ABOUT TAIS AND LOVE

Rosina Soik Taek, 80 years of age, is a wholesome love story. Rosina’s love for tais, woven fabric that known to have a lengthy production process (up to several weeks, even months). Her love is so deep that she offers her hands and legs to be tattooed with the pattern of the fabric. There is a pattern of temple, swallow, flower, as well as geometrical pattern of the traditional house. Whenever weavers forgot about the old pattern of the fabric, they will look at Mama Rosina’s hands and legs for reference. 


When did it start? “When she was still a teenager,” Isto, Mama Rosina’s great-grandchild said. That means, it happened in the 40s, where no cellphone camera was available to ease the documentation like today. Weaving girls of Atambua, Belu, tattooed their hands and legs. “This is no ordinary tattoos, this is rajah,” – a traditional method of tattooing, Isto explained. It caused extraordinary pain compared to the modern tattoo method. “Mama is braver than us, the youngsters.” 

In Faturika village, in Beituka Raimanuk Traditional House, Atambua, Mama Rosina is a well-respected figure. In family ceremony such as guest reception ceremony like what they did to welcome me in mid of 2008, Mama Rosina and everyone else wore the best-woven fabric as a sign of respect.


I am fascinated by Mama Rosina and her full body tattoo story.


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PUBLISHED BY Puan Indonesia
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