| Endek cloth popular with native Balinese |
Balinese produce and sell textiles to satisfy tourist demand as well as to dress pleasingly before the gods in temple ceremonies and rites of passage. Textiles are an integral part of every ritual or ceremony, from a tooth filing to a cremation, and incorporate powerful motifs and symbols. Color also plays a big role it enables the Balinese to communicate with deities within the context of a religious event.
Two of Bali's largest textile factories lie along the main tourist artery between Denpasar and Batubulan, Gianyar, and Mas. One of the textiles dominated by tourist is endek the very distinctive tie-dyed woven cloth that more popular with the native Balinese than with tourists. Worn all over the island for any occasion, endek is perhaps Bali's most visible craft.
Using only wooden, hand-operated looms, endek is woven by the usual weft-ikat method portions of the cloth are tied and wrapped before immersion in a dye bath. The overall effect ranges from an irregular, wavy, diffused look to the most primitive patterns. The tourist also see triangular, zigzagging, and diamond designs, or unusual outlines of animals or masks. The fuzzy irregularities of this native cloth are hypnotic. The mottled patterns even appear to change color and shape in different angles of light, from six to 100 employees, can produce endek with up to six colors. It takes a weaver one day to complete approximately one meter.
The Balinese adore endek, wearing it on both formal and informal occasions. Men like sarung made of endek cloth, women wrap kain made of endek tightly around the hips. Colors range from dark blue and brown to vibrant greens, oranges, and reds. The cost of endek is about Rp 4000/m for printed endek that depending on the amount of colors used and intricacy of design.
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