Tribal Weavings of the Lesser Sunda Islands

Maumere-Lembata-Alor-Kupang-Savu-Flores-Sumba-Labuan Bajo
The diverse Lesser Sunda Islands, stretching eastwards from Bali, offer the most
amazing landscapes and a glorious cornucopia of weaving for textile lovers. Here
women not only continue to make their traditional cloth on back-tension looms but
continue to wear it as well. There is kaleidoscopic variety of patterns and designs
every region of every island has its own unique textile culture, its own style of dress,
and its own motifs.Together we will explore the extraordinary ancestral traditions of
these islands where textiles are the predominant form of artistic expression, still
playing a central role in every significant stage of life, especially marriage and death.
Some islanders even remark that: without cloth we cannot marry.
However change is underway in even the remotest villages and weavers are no longer
passing on their skills to the next generation. We have a unique opportunity to
witness a dying art form before it is gone forever.
We will enjoy the luxury of cruising effortlessly from island to island, crossing a
rugged, isolated region where travel is normally a tough logistical nightmare. Our
graceful phinisi offers us access to villages and beaches that would otherwise be
almost impossible to reach. Along the way there will be time to enjoy the amazing
volcanic scenery, meet local villagers, visit traditional markets, buy local textiles,
swim and snorkel over pristine coral, relax and have fun. This is a fantastic,
adventurous way to travel providing memories that passengers will treasure for the
rest of their lives.
Our British expert textile guides, David and Sue Richardson, look forward to
introducing guests to each island, its people and its culture, sharing their knowledge
through a series of evening talks.
Meet the experts
David and Sue are passionate
researchers and collectors of Asian
textiles and have spent the past twenty-
five years travelling to remote weaving
villages across Island and Mainland
South-east Asia, the Indian Subcontinent
and Central Asia. Their fieldwork has
involved research in Thailand, Laos,
Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
and of course Indonesia.
Since first visiting Indonesia in 1980,
David and Sue have systematically
visited every part of the archipelago,
ranging from Sumatra in the west to
Western Papua in the east, from North
Maluku in the north to Timor in the
south, journeying both overland and by
sea using a variety of local vessels.
David and Sue have lectured about their
textile researches to Rug and Textile
Societies across the USA and in
Europe. Their richly-illustrated book on
the culture and textiles of the
Qaraqalpaqs of Central Asia,
Qaraqalpaqs of the Aral Delta, was
released by the high-end art publisher
Prestel in July 2012 and has received
excellent reviews.
Day 1
You will be met at Maumere airport by
your guides David and Sue Richardson
and transferred to the harbour to embark
on the Ombak Putih. After everybody has
boarded and settled in their cabins we will
sail out into the beautiful Bay of Maumere
to find a quiet anchorage with the extinct
volcano of Ili Kimang as a backdrop. We
will have an introductory talk to the
textiles of the region and a welcome
dinner.
Day 2
We will return to Maumere harbour during
breakfast before driving to colourful
Geliting Friday market where, in addition to
fish, fruit, and vegetables they also sell
local ikat. We will then drive inland to get
our first experience of local dyeing and
weaving at the Bliran Sina weaving
cooperative at Watublapi village led by
Daniel David, where they produce cloth
typical of the Iwang Get region. In the
afternoon we visit the Blikon Blewut
Museum at Ledalero to see the important
collection of Lesser Sunda textiles
assembled by Catholic missionaries in the
1950s and 60s. We move on to a local
village to examine the different style of
weaving in the central Krow region.
Overnight sail to Alor.
Day 5
An early start sees us drive through the
islands rugged landscape to the traditional
village of Tapkala where the local Abui
women, dressed in their ceremonial
costumes, will entertain us with the
colourful lego-lego circle dance, used to
celebrate weddings and other life cycle
events. The village has a dramatic setting
and the two-storey pyramidal houses have
an interesting architecture. The villagers
will have a range of textiles and baskets
Day 3
In the morning we will moor close to
Larantuka, exploring a small weaving
village that few visitors ever get to see, in
the shadow of the imposing Ili Mandiri
volcano. The local people are the
Lamaholot and their weaving is quite
different from that encountered elsewhere
in Flores. After lunch we will visit one of
the nearby islands for snorkelling.
Day 4
Today we arrive in northern Lembata and
will drop anchor on the north coast below
the towering active volcano of Ili Api. We
will go ashore to see the distinctive ikat
weaving of this region, meeting weavers
from three different villages.
While we have lunch the boat will set sail
for Jontona where we will be welcomed
by dancing before climbing into trucks for
an exhilarating drive up to the ancestral
village, dramatically located on the slopes
of the volcano. Here we will see some of
the treasures used in the bridewealth
exchanges including elephant tusks and
Moko drums. A selling exhibition of textiles
will give you an opportunity to add
weavings from a different region to your
collection.
Day to day itinerary
for us to purchase. Alor is very ethnically
diverse and we will make a short stop at
the museum in Kalabahi which has a fine
display of regional ikat. After a reviving
lunch back on board we will visit the
totally different village of Monbang, where
the villagers will welcome us dressed in
barkcloth. They will show us various
aspects of their daily lives and, of course,
how they make the cloth. Barkcloth and
baskets will also be available to purchase.
We hope to have a late afternoon swim
and snorkel session before setting off for
the southern coast of Lembata.
Day 6
This morning we arrive at one of our
favourite places, Lamalera, going ashore to
explore the famous whaling village with its
rows of boat houses lining the beach.
Local weavers will show us their morinda
dyeing process and how they produce
their kewatek ikat sarongs. The depth of
colour they achieve is truly outstanding.
We will then walk up the hill to another
part of the village where the schoolteacher
is keen for us to meet his students and tell
them about our interest in their traditions.
After we board the Ombak Putih the local
villagers will demonstrate the hazardous
whaling techniques they use to hunt
sperm whales from small outriggers. We
then sail south across the Savu Sea
heading for Kupang in West Timor.
Day 7
After disembarking at the old harbour
where Captain Bligh landed in 1789 we
drive the short distance to the Museum of
and dyers will demonstrate how they spin
and dye their cotton before weaving their
tubeskirts, referred to locally as ei. Designs
differ according to the tribal affiliation of
the weaver. Textiles will be available to
purchase and we will then explore the
village including the ritual house where the
heirloom baskets for textiles are kept.
We return to the boat for lunch and in the
afternoon pay a brief visit to the important
Day to day itinerary continued
Nusa Tenggara where we will be
welcomed by the Director who will give us
a private viewing of some of the best
textiles in the collection. Our route then
takes us through beautiful scenery for our
welcome by dancers who will escort us to
our reception by the King of the Amarasi in
his Royal Pavilion. An accomplished artist
himself, he is justifiably proud of the
weaving done by his people and, after a
dance performance, we will be able to
study their techniques and purchase
examples of their textiles.
During lunch the boat will reposition to
enable us to visit a group of weavers from
the Helong tribe who will show us the
different styles of their ikat costume.
Sail overnight to the island of Savu.
Day 8
We will land at Napae Bay where Captain
Cook moored the Endeavour on his way
home after his expedition to Australia.
Going ashore we will be welcomed by
local dancers and by ikat-clad horsemen. A
very scenic drive in open trucks will bring
us to our next group of weavers who live
in a hilltop village with fantastic views
down to the coast. These master weavers
ritual village of Namata, where priests of
the ancestral religion Jingi tiu use the
many megalithic platforms for sacred
purposes. We then move on to another
village to see yet more excellent weaving.
If we have time we will also have a
demonstration of lontar palm tapping and
perhaps taste the local alcohol made from
this. Overnight we head north across
theSavu Sea to the southern coast of
Flores
Day 9
Back in the land of volcanoes! Today we
travel up the steep slopes of Gunung
Inerie to visit two Ngada villages. The
Ngada are a matrilineal society and our
first stop will be the spectacularly situated
village of Gurusina where we see large
numbers of buffalo horns decorating the
thatched houses. We then continue on to
Bena where we will find textiles hung
outside the houses for sale.
After lunch we enjoy a swim before we
return back across the Savu Sea for the
first of our two days in East Sumba, one of
the most important weaving regions in the
Lesser Sundas.
Day 10
Arriving on the eastern coast of Sumba
we will land on the beach at Melolo where
buses will be waiting to take us to the
nearby traditional village of Praiyawang
where we will see a traditional compound
of Sumbanese houses and stone slab
tombs and of course some weaving. We
then drive to Umabara with its traditional
houses, megaliths, and tombs before
exploring the neighbouring Royal village of
Pau which is renowned for its
supplementary warp weaving, known as
pahikung. After lunch the boat will move to
a long sandy beach where we can enjoy
an afternoon swim or snorkel.
The boat then repositions to Waingapu
harbour. Guests are invited to don their
finest ikat purchases for a party with the
crew entertaining us with traditional
Indonesian songs.
Day 11
An early start beginning with a visit to a
small workshop producing some of the
highest quality hinggi to be found on the
island. Here we will learn how the designs
are created and transferred onto the warp
set and we will begin to understand the
laborious process of binding that is
required to produce these spectacular and
intricately patterned cloths. Superb hinggi
will be available to buy, after which we will
walk around the Royal village of Prailiu. We
will no doubt be accosted by eager textile
sellers at every turn.
We will then take a short drive through
paddy fields to a rarely visited weaving
village where we will be entertained by
traditional dances in a shady spot in the
centre of the village before enjoying our
final opportunity to purchase Sumbanese
textiles. On the way back to the boat we
will stop at the cathedral to see the statue
of Christ dressed in ikat.
Back to the boat for a late lunch as we set
sail for Labuan Bajo. Tonight we will have
our farewell dinner as we prepare to say
goodbye to the crew and our newfound
friends.
Day to day itinerary continued
Route Map
Prices & Inclusions
Cruise Code Start Date Finish Date Cruise Description Vessel No Days Price US$
OP1405FSF2 14-May-15 25-May-14 Tribal Weaving of the lesser Ombak Putih 12 $ 5940*
Sunda Islands

* Prices are per person and based on sharing a double or a twin cabin
Day 12
Our final mooring will be in the port of
Labuan Bajo. After breakfast we will
transfer to nearby Komodo Airport.
Guests who wish to extend their holiday
with visits in the Komodo national park can
contact us. SeaTrek will be happy to
arrange this.
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12 superior cabins
Length over all:
36 meters (118 feet)
Beam: 10 meters (33 feet)
Draught: 3.5 meters
(11.5 feet)
Rig: Gaff rigged ketch -
600 m2 sails, 2 mains,
two tops, three jibs
Cruising speed:
7-10 knots
Maximum speed:
12 knots
International standard
Navigation & Safety
equipment (with
satellite phone)

About SeaTrek Sailing Adventures
Based in Sanur, Bali, SeaTrek is the premiere adventure sailing operator in the Indonesian archipelago. With over
25 years of experience, SeaTrek is the longest established company providing cruises throughout the region. Guests
from all over the world have set foot on one of SeaTreks Pinisi-style schooners and experienced the distinctive
beauty and charm of Indonesias exotic islands. The companys vessels have first-rate multilingual tour guides and
are crewed by highly trained stewards and staff. SeaTrek offers a variety of cruises to suit travellers both looking for
adventurous activity, as well as to explore the historical and cultural uniqueness of this corner of the world.