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Haikara Jangga

A hair comb from East Sumba made from turtle shell. Typically worn by brides, the rooster and horse motifs "symbolize power, fertility and protection." (see p. 79 of 'Kisah Perhiasan Nusantara' by Supit)
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Comments

  • How interesting, Edith. The creatures at the top of the comb look like characters in an Indonesian puppet play. Fascinating.

  • By the way how did you find that book "Kisah perhiasan Nusantara"? i hesitated getting a copy t jakarta airport, i tought it lacked substance compared with other indonesian jewels books!

  • I agree with you! However, I always find that simply having photos with names are useful, and I almost always find a photo of a piece in one book that does not appear in others. Since I will be spending more time in Indonesia I thought buying more than one book worthwhile. I also have the one by Carpenter, which is quite good, and one by Sibeth which I prefer for its ethnographic and historic approach. However, the latter only includes Sumatra jewelry.
  • So, I found out how these are worn. The comb is secured to the back of the head with the curved of the comb following the shape of the head. The decorated area of the comb is placed slightly above the crown of the head. A band of cloth is wrapped around the head and across the back of the comb, thus helping to secure it in place.
  • 2506045336?profile=originalBeautiful!!. Very much like traditional Spanish "peineta" and "mantilla".

    2506045492?profile=original

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