I agree with Remy about the ID of the
sibolang si lima tuho. The other ulos - both of these are Toba Batak ulos - is an
ulos mangiring It has arrowhead warp ikat which is traditional for the
mangiring and was usually worn over the shoulder by young girls or used as a baby carrier. If you go to the page
http://www.tribaltextiles.info/articles ... ection.htm you will see several Toba Batak ulos including both a
sibolang si lima tuho and a
mangiring. If you click on the images you will see enlargements with a few comments.
When the textiles were woven the thread will have been treated starch to help with the weaving - usually dipped in rice water or similar. This will wear out through use. The
mangiring was probably used more often than the
sibolang. It may also depend on the threads and the dyeing of them. My
mangiring (from first decade of 20th century) feels lighter than the couple of
sibolangs that I have. The indigo dye coating on the threads (as is the way of indigo dyeing) may give it more 'texture'. See a picture of a Toba Batak funeral
http://www.tribaltextiles.info/articles ... uneral.htm A
sibolang is being worn by the man standing in the centre of the photo (he was then the husband of the eldest grandchild of the deceased) and a man near the foot of the coffin is holding up a
sibolang perhaps about to cover the body with it.
Yes, the key book is Sandra Niessen's 'Legacy in cloth: Batak textiles of Indonesia' although it is almost not available any more. (See
http://www.bataktextiles.com/projects/Legacy.html for info on the book.)
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Pamela
http://www.tribaltextiles.infoon-line tribal textiles resource