166 
CLOTH-MAKING. 
buckle of her waistband is also his work ; I am 
not quite sure but that it is a token of betrothal 
when a girl wears the buckle her suitor has made. 
One end of the loom is fastened to a strong pole 
lying horizontally, against which the weaver 
presses her feet, and the other end is held fast 
by a band round her back; thus her work is 
kept stretched, and I have stood hours watching 
her lift the threads, and form — with, to me, deft 
and bewildering swiftness, as well as surpassing 
patience — the favourite Tenimber pattern which 
borders all the garments they make. 
Two kinds of cloth are made, one from beau- 
tiful soft cotton, grown by themselves, which, 
with a curious little spindle or twister, and a 
store in a tiny basket depending from the arm, 
they form into thread, dyed afterwards blue and 
scarlet, among which colours white is inter- 
mingled in the weaving. The result is a pretty 
and very soft cloth, and it is worn by the women 
when the evening chill comes on, but too often 
it is taken in loan by the men. 
The other material is used as a sarong or 
petticoat, and is manufactured by a patient pro- 
cess from the leaves of a palm-tree. The 
leaves are split into stripes of about an inch 
wide, then the outer skin is peeled off by the 
