This is part of a spinning instrument used during the weaving of a piece of textile.As in many societies, textiles in Timor play a very important role in community rituals. They are produced by the numerous ethnic groups on the island and each can be distinguished from the other, from style and technique, and by their meaning. Special textiles were produced and used to celebrate birth, marriage and to mark death, and in ceremonies that would ensure material and spiritual prosperity, safety and fertility. Weaving is done by women and traditionally, they were made of homegrown, homespun cotton, dyed with natural dyes and decorated with ancestral motifs. The textiles are woven on the backstrap loom. Presently, there is an increasing use of synthetic dyes among weavers and the designs being woven display a range from exact copies of historic motifs to modern creations.
