“I was 5 years old when I learned this; now I am 65. I am from Kapit, Sarawak, and am orang Iban. Our grandmother taught us about the weaves and (fern, bamboo shot) designs.
This is the heritage of our Iban people. And since this comes from a dream of our great-grandparents, this pua kumbu (Iban ceremonial textile) is very important to us.
We make the motifs based on our stories and legends and from dreams. Only princesses can weave those who have ‘received’ the dream. My grandmother was a princess and had the gift. My great-grandmother said that once someone gets the dream, the next 7 generations will find it very easy to handle the looms and create the weaves. I am currently the 3rd generation, and another 4 generations more to go. My daughter is not interested in this, but my 17-year-old great-grandaughter is interested so I will pass my knowledge of the weave to her.
When we are born, we are wrapped and received on pua kumbu— and it is also used as a mosquito net shield for the baby. You will see pua kumbu in our Iban community and our ritual ceremony. For Iban, pua kumbu, from the day you are born till you die, you will see and be with pua kumbu. Even when you are married, the baby is carried by pua kumbu, and when you sleep, you are covered by pua kumbu. When we are married, we use pua kumbu. When people sleep, they use pua kumbu as a blanket. Even during a sun eclipse or lunar eclipse, we use pua kumbu to ‘fan’ the sun/moon for their survival so that they don’t ‘burn up.’ Pua kumbu is important in our lives and has also become our traditional dress. For hiasan rumah, it is also used. It is very important to us in the Iban community.
I normally work on the loom for 3-4 hours before I take breaks. This piece will take me 2 days to finish, which is considered small.
At Central Market, Nurul Izzah also bought one pua kumbu from me (Telaga Air Mata Duyung design). Siti Hajar Taib also bought from me. ThinkCity CEO also bought from us. Pua kumbu can bring light to the people, not spiritually, but as a status symbol.
My biggest struggle is encouraging people to do the pua kumbu weaving using traditional method. If more people know how important pua kumbu is, they will want to learn about it.”
_______________________________
Story was taken at the official Launch of IKAT 2.0 – the first-of-its-kind pop-up heritage textile experiential hub titled “Dreamweavers” which spotlights the exquisite Borneo textiles – Pua Kumbu, pis embroidery and beaded works.
IKAT is a pioneering initiative led by XR-focused studio EDT with the support of Yayasan Hasanah. This one-year cultural experiential programme is dedicated to the preservation of Malaysian textile heritage and re-invigorate public engagement with these crafts
Location: The GoDown Arts Centre
