The tiny island of Bali is known for its lush rice terraces, rugged mountains and scenic coastline with coral reefs. It is also home to nearly 20,000 temples, including thousands of Hindu “pura.” Bali is the only island in the Indonesian archipelago where Hinduism is the majority religion, and sacred rituals are an integral part of daily life.
Textiles have played an important role in Balinese Hindu ceremonies for hundreds of years. Long banners called “lamak” are hung vertically at the entrance of a temple or draped on an altar as a base cloth to hold offerings given by local devotees.
This early 20th-century lamak features six repeating images of Dewi Sri, the revered goddess of rice, fertility and abundance. With rice as the island’s single most important food crop, Balinese farmers practice special religious ceremonies to invoke the goddess’ blessing before planting and to give thanks after the harvest.
The goddess is depicted in a feminine form with a triangular skirt, an hourglass-shaped waist and diamond motifs. Her outstretched palm offers a blessing. The weaver’s use of purple for the textile’s ground was likely an aesthetic choice without religious significance.
Effigies of Dewi Sri are still used in worship today and can be found throughout Bali in the form of stone statues or dolls crafted from palm leaves. Carefully woven lamak remain one of the most sacred representations of the goddess and a bridge to the spiritual realm.
Rice terraces in Jatiluwih, Tabanan Regency, Bali. Photo by Globe-trotter/CC BY-SA 4.0.
