Continued change in geringsing weaving in Tenganan, Bali

Abstract

Traditional ethnic textiles make the world a more interesting place and a respite from the uniformity of the mass produced textiles of fast fashion. The richness of watching the continuation or revival of traditional textile production in person and the resulting use of apparel and other textile products used in daily, ritual, or ceremonial aspects of life, either sacred or profane, remind us of the beauty and importance of traditional ethnic textiles. As more tourists experience traditional textile cultures first hand, it is not surprising that there is a link between tourism and helping with the continuation of the production of ethnic textiles. The internet sale of textiles has also had a positive effect on the demand for traditional woven textiles. The current popularity of ikat patterned textiles or imitation ones, i.e., printed, is discussed. This chapter documents continued changes in weaving in the village of Tenganan Pegeringsingan in Bali, Indonesia from 1985 to 1999 and 2014. The village has a century’s old tradition of producing difficult to make geringsing double ikat textiles which requires tie-dyeing of both warp and weft yarns in both the warp and weft directions to create a pattern. Reasons for the decline and subsequent partial revival of weaving are explored.