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Revised Bibliography
TEXTILES. Processing fiber into thread and transform-
ing those threads into fabrics, possibly the oldest human
technology, first appear on the cultural horizon during the
Neolithic period, between twelve and fifteen thousand years
ago. Not until the sixth millennium BCE, however, do frag-
ments of textiles excavated at sites in central Europe and the
Middle East provide evidence for their inclusion in ritual or
religious contexts. These grave furnishings and occasional
finds from refuse dumps suggest purpose and intent; howev-
er, the archaeological record is far from complete. The docu-
mentation of the actual meanings of many ritual practices in-
volving fabric is, in most cases, relatively recent. Despite
differences in time and space and the fact that few causal
links exist among the cultures discussed here, the practices
involving textiles in religious rites and ceremonies can be
considered in three broad categories: (1) symbolic meanings
associated with textiles, (2) ritual functions for textiles within
religious practices, and (3) links between the sacred and the
profane realms.
TEXTILES AS SYMBOLS. In most societies that developed tex-
tile technologies, cloth and its production served as meta-
phors for life. In Greek mythology, for example, three god-
desses known as the Moirai controlled the lives of mortals.
The Fates, as they are more commonly known, include
Clotho the spinner, who creates the web of life; Lachesis,
who measures its length; and Atropos, who cuts it. The phys-
ical act of interlacing prepared threads on a frame to create
textiles is a powerful symbol. The spinning of thread, its
winding onto bobbins, and the warping of the loom symbol-
ize conception, gestation, and birth. The process of weaving
evokes the vicissitudes of life, growth, and maturity. Cutting
the cloth from the loom can symbolize death, but more fre-
quently it symbolizes rebirth and renewal because the process
creates an object that can then be used.
In parts of South Asia and the South Pacific the physical
form of a newly woven cloth is tubular because the warp
yarns are continuous and form an uninterrupted circle be-
tween the two beams of the loom. When the cloth is finished
only a small section of the warp yarns remains unwoven. For
normal use the textile is cut open across this area. The rich
metaphorical potential of the continuous yarns in the uncut
cloth became obvious to diverse groups within the Indone-
sian archipelago. Among the Sasak tribes on the island of
Lombok in eastern Indonesia, three sacred tubular cloths are
made for a child at birth by the eldest woman weaver in the
family. These are stored in a sacred area of the house until
needed. In the course of the hair-cutting, circumcision, and
marriage rites, the warps of these textiles are cut. Although
deceptively modest in appearance, these red, yellow, black,
and white striped cotton textiles are endowed with signifi-
cance affecting the general well-being of individuals. Farther
west, on the island of Bali, the more elaborate geringsing, dec-
orated with double ikat-patterns, have similar metaphorical
significance. Geringsing also have a circular warp that must
be cut to form a cloth. A single cloth, which may take over
a year to produce, accompanies an individual throughout
each life-crisis ceremony; ultimately it serves as a funeral pall
for the corpse.The associations with female textile “producers” reflect
other, more nuanced cultural meanings. Across the ages
dowries have involved fine textiles and the presumption that
these specialized fabrics embodied a bride’s skills to provide
for and clothe the family. Entire industries in many parts of
the world, like those still flourishing in Morocco, cater to the
wedding trade and, despite their patriarchical commercializa-
tion, are evidence of the link between textiles and life pro-
cesses. The productive and fructifying qualities associated
with women are transferred to dowry textiles, which in turn
function as fertility symbols. When juxtaposed with male
symbols in metal or agricultural products, textiles evoke a
complementary polarity, a polarity well illustrated in the ar-
chaeological and ethnographic record. The second-century
CE graves of Dian nobles excavated in Southwest China at
the sites of Shizaishan and Lijaishan, for example, contained
bronze models of looms, other weaving tools, and sewing
boxes in female graves; comparable male burials were fur-
nished with bronze weapons and models of agricultural tools.
Together, tools or weapons and textiles symbolized
completion and ideals of cosmic harmony. Echoes of this no-
tion are found in legends of the ancient Mediterranean and
Asian worlds that personified the annual conjunction of two
stars within the Milky Way as the weaving maiden and the
herdsman.
RITUAL USES FOR TEXTILES. In Jewish tradition the tassel
or tzitzit at each corner of a man’s tallith, which is worn as
an undergarment, consists of eight strings and five knots
wrapped in specific ways to equal the numerical value of one
of the names of god. The numerical value of the word tzitzit
(together with the eight strings and five knots on each cor-9088 TEXTILES