Geringsing: Balinese weaving at the Bali Museum

The Geringsing cloth, is the most intricate work of cloth in Bali. It is made in the Bali Aga village of Tenganan Pegeringsingan, and considered by Balinese, to have the power to ward off evil spirits / misfortune. The Geringsing cloth is used at special ceremonies in Bali. The cloth is made of natural fibers and natural dyes, which are red and reddish-brown tones made of the root sunti, yellow made of kemiri fruit and blue, or blue-black made of taum (indigo). The design is obtained by the double tied process, that is, the threads of both the warp and the weft are patterned previous to the weaving. To do this, warp and weft threads are stretched on frames, and groups are tightly bound with fibers at certain points, before being dipped into the dye, so that the tied part remains uncolored to produce the design.

The clothes on display at the Bali Museum, show a few motifs of the Geringsing cloth, such as: Wayang Putri (shadow puppet, pepare (fruit) and cemplong (flower). Because of the intricacy of the work, to make a good quality Geringsing takes form 5-8 years. Part of the reasom for this time frame, is also that Geringsing can only be worked on, during special days according to the wuku calendar.