Double Ikat Tenun Gringsing that is only practiced in 3 places – Japan, Indonesia and India (Source: aNERDgallery)

Nurul Akriliyati, is a freelance instructor and lecturer about designing and producing of textile and fashion, including natural dyeing, batik, ikat and many other traditional technique. Many of her students are real craftsmen in their daily lives which in turns become her guides too. At the Ikat Textile Symposium in 2019, Nurul presented a paper about tenun gringsing, one that caught our eyes.

In this episode of aNERDspective (our NERD talk show where we converse with amazing friends about their textile adventure and perspectives), we talked to Nurul about how fell in love with Indonesian textile and talk about what is exactly tenun gringsing and some tips for those who would like to purchase their own tenun gringsing textile.

Note: Full chat is in Bahasa Indonesia and this translation of this transcript has been edited for reading format.

Tony Sugiarta: Thank you very much, Mbak Nurul, for joining us in today’s episode of aNERDspective. Welcome. I first heard about you at the Textile Symposium in 2019 when you presented a paper about tenun gringsing and I as a Balinese myself have not studied tenun gringsing myself. With today’s episode of aNERDspective, I want to learn and get to know more about your research and tenun gringsing. We can start with introduction, about who is Mbak Nurul and how did you become interested in tenun gringsing. 

Nurul Akriliyati: Hello everyone, my name is Nurul Akriliyati. I took my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology). Then I took my Master’s Degree at IKJ (Jakarta Arts Institute). Actually, when I was doing my Bachelor’s, I wanted to work on a final project with tenun gringsing, but unfortunately there were many obstacles and I finally took batik.

During my master’s degree, I ventured to try to find data in Bali. In the beginning, I still have not decided the topic for my final task, between tenun gringsing or something else. So, I was traveling alone for two weeks by car around Bali and finally I went to Tenganan Pegringsingan. As people have expected, when I got there, I fell in love. Finally, I continued my thesis with tenun gringsing. For two years, I went back and forth to explore and collect data.

How did you fall in love with Indonesian textile? 

My paternal grandparents live in Pekalongan and my grandmother does batik. The place where I grew up is in Pekajangan where the neighbours also make batik. Every Eid, I only see and help a little when asked to, then I run out to play kites.

I studied another major first – not in fine arts, but in biology. I studied for two years but memorising is not my strength. Finally I asked my parents to allow me to move to another major. I was not allowed to, but in the end I switched majors to fine arts. In the beginning, I wanted to study DKV (Visual Communication Design), but when I went to Pekalongan, when my parents still lived there, I went to see craftsmen and saw the colourful batik. I was curious, “Why is it like this?”,  “Why do you use this dye?” those questions rose. Finally, I went home and braced myself to study Textile Design. That is the story when I started to fall in love with Indonesian textile.

What about the tenun gringsing? 

Because one of the lessons in textile design is weaving. We were introduced to looms but not really traditional ones, not backstrap or gedog looms or those strapped around the waist. We learnt ATBM (alat tenun bukan mesin, non-machine looms). Then I learnt that even from the white thread alone, various motifs could be produced.

When my lecturer told me that there is only one type of weave in Indonesia and only three in the world, which is double ikat, one of them is only in Tenganan Pegringsingan.

From there, curiosity accumulates. I think about the story, how can the horizontal and vertical threads meet to make a motif. Around 2012, I braced myself and ventured to walk there myself, to Tenganan Pegringsingan, Bali). And I was quite amazed, with a tool as simple as this, with a job that looks simple but complicated, and takes a long time, but they can preserve it until today given the age of the village, which is more or less 1000 years old, from the 10th century. That is amazing, fabrics with that age and still there, they do not disappear, the number of motifs increase, the way of working is still the same, the material is still the same, and the method of fabric conservation, etc.

Could you tell us the history of the tenun gringsing cloth itself, how did it originate in the village? 

This is a difficult one. As a Balinese, you should know that there is no Balinese history written as black on white. It is more of myths, fairy tales, or stories. Unfortunately, in Tenganan Pegringsingan itself there was a great fire (ed.: in 1841) and it was completely destroyed. The historical records, written on the palm leaves, were burnt with only few remaining.

Stories, saga, legends, myths are mixed up and unfortunately many people consider the myth to be a reality. One of them that people often hear is that the red colour on tenun gringsing cloth is made of blood. But that is just a myth.

The history of this tenun gringsing cloth overlaps. I am not a history expert, but when I tried to dig into the history of the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, it was a mix up. This weave had already existed when Tenganan Pegringsingan Village was established, and the people there began to weave, so it is called tenun gringsing. Whether the tenun gringsing is from Tenganan Pegringsingan or whether Tenganan Pegringsingan is from the tenun gringsing, it is still unclear.

From what you said earlier, there were three regions, India, Japan, and Bali. Is there a connection among these three places? 

The connection with India is very strong with Bali. As we know, that Balinese Hindus in general and Hindus in Tenganan Pegringsingan Village is different. Most likely this tenun gringsing has a strong influence from Calcutta, India. Around the 1970s, there was a biology researcher. He came to Tenganan Pegringsingan and did a survey on an epidemic around there. The researcher examined their DNA there. It turns out that from some of the data, it appears that the DNA of the Tenganan people is from Calcutta, India. Indeed, there are some double ikat weavings in the area with similar motifs, although they do not use cotton threads but silk (in India).

On the usage of gringsing weave itself: is it for personal use, daily use or certain rituals? 

In Bali, there are different levels of wastra (ed.: textiles). The most sacred is tenun gringsing. So not only for Hindus in Tenganan Pegringsingan, but Balinese Hindus in general, this cloth is the most sacred. So, they are not used everyday and not in every ritual. They only use it certain in rituals.

In addition to the myth about the red colour from blood, another thing which I often hear is about weaving outside and inside the village. How many rituals are there outside Tenganan Village? How is it divided? 

Actually, there is no ritual for making tenun gringsing. In the past, when making batik, especially at the Palace, there was usually mutih (a fasting ritual performed by not eating and drinking, except for white rice and water), it is meant to cleanse, purify and calm down. For weaving tenun gringsing, there is none at all. Well, there are some, such as prohibition to start weaving work on certain days. But there are no rules about whether the barrel must be made of clay with a certain size, not at all. If the barrel is there, you can use it. If it is plastic, you can use it. There is no specific ceremony.

This weaving philosophy actually goes deeper than the myths and symbolism. It is not the woven fabric which protects the ancestors or keeps this village intact or epidemic free but what they do in the village.

Tenganan Pegringsingan Village has 917 hectares in land area for the needs of 350 residents. They have a very strict local customary law (to make use of this area). For example, one is not allowed to cut down trees. Outside Tenganan Pegringsingan, we cut down trees carelessly. Within this village, only the tree that is dead can be cut down. It means that if the tree is old enough, the wood is good. For example, jackfruit wood can take decades to die, then it is cut down. There are no termites that want to eat it either. So, it will be strong.

Another example, they are not allowed to take fruits that are still on the tree. The fruit must fall first. Hence, they will turn ripe on the tree. The water, the irrigation – everything has its regulations. When humans live perfectly with nature, the macrocosm and microcosm are balanced, then villages and humans can become healthy and free of no disasters.

The cloth which is behind you (ed.: the one shown at the top of this article), it tells about their village. There is a star-like mark, in the middle is a square, it is actually their village centre. There are 4 cardinal points and there are scorpions guarding so that bad spirit and energy cannot enter the village. The cloth is sacred not because it has magical power, but when we take care of nature, we will be guarded. It is the true essence of the cloth.

It is not the woven fabric which protects the ancestors or keeps this village intact or epidemic free but what they do in the village. 

Not just for protection, but universal balance, to be standing with nature. 

The myth is that Dewa Indra gave lessons to the ancestors of Tenganan Pegringsingan to learn to weave. From what I have read, Dewa Indra was inspired from the sky. But as I studied the cloth, I was more confused because there is not a single motif in the tenun gringsing that features the sky or the stars. Instead, these fabrics tell stories about the village and its surroundings.

For example, the one at your back, that portrays the village. It is the most famous motif called lubeng motif. The one underneath is a cross-section of a fruit that is used as a motif as well as cecempakan motif that is normally worn as a head accessory. There are also some that talk about the surrounding temples.

So, everything is strictly guarded within the village itself and not produced outside? 

Actually, this village really needs help to make it. Their ancestors have already divided the work. For example, the thread and the red dyes from the noni root bark is obtained from Nusa Penida. Because the skin of the noni root is rooted in a lime coral environment, the roots are very good. The dyeing of blue was done in Bugbug village. Most of the tying and weaving are done in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, but they have started to teach it to the newcomers who usually take care of their rice fields, forests or plantations. The wives are weavers and the people in the surrounding villages have also been taught to weave. There is also one village, before Tenganan Pegringsingan, the name is Tenganan Dauh Tukad. Many people mistook Tenganan Dauh Tukad Village as the one that makes tenun gringsing.

What were you researching (for your thesis)?

About conservation of this weaving. I was shown one of the gringsing cloths owned by my source and it was said it was over 300 years old. It was incredible. The weave is much closer together, the motifs are smaller, denser, the red dye is amazing. When compared to the recently-made cloth, it is vastly different. The motif is almost 1.5x bigger than it used to be. Then I started to find out why and what happened, because I saw that they were fine. Compared to other Indonesian weaves and textiles, there are some places that have lost it completely. It can be said that they are relaxed because they will definitely produce it as it is a necessity that they must have when praying and performing rituals. Finally, I started to focus on searching data about what happened and why.

Do they need to have new cloths for every ritual?

Must be new cloth. For example, people know that Muslims who celebrate Eid must have new clothes. I think almost everyone, when there is a holiday, they want something new, beautiful, and neat. You cannot always use the same cloth year after year..

I thought that there are some traditions where the cloth is passed down from generation to generation, from parents to children, and there is no rotation of new cloth. 

Yes, they do also pass down the cloth. But needs increase throughout the years. Every month there are ceremonies and they are not only one day, it can be one week or two weeks, from small to large ceremonies. I used to come to two (major) events.

The first perang pandan in June-July when thousands of people will come. The first day is the sacred day in which it begins with the elders like in a trance and there is a debus (stabbing the body with a dagger). I do not know if it is a dagger or something else. Then they went around the village to show that the ceremony had started.

The first day of the perang pandan ceremony is only for residents of Tenganan Pegringsingan Village. The men are topless, only wearing batik cloth and layered with tenun gringsing. They hold a shield made of ate (a type of rattan) and fresh thorny pandan leaves, which are collected and tied. Then they fight. However, not like a sword with a sword, so it had to hit (a part of the body, hook the flesh) and immediately pulled. When they fight, there is absolutely no whimper of pain. They have been taught what to do and have been taught to both the young and aged. The grimace happens when the war is over, they are having lunch, and there are officers who apply herbal medicine (from ginger, temulawak and other spices) to the scars. The next day the wound is already dried up.

The second day is open to the public, anyone can fight, but only the men (taruna). They are dressed up in tenun gringsing cloth, swords, and pandan leaves. Then the women (daha) dress up in all the beautiful textiles. I still get goosebumps when I tell the story now. As the cloth should not be directly in contact with the body, they always wear a kain pelapis (a protective underclothes) as body wrap and the tenun gringsing will be draped and hung forward. They are also decked in gold jewellery. Then they will ride on the carousel. It is very extraordinary and if there is a chance, you should come. I am even more scared to see who rides the carousel (instead of the witnessing the perang pandan).

There is also a Rejang Dance Festival around January-February. At the climax at night, all the “matured” girls (ed.: ones that have undergone puberty), not the small girl, dress up for the festival. The festival runs until late evening. If you love textiles, be warned that you will get goosebumps and cry, because it is really good.

So, there are two dates, in January-February and June-July. #protip

Yes, you have to check with them the exact dates because they have their own calendar.

Maybe you can tell a little bit about your research journey, once you reach there, what did you do, who did you talk to, etc.?

I was confused actually. And it is a bit different now, the door has also changed, the main door has already been turned into an “Instagrammable garden”. I have never been there either.

As soon as I entered the small gate, I hoped to find a village, but the first thing I saw were galleries on the left and right. I went in and asked some questions for a while until I finally went up and met one of the residents there. I chatted with her and seemed to click. I met with Mrs. Komang (well, one of Mrs. Komang as many Balinese has similar names). She told me a lot and I asked her to be one of my source. She was willing. She said that she did not know everything but she is willing to help. So for 2 years, I went back and forth because I could not stay within the village if there were no important matters and you need to get permission from the village head there. So my sources will let me know the different festivals and rituals and I will match their schedule.

How did they respond to you? Are they open for sharing or do they have any reservation?

Very open. I am not the only researcher and cloth is not the only research subject. This village is one of the villages who take care of the environment – the forest has been preserved, the environment is maintained. Those who come are not only looking at textile designs or the textile lovers, but they also come for the music, gamelan, terasering, subak and so on. Many researchers go to research there. So, they are very open.

Unfortunately, out of the numerous research, they are not able to collect the results. There was one person, called Pemangku Widya. He is the only person who understands everything in this village. Luckily he has talked a lot with several people and the data has been transferred little by little. He passed away on 2 January 2014 and I think there is still a lot of knowledge in him that has not been transferred and one of them is about gringsing. Fortunately, he has initiated the creation of a small museum, not only for cloth but also for the village in general.

After the research, what are the insights that you get? Maybe on 2 things that had been mentioned before: motifs and the development of the tenun gringsing textile.

So the aforementioned museum did their own research, they looked for data and they started to proclaim that they have 24+1 “old motifs”. Old motifs mean the original motifs and the motifs that have been passed down from generation to generation. From 24 motifs, maybe only 14 are still being produced, for the rest, they do not have the textile physically (as a reference), but only in photo form. 24+1 meaning 24 double ikat woven cloths and 1 weft ikat woven cloth. Not only in Indonesia, almost all over the world, the ikat weaving is usually warp ikat, but this is weft woven. Actually this weft ikat is obtained from the excess from the tenun gringsing production.

For the curious, further reading: Hidden Calculation on Patterning the Warp and Weft Threads with Double Ikat Technique: Geringsing Textiles 

Do they have any “modern” motifs?

Yes, by new motifs, maybe those that are only 50 years old, some are very new. There were even elephant or violin motifs because it was an order from a tourist. The difference is if the weaving has a very strange motif such as a violin or an elephant, it is usually not given Tridatu at the upper and lower ends. Tridatu are 3 different colours (ed.: symbolising the three Hindu gods) that are at the top and bottom as a marker that it is gringsing. Usually for very modern or contemporary motifs, they will not give these three colours.

You mentioned that one of the concerns is the decline in quality, can you explain further about this?

The decline in the quality starts with the raw materials. The first raw material is cotton fiber, the second is natural dyes because they do not want to replace natural dyes (with other plant sources). These natural dyes have been tested for thousands of years, the longer the fabric is stored, the colour will get older because the fixer is time, instead of the sun or anything else. So the longer you keep, the darker, the colour will be if it has been properly treated in the initial steps.

There are 3 colours: yellow, red, and blue/black. The thread is Balinese yarns, it is purchased from Nusa Penida. They only have 1 or 2 trees in their village and it is only for ceremonial purposes. There is a ceremony that requires cloth with the Balinese thread. However, their original thread is hand-spun Balinese thread. If the spinner is patient, the result will be small and thin, but if they are, the yarns will be uneven. Then, the thread is soaked in candlenut, they call it yellow dyeing, but actually it is a mordanting for the next stage. It is soaked for 42 days, (ed.: it is 1 month + 7 days and there are 35 days in a month according to the Tenganan Bali Aga calendar). If it is not optimal, it is repeated for another 42 days.

So it must be 1 cycle?

And it is just the thread only. From there, it was stretched for the warp. Then it was tied. First, we will tie for the area to remain white (ed.: yellow), the second band (or colour) for dyeing a red one, with raffia strings. So there will be 2 different colours of rafia strings. After that, they took them to the Bugbug Village, where it was coloured in blue from indigo. It takes about two weeks. If it is not enough, then add on another 2 weeks. After that, it is returned (to Tenganan Pegringsingan) and then untied for the red one. The bond for white remains tied.

The newly opened bundle did not have any blue in it, so now there is yellow and there is blue colour, and the other one is still tied. This is the best part, because even though the colour is only from noni root bark and one type of wood. This is the tricky part because a good noni root must be one that is over 5 years old. What happens now is that they use those that are 3 month old because it is a neccessity. Even though it has been imported from East Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, etc., it is still not sufficient for their needs.

The red dyeing starts, the thread is being “massaged” one by one, to ensure that nothing is being missed. It is then soaked for 3 days and then hung dry. After they are dry, they are not opened but stored, put in a plastic bag and dated. 3 months later, it is taken out and observed. If it is dry (ed.: or haus, thirsty in their term), it will be dyed again. The cycle goes on until about 12 years. For the cloth behind you, maybe they only did 6 months of dyeing. So, the myth about red colour from blood is definitely not true.

So the raw material for Balinese yarn is clearly lacking. Secondly, the dyes that are clearly needed are the old noni root, (which is not enough). Thirdly is how to dye indigo itself and forth is the weavers.

When I came there, there were still many weavers. They have to attend this school for 1 year. For the boys, they are separated from their parents and live in a dormitory. For the girls, they are at home but they still have school. One of the  things taught in this school is to make tenun gringsing. Around 1970 there were almost no weavers, because of many things, they were not passed down. In the end, Pemangku Widya requested that tenun gringsing to be taught at the school again. After that, the need for weavers is met.

In recent years, many women went on to study and left the village after graduating from high school. The weavers are diminishing but the good news is that the dyeing will take a long time so the colour quality will  improve. There are both positive and negative  sides. With that, the prices will also go up.

Not even including inflation and such yet.

So do not ask why the price of tenun gringsing can be expensive. The production takes years. They check it and dye it every 3 months. So you can imagine how much savings that is being accumulated there. So raw materials and skills are needed.

How should we appreciate tenun gringsing?

Buy it. *laugh* I suggest that you buy and collect all of them if you can, including the difficult motifs, such as wayang. But, do not just buy it and wear it (like casual wear) wherever you go. Find out how the philosophy of the cloth is and so on. Most people only have tenun gringsing textiles without knowing anything.

If there is an old textile that is hundreds of years old and wants to be sold, you can let them know not to sell it and buy the newly produced ones. Do advise them to keep the original because once it has gone, they have no comparator or reference, especially for the quality itself. They are welcome to hang cloth in the living room or any space, but my advice is not in the bathroom. Other than respecting them, the second reason is that the cloth will be quickly damaged.

Do not just buy it and wear it (like casual wear) wherever you go but find out how the philosophy of the cloth is.

So from the colour itself, (you can see) different processes and production.

And the thread itself, because they have new (store-bought) threads now. Especially for the ceremony, they wear Balinese threads for both warp and weft. Sometimes, they replace either the warp, weft, or even both, into commercial threads. If both warp and weft are using commercial yarns, the price is definitely much lower than if they were to use Balinese threads. So if you have a chance and want to buy, you can adjust according to your budget. If the budget is not too big, you can buy one that are not made from Balinese threads or those that are dyed for only 3 or 6 months.

What are some projects that you are currently working on?

For textile-related, the first one is Tuban. I have worked with them for 2 years. The next project is Bima, to return to natural dyes. If anyone had seen videos of the red flood in Pekalongan, it was too painful to watch. This tenun gringsing became one of my motivations because they have been using natural dyes for thousands of years. Even if the water turns red, I am not worried. In Tuban, I want them to return to using natural dyes and restore their skills.

How about your non-textile projects?

I am a farmer. One of them, I want to recultivate local superior seeds. I will look for other local seeds (to grow). I have been trying to grow tulips for 5 years and it has grown beautifully in Ciwidey.

That is our next trip. *laugh* What are some messages or your hopes for the development of Indonesian textiles? Tenun gringsing specifically or in general.

For tenun gringsing, I am not too worried about tenun gringsing. I worry about the raw materials. Therefore, I want to try to recultivate local seeds. When I teach in a certain area, sometimes they tell me that they need something and sometimes I know where they can get it. So, I have a desire to make a connection among them. Indonesia is vast and rich, but we do not talk to each other so we do not know each other’s needs and what the others have. I wish there are more people who have the desire like myself to make that connection to artisans.

Also, my dream is that Indonesians should have more confidence in using our products. Do not increase the price of a piece of textile while the artisan does not get anything. I hope that artisans can be proud of their creations too. Indonesians, especially the diaspora, can be proud in wearing it too.

My dream is that Indonesians should have more confidence in using our products. I hope that artisans can be proud of their creations too.

We are the ambassadors. A very important message for Indonesians is that we should be proud of Indonesian cultures and our products. Once again, thank you so much for sharing. As a Balinese, I levelled-up a little bit. *laugh*.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of aNERDspective. Check out the previous episode on IGTV and our gallery and store if you would like a piece of Indonesia for your home or wardrobe. You may also check out  Nurul’s Instagram for any updates from her textile and farming journey.

Photo credit: Nurul Akriliyati, unless stated otherwise.