download - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

17 IBAN TEXTILESSeated, from left: Grand aunt Jelia with aunt Nancy leaning against her, great-grandmother Sendi(grandmother's mother) holding Aunt Magdalene, great-grandmother Rimbu (grandfather's mother)with Aunt Alice and grandmother Inja holding father. Singapore, 19391909, with seed brought back from Singapore by his son Lumpoh. Another early planter, PenghuluSaang, obtained seeds from Stambak to plant at Pelandok in the Paku branch of the Saribas in1912‖. (12) ―The Saribas Iban ‗experienced unparalleled material prosperity‘, enabling further investmentin agriculture, business and trading, as well as the construction of ‗palatial‘ ironwoodlonghouses and the celebration of elaborate gawai festivals on an unprecedented scale‖. Pringlesuccinctly commented that ―it is no exaggeration to say that any knowledge of Saribas history inthe Brooke era begins with knowledge of this family.‖ (13)The women of this family, in turn, were grandmaster weavers whose authority and influencein weaving was unchallenged throughout the Saribas, although very little was recorded of theirachievements by writers of the time who did not yet realise the significance of Iban ritual textiles.Mengan Tuai, the wife of the Orang Kaya Pemancha Dana Bayang and her granddaughter Mindu(14) were both known to have been patronised by Indu Dara Insin Temaga, the daughter of wargodSengalang Burong. Although Indu Dara Insin Temaga is not exclusively the goddess of weaving,mythology states that her weavings are the most beautiful and her threads as fine as silk.Mindu‘s eldest daughter Mengan was named after her grandmother and brought up as ananak umbong (15), where she was confined to the attic and schooled rigorously by her elderly femalerelatives in all the arts of weaving until the day she was given away in marriage. Mengan wasto become the most well-known indu takar in the Saribas, superseding even the fame of hermother and grandmother before her as tuai takar. An indu takar is a woman who knows the secretmeasurements of mordant and dyes and conducts the ritual of soaking yarns in a pre-treatmentbath. It is also the highest social status for a woman. A tuai takar is the lead or principal amongstthe indu takar. Heppell further remarked that ―it was probably in just such a Stambak attic thatSaribas design took the fork in the road it did and started producing the rich and complex designs