The sarong is a tubular garment that is worn around the lower body. It is decorated with floral motifs that, it has been suggested, could possibly be a stylised double-wing symbol associated with garuda, the mount of Vishnu in Hindu mythology. The cloth has a central ‘kepala’ or ‘head panel’ which Malay ladies would wear at the front. The kepala features rows of elongated triangles known in Malay as ‘pucuk rebung’ or ‘bamboo shoots’. Such triangular ornamentation was popularised by its usage on the prestigious Indian trade cloths. This sarong was made using the ‘weft ikat’ technique, where the horizontal threads are tied and dyed.
