September, 19 13. Wild Tribes of Davao District — Cole. 79 



A little later we shall describe the active part woman takes in the 

 planting and care of the fields, but now we shall take up in some detail 

 the industry in which she stands pre-eminent, the preparation and 

 weaving of hemp. 



The hemp ordinarily stripped by the men is considered too fine to be 

 used in the manufacture of clothing, so a smaller stripping device is 

 employed by the woman (Plate XX). On this she cleans the outer 

 layers of the hemp stalk, from which a stronger and coarser thread can 

 be obtained. The fiber is tied in a continuous thread and is wound 

 onto a reel. The warp threads are measured on sharpened sticks 

 driven into a hemp or banana stalk, and are then transferred to a 

 rectangular frame (Plate XXI). The operator, with the final pattern 

 in mind, overties or wraps with waxed threads, such portions of the 

 warp as she desires to remain white in the completed garment. So 

 carefully does she wrap these sections, that, when the thread is removed 

 from the frame and placed in the liquid dye, no portion of the coloring 

 matter penetrates to the portions thus protected. If a red color is 

 desired the root of the sikarig 1 palm is scraped and the scrapings placed 

 in bark vats filled with cold water. The thread is first washed in, 

 and is later boiled with the dye for a half hour, after which it is placed 

 in a basket to drain and dry. The process is repeated daily for about 

 two weeks, or until the thread assumes a brick red color. If a purple 

 hue is desired a little lime is added to the dye. Black is obtained by a 

 slightly different method. The leaves, root, and bark of the pinarrEm 

 tree are crushed in water. This yields a black liquor which is poured 

 into a jar containing the thread and the whole is placed over a slow fire 

 where it remains until the liquid is near the boiling point. When this 

 is reached the thread is removed and placed in a gourd, the open end 

 of which fits over the jar so as to catch the steam coming from the dye. 

 After a time the thread is removed and dried, and the process is repeated 

 until at last a permanent black is obtained. After the coloring is com- 

 plete the thread is again placed on the rectangular frame, the over- 

 tying is removed and the warp is ready for the loom (Plate XXII .) 

 In the loom (Plate XXIII) the threads encircle a bamboo pole attached 

 to the wall, and are held tense by a strap which passes around the 

 waist of the operator. The weft threads are forced up against the 

 fabric by means of the comber board and are beaten in with a baton. 

 The warp threads are held in their relative positions, first by the comber 

 board, second by loops which pass under the lower threads and over a 



1 Morinda Bracteata Roxb. 



2 Woof threads are generally of one color. A somewhat similar process used 

 in Java is described by Sir Thos. Raffles in The History of Java, Vol. I, p. 189. 



