Mounted Ceremonial Cloth (Kain Cepuk)

Kain cepuk ritual cloths are considered artifacts with very strong spiritual powers, bestowing purity, protection, and magic. They are made in weft ikat technique and even though there are many types of kain cepuks, their structural design is similar: red ground, patterned white or yellow borders, and most distinctly, rows of white arrowheads marking off longitudinal bands along the sides. The arrowheads allude to the teeth of the mighty protective spirit. Within these strict structural confines, kain cepuks achieve individuality with their seemingly inexhaustible variety of ikat patterns.