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A sample from the collection set we keep. We have plans to deposit the set of about ten cloths with a museum or a collector who agress to exhibit them. We can also exhibit the set, and more, up to twenty cloths for variety. This sarong cloth, similar to Widhi mata, is called Cabu songgo in the Nitu Léa (Nitung) domain, Palu'e island. The weavers in Nitu léa (with the neighbouring Cu'a) made this type of cloth for the women in preparation for the bringing-of-buffalo ceremony Pua karapau in late 2016. This variant is only known here, and the motherbands are, like all cloths of a certain domain, filled with the domain's motifs, some are same as in other domains, others different, some have the same names but look a little different.. see the upcoming article in Archipel no. 100 (Danerek x 2, 2020). To make this cloth we, with our master weaver Longge from the Kéli domain, borrowed a cloth from Nitu léa to use as a model. Longge did all the work on this piece; ikat, dyeing, weaving. The warp is still uncut. Dhama Cabu songgo by Longge. The motif names in sara Lu'a are (from the right): 1. manu wa'ine 2. laku la’ene mata bane 3. keke 4. mbési 5. laku la’ene mata limane 6. keke 7. mata ké’o 8. laku la’ene mata bane 9. keke 10. kolo dhengune 11. laku laéne mata dhelune 12. keke 13. koli nggiku sao hiwi panane 14. laku laéne mata dhelune…

Wua wela ('the dehiscing Areca' cloth) and Nae romo ('sarong', or 'wide warp') are the two most iconic, or common, Palu'e cloths. Nae romo is the only male ikat sarong type. This pair was made in early 2020, only one of each. Made by the master weaver Longge, using tencel yarn, first season, without problems. Tencel, made from trees from certified agroforestry, is not as heavy as cotton, like in between silk and cotton. The extreme dark blue was achieved with only local indigo. Longge, or the Palu'e tradition, can also overdye the indigo with mangrove and another local plant, and then the colour will look about the same as on these cloths. The red here is a new 'patent', which among else uses left over fibres from a tree which is used for boatbuilding. Wood chips from this tree (probably a species of Mahogany, if not ironwood), turn red when rain falls on it. Longge's ikat work is great, and the dyeing phenomenal. The cloths below are not yet sewn to sarongs. The Nae romo, a wider type, is sewn directly along the weft. Often, because it is rather short, it is sewn together with another cloth along the warp, creating one big sarong. Here they are being aired outside, pre-curating. The motifs for the Wua wela, largely the same as today's, are taken from an old Wua wela in the Peter ten Hoopen Collection (Many thanks, https://www.ikat.us/ikat_305.php), but the ikat bands were not executed assymetrically, but symmetrically as…