Geringsing are the most spectacular textiles ever produced in Bali and possibly the whole of Southeast Asia. They are beautiful and worn at every rite of passage ceremony in Tenganan, from a child’s hair cutting ceremony between the ages of five and ten, when geringsing is worn for the first time, through to death.

Some suggest this motif is a map of Tenganan but it is older than that. It is based on the old Indian mandala of the cosmos – a circle in the centre surrounded by indented walls on four sides, enclosed by a diamond emphasising strong cardinal directions. The inspiration was patola from Gujarat in west India. The stepped rectangle in the centre is called kota mesir (‘Egyptian town’) and is believed to have protective qualities.

Sometimes there are gold threads at the ends of the textile but these are rare. Where they exist, they are a beautiful contrast to the classically dark geringsing colours. The threads are fragile and can easily disappear and they are more expensive. Those with gold threads are thought to be the most powerful for ceremonial purposes.

An incredibly complex process, requiring great skill, it involves dying the pattern into both the warp and weft threads. Some dyes can only be gathered during certain phases of the moon.

Geringsing contain sacred energy. The word geringsing meaning ‘without (or against) illness’ ie ‘illness averting’ is derived from Sanskrit and used in Old Javanese and Balinese. They are loosely woven from handspun cotton thread (which now comes from Nusa Penida) on a simple backstrap loom in the family compound. It can take 15 years to dye and weave a single piece.