THE ANCIENT SURVIVAL: THE BALI AGA

The Balinese also believe that human beings were sacrificed in Tenganan to make dyes for their famous ceremonial scarfs, the kamben gringsing,' a cloth that, because it is supposed to be dyed with human blood, has the power to insulate the wearer against evil vibrations and is prescribed at all important Balinese rituals.

These scarfs, in which the warp is left uncut, are much in demand by the Balinese. The kamben gringsing is a loosely woven, narrow scarf of thick cotton with intricate designs in rich tones of rust-red, beige, and black against a yellowish background.

The process of dying and weaving is unbelievably long and complicated, and over five years are required from the time the cotton is prepared to the Finished scarf, according to Korn. The threads are left in each of the dyes for months, macerated in kemiri oil for months to fix each color, and then dried in the sun for months after each stage.

The design is obtained by the double " ikat " process (ikat, " to tie ") : that is, the threads of both the warp and weft are patterned previous to the weaving. To do this warp and weft are stretched on frames, and groups of threads are tightly bound with fibres at certain points before they are dipped Into the dye so that the tied part remains uncoloured to produce This is repeated with each colour, the part already protected by the fibre binding. When the threads are finally coloured and ready to be woven, the design of the weft is fitted exactly into the one on the warp, and a mistake spoils the work of years.

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