Toraja Ceremonial Banner, Sarita

Sarita is a sacred cloth from Sulawesi. It is used by the Toraja people who live in the south of the island. Toraja are mostly christian but have local  animist beliefs called Anuk. A long and narrow textile, it is used during ceremonies, especially life enhancing ones due to its life, growth and fertility images. A sarita can be worn or displayed hung bannerlike.

A sarita is usually divided into rectangular sections containing motifs similar to the ones used in house carvings. The iconography includes livestock, agricultural plants and human figures. They are interspersed with  larger design elements, mostly leaves, spiral shapes and crosses which represent buffaloes locking horns.

A sarita’s design can be achieved via different methods: Hand painting, block printing or as in this example in a paste resist dyeing technique similar to batik.