page_title: Ikat
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ikat / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Banton Cloth or Banton Burial Cloth Tagalog: Telang Pangyumao ng Banton
context_page_description: Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric.
  In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarns or bundles of yarns with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern. The yarns are then dyed. The bindings may then be altered to create a new pattern and the yarns dyed again with another colour. This process may be repeated multiple times to produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When the dyeing is finished all the bindings are removed and the yarns are woven into cloth. In other resist-dyeing techniques such as tie-dye and batik the resist is applied to the woven cloth, whereas in ikat the resist is applied to the yarns before they are woven into cloth. Because the surface design is created in the yarns rather than on the finished cloth, in ikat both fabric faces are patterned.
  A characteristic of ikat textiles is an apparent "blurriness" to the design. The blurriness is a result of the extreme difficulty the weaver has lining up the dyed yarns so that the pattern comes out perfectly in the finished cloth.
context_section_description: As textiles do not last well through history, scholars have so far been unable to determine where the technique of ikat originated. Nevertheless, some parts of Asia demonstrate strong ikat traditions which suggest its possible origin; they are Maritime Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. However, it probably developed in several different locations independently.
  The term "ikat" has Indonesian origin, and it was introduced into European textile vocabulary back in the early 20th century, when Dutch scholars begin to study the rich textile traditions of the East Indies archipelago (today Indonesia).
  Uyghurs call it atlas (IPA [ɛtlɛs]) and use it only for woman's clothing. The historical record indicates that there were 27 types of atlas during Qing Chinese occupation. Now there are only four types of Uyghur atlas remaining: qara-atlas, a black ikat used for older women's clothing; khoja'e-atlas, a yellow, blue, or purple ikat used for married women; qizil-atlas, a red ikat used for girls; and Yarkent-atlas, a khan or royal atlas.
  Yarkent-atlas has more diverse styles; during the Yarkent Khanate (1514–1705), there were ten different styles of Yarkent-atlas.
caption: The Banton Burial Cloth, the oldest existing example of warp ikat in Southeast Asia, displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines. The cloth was found in the sacred Ipot cave of Romblon.
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