Theresia Lena: The Master Weaver of Maumere
At 68, Theresia Lena has spent over 50 years perfecting the ancient art of Tenun Ikat. Her work has traveled from a highland village in East Flores to galleries in Jakarta and Singapore.
The workshop is a converted bamboo outbuilding at the back of Theresia Lena family compound in Sikka Village, Maumere. Six backstrap looms are set up in two rows, each attended by a woman ranging in age from 19 to 71. The only sounds are the rhythmic clack of the shuttle and occasional exchange in the local Sikka dialect.
My mother put the shuttle in my hand when I was seven. She said: this is not just weaving. This is memory.
The pattern she is working on — a complex interlocking naga (serpent) motif — was documented by her great-grandmother in a hand-drawn notebook. The notebook contains 23 patterns, some not woven in over 60 years. Theresia is working her way through them.