The wake demonstrated a living aspect of Iban material culture in situ - the use of pua kumbu to create the sapat. A sapat is a temporary enclosure created by draping ritual blankets called pua kumbu on ropes. The deceased is interred in a casket which is placed within this enclosure for several days and nights; a lying-in-state where relatives can come and pay their last respects before the burial on the third morning. This enclosure becomes a sacred space, a portal between the temporal and the spiritual, where the boundaries between this world and the next are blurred. It is not forbidden to enter this space, but whomever enters does so in the full knowledge that spiritual forces are active within the enclosure. Textiles become pivotal instruments for the Iban to communicate with the spiritual.
Relatives keep wake outside the enclosure.
The entrance to the sapat, with the casket partially in view.
The enclosure is always created outside the door of the bilik (family room) of the deceased in the ruai (communal activity area) of the longhouse.
Close-up of some of the pua kumbu, belonging to the family of the deceased. According to the eldest daughter of the deceased, these blankets were woven by the deceased's mother and grandmother, under the tutelage of Mengan anak Budin Gerasi from Stambak Ulu, Layar, Saribas.
Within the enclosure, casket partially in view.
View from the sapat looking out into the rest of the longhouse.
Notice trophy heads wrapped in ritual woven leaves hanging from the ceiling (see top centre of the photograph).
Food is served to guests during meal times.
The men congregate in the panggau (gallery), the traditional place for bachelors who, in the past, would sleep here to guard the longhouse from outside attack.
The ruai (communal activity area).
This collection of pua kumbu demonstrates perfectly the weaving skill of the indu tau sikat tau kebat (the skilled weaver - the first stage in the Iban female prestige system) of the Saribas. All the tisi (borders) of the pua kumbu in this collection are coloured red (described in Iban poetically as dilah kendawang or Tongue of the Krait) which indicates this level of technical as well as spiritual maturity (weaving is a demonstration of an Iban woman's technical skills and spiritual strength). Besides being an important indicator of the average level of weaving proficiency in the Saribas at the time when weaving was at its zenith in the region, this collection also presents a fascinating insight into the types and genres of patterns that were created during the Brooke era (late 19th century to mid 20th century) and why weavers of that period specifically created them.
The existence of this hitherto unknown collection of ritual blankets opens up and presents a new series of questions, being a veritable treasure trove of new information and data regarding the weaving tradition in the Saribas. Ordinarily, such pieces of Iban material would be regarded as masterpieces in the international antiques market as well as across international collections of Iban material, but in the Saribas, they are still regarded as the average work of the average weaver - an interesting perspective that has not been comprehensively explored. A thorough study of these textiles must be undertaken to better understand the Iban material.
The urgent need to embark on an extensive survey of the Saribas in order to collate, document and study these textiles in situ, together with other undiscovered collections in private homes throughout the region, cannot be more pronounced.
All photographs were kindly taken by my aunt Selaka Mawar. Thank you auntie!
