Ceremonial cloth (cepuk)

For such a small island, Bali has a remarkably diverse array of textiles. Some are simply woven, while others demonstrate intricate artisanship. Natural dyes create subdued colors, while aniline dyes generate candycolored hues. Textiles commissioned by the upper classes were traditionally ornamented by gold and silver supplementary threads, but a simple handspun cotton cloth can have much greater ritual significance. Many Balinese cloths have specific roles in the ritual lives of the community.
This textile is a cepuk, a cloth made by a complicated dying process. Textiles of this type could be used in a number of ways: as the waist cloth or shoulder cloth for the sorceress Rangda in a dance-drama, as garb for deities and people entering into trance during rituals, and as funeral shrouds for members of the highest class.