kabupaten+de+Ngada,+Nusa+Tenggara+oriental,+Indon%C3%A9sie/@-8.8977226,120.9964015,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x2db2dc0a59e6c4b5:0x39c158f74ac29cdb!8m2!3d-8.8964289!4d120.9972433!16s%2Fg%2F1213jbmw?entry=ttu}}
</ref> and Langa, in a valley on the east side of the [[Inierie]] volcano, and Lopijo and Toni, tucked behind the rim of mountains that surrounds [[Bajawa]], north of the same volcano. The latter are still very isolated and conservative, still using indigenous cotton and indigo only. The cloths from these localities are admired throughout the Ngadha region – and nowadays in New York and Singapore as well.<ref name="hoopn_ikat"/>