History of Motif and Patterns of Dusun Lebu

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Dusun Lebou of Borneo, Sabah motif of their textiles and weavings.

Transcript of History of Motif and Patterns of Dusun Lebu

History of motif and patterns of Dusun Lebus weaving.According to the explanation by the ancestors of the Lebu, the legend or the history of weaving patterns or traditional weaving of the Lebu is according to certain occasion that happened or experienced by the creator of the weaving pattern.

Most of the creators of the traditional Lebus patterns are among the maiden/young woman (gadis Sunti).According to the Lebu tribe, gadis Sunti means young woman or wonoi-wonoi which is prohibited from doing any outdoor activities, like socializing with the community. These young ladies are only allowed to go out when their parents brought them to the farm to do gardening. Besides that, their parents during that time were asking them only do housework such as cleaning the house, cooking, and weaving. The way of the parent educating their daughters is to put them away from danger, for dignity of a young woman before they get married.

Cooking, includes making tapai(wine made from fermentation of rice or tapioca), and preparing meals for the entire family.

Gadis Sunti also told to do weaving like cloth from cotton, and weaving mat, basket, raya(small basket like thing to put paddy), Lilibu, Payawan, Saut, Sirong and other weavings from rattan, tree bark, and palm tree leave to make house roof. This kind of skill is needed by a Gadis Sunti in order for them to be prepared for their marriage. Those routine keep repeated by all young women, until they get married. After married, this skill will help them as their economic source for their family. Only during after this period, they are allowed to socialized with the community. According to the stories of the ancestors of Lebu, Gadis Sunti who do weaving, are always feel alone and full of emptiness in their heart, because they were not allowed to socialized with the community. Because of that, they always in fantasy and imagining their future, and these fantasies and imagination create the motif and pattern in their weaving. The motif and pattern were held down to their generations until today.

Motif: EnelitangHistory: A maiden which her daily routine is to be at home inspires the motive of Enelitang(wooden stove)

Motif: KenumpitHistory: a maiden feel bored and depressed from her weaving work, but determined tofinish her weaving, creates an incompleted/unfinished pattern which named Kenumpit.

Motif: Tiegang LepongHistory: A warrior killed a giant lepong that ate his lover. A girl saw this situation and inspires the motif of lepong bone. Lepong is the rib bone of a paddy field snake.

Motif: Inulan AndusHistory: a maiden imagining an attack toward the enemy during full moon using andus(head of spear)

Motif: Inandus-andusHistory: represent a weapon that been used by warrior which called as andus(head of spear)

Motif: Inambau KinelepisauHistory: During old times, there was a warrior named Ambau who nobody can match his power and strength. There was a Gadis Sunti doing her batik, and used the name of the warrior to represent strength and speed of Ambau like a swallow bird flying away to escape from its enemy. This was told to be the hardest batik because having different patterns of batik to be put in one.

Motif: Inogoman no lelainHistory: A mother showing her love to her child and get inspired the motif of her child sitting place (or maybe cradle). Inogoman no lelaing means a childs rest place.

Motif: Waloi No KengkelawaHistory: A young woman inspired by spiders web and Waloi No Kengkelawa means spiders web.

Motif: PinagarianHistory: There was a married woman with high enthusiasm in weaving and making batik since she was young and she planned to create a new batik pattern. Focusing too much on her work, she forgot about her hungry baby waiting to be fed. Only after she done creating a new batik, she found out that her baby died from hunger. Because of long-time-consuming work until causing her baby to die, she called the motif as Pinagarian which means abandoned child. Since then any woman with children is prohibited from making this batik pattern.

Motif: Inaut SiladHistory: A young woman went to the forest with her parent to collect kapei leaves to make a roof for house. Kapei leaf is also known as Palm leaf. The young woman was attracted to the beauty of blooming kapei leaves. The motif of Inaut Silad is inspired from newly-bloomed Kapei/Palm leaves.

Motif: Iningkagan No AsuHistory: There was a married couple having no son, only daughters. One day, the father took one of her daughter together into the forest to hunt. When his dog barks toward a wild boar, the dog chases the wild boar and both the father and daughter followed them. To find the way of the dog, she needs to look at the foot step of the dog, Looking at the pattern on the dogs foot step, inspired her to create Iningkagan No Asu which means dogs foot step in Lebu language.

Motif: BiniutitinHistory: A young woman staring to the night sky during full moon and saw a lot of stars. She then inspired by that and created Biniutitin motif of stars in the night sky.

Motif: InimposedHistory: a young woman helping a woman giving birth, was in panic an dconfusion because she doesnt know how to cut the belly button of the baby. She took a while staring at the belly button and finally managed to cut it by following the babys mother order. The young woman applies the technique of cutting the belly button to the weaving, and calls it Inimposed. Pused means belly button in Lebu language.

Motif: KinelepisauHistory: A young woman after she done with her house work and weavings inside a special room for Gadis Sunti located on the top of the house, with a window. From that window, she saw kalapisau bird (swallow) flying, and inspires the motif.

Motif: PinakuHistory: this batik pattern is inspired by a young woman that followed her father into the forest looking for vegetable. They found a land full of local vegetable called Paku Pakis. The pattern is inspired by the shape of that plant.

Motif: SinelingkawangHistory: A young woman working with her parent in rice field found a plant named Sinelangkawang in Lebu language. The weaving is inspired by the leaf of Sinelingkawang.

Motif: InolanHistory: Inspired by a young woman that saw a full moon. Inolan came from the word olan, means moon and Inolan means the shadow of the moon.

Motif: SiningkeulonHistory: Inspired by a lonely young woman who never socialized,, went outside of house to meet the community, and she also wanting a lover. The young woman imagining the lover of her dreams, and applies it into a shape of humans holding hands. This batik has a form of human, with head and hand. Siningkeulon have related meaning to human and in Lebu language, ulon means human.