BENTENAN SARONG

The people of Minahasa (North Sulawesi) first began to weave cotton yarn around the 18th century. Bentenan is a village located at the eastern coast of Minahasa, and it was here, where the first cloth pieces of this kind have been woven. Its patola motif, a design originating in India, that this particular cloth belongs to the Kaiwu Patola category. Pieces like this would be worn by female Shamans, conducting their traditional ceremonies. Until the 1980s, cloth of this kind was only made in the surroundings of the Bentenan Lake. Prior to commencing the weaving process, the local community asks for blessings by performing a special ceremony.