This man’s mantle, known as a ‘hinggi’, depicts rows of confronting horses, deers with ornate antlers, and chickens. In Sumba, horses were part of the bride-price wealth and provided transport. The deer are possibly a reference to the hunting parties of the nobility and the chickens represent sustenance. Such cloths were worn wrapped around the hips and were also used to cover the corpse in death rites. Cloths dyed with red were the prerogative of the upper class in Sumbanese society, and were only dyed by noble women who retained the secret of red dyeing. Like the use of the colour red, the complex netting in the centreband reflects influence of prestigious imported Indian silk textiles and was likewise reserved for members of the nobility.
