This men’s sarong has blue and indigo weft over which a checked pattern has been woven in. The checked pattern is formed by using alternating colour threads (probably indigo cotton and red silk) both in the warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. The ceremonial dress a Minangkabau male wears conveys important information about a man's role and responsibilities in society. Typically a Minangkabau man's costume will consist of a number of items: a head covering called a ‘deta’ or ‘saluak’, a big shirt or ‘baju gadang’, trousers or ‘sarawa gadang’, a short sarong or ‘sisampiang’, a belt known as an ‘ikek pinggang’, and a shoulder cloth which is called either ‘salendang’ or ‘salempang’. In addition, he may also wear a keris dagger which in the Minangkabau language is a ‘karih’, not to mention other ceremonial objects such as a silver box for tobacco or betel known as a ‘salapah sireh’.
