96 southern tip of Sumatra, a great fl ourishing of the arts took place when the pepper trade of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries brought wealth to the Lampung region. Lampung’s spectacular textiles (fi g. 6) are justifi ably famous. JAVA AND BALI Fertile and densely populated, the islands of Java and Bali have complex histories and many-layered artistic traditions. The two islands were similar in culture until the Majapahit Empire collapsed in the fi fteenth century in the face of growing Islamic power on the north coast of Java. Thereafter, Bali alone maintained its predominantly Hindu religion. The Javanese, however, never completely abandoned one set of traditions for another, and today Javanese culture is renowned for its syncretism. Not only Islam but also Indian, Chinese, and eventually Dutch infl uences all form part of a heady and productive mix in the arts. Two highly sacred fi gures from Bali (fi g. 8) comprise remade versions of the Indian deities Vishnu and Lakshmi—yet can also be thought of as an Austronesian ancestral couple. Other works are deeply shaped by Javanese mysticism, such as the kuda lumping (fi g. 7), a hobby-horse whose use is much more than play. Its riders become possessed by horse spirits and perform “unnatural” horse-like acts, such as dunking their heads in troughs of water or chewing on hard ears of corn—as well as some decidedly unhorse-like behaviors including ingesting broken glass. Regarded as déclassé by sophisticated urbanites, these practices remain hugely popular with rural youths, for whom the spirit possession represents a sort of high-without-drugs, a sought-after otherworldly experience. EASTERN INDONESIA The eastern route of Austronesian expansion led from the Philippines to Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sundas. These areas were much less impacted in relatively recent times by the development of Indianized states in Sumatra and Java, although they were not entirely beyond the reach of trade and the infl uences that came with it. The plethora of small islands and the rugged mountainous terrain of the larger islands favored the development of numerous small-scale societies each with its own distinct, yet closely related, language and culture. Artists among the Toraja peoples of Sulawesi’s interior highlands excel in carving and painting the façades of their ceremonial houses and rice granaries, represented in the exhibition by the Fowler Museum’s spectacular granary façade (fi g. 9). Toraja ritual, focusing especially on the rites for the dead, called for use of textiles made with an unusually wide range of techniques and styles. Indeed, the Toraja seemed to use every kind of textile they could get their hands on, including locally painted cloths with patterning infl uenced by Indian trade cloths (fi g. 10). The textile arts reach another great crescendo in the Lesser Sunda chain—including the famous ikat-producing islands of Sumba, Sabu, Rote, Flores, Lembata, and Timor. NEAR OCEANIA Linguistic evidence indicates the Austronesian expansion followed the north coast of New Guinea into the Bismarck and Solomon archipelagoes, areas that were already inhabited by Papuan peoples. The hop-scotch distribution of Austronesian languages along the north coast of New Guinea today suggests that the newcomers FIG. 7 (below): Horse for spirit-possession dance, kuda lumping. Javanese peoples, Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Late 20th century. Wood, bamboo, plant fi ber, paint, hair, cordage. W: 113.5 cm. Gift of Susan P. Fuller, Fowler Museum at UCLA, inv. X99.5.36. Image © courtesy of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Photo: Don Cole, 2016. FIG. 8 (below right): Deity fi gures, rambut sedana. Balinese peoples, probably Sanur, Bali, Indonesia, 1930s or earlier. Copper alloy coins, cotton fabric, silk fabric, plant fi ber, wood, skin, imitation gemstones, metallic thread, gold leaf, lacquer, paint. H: 48 cm. The Katharane Mershon Collection of Indonesian Art, Fowler Museum at UCLA, inv. X61.77, X61.78. Image © courtesy of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Photo: Don Cole, 2014. FIG. 9 (above right): Granary façade. Sa’dan Toraja, Tondon, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Early 20th century. Wood, paint. H: 211 cm. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Kuhn, Fowler Museum at UCLA, inv. X85.855. Image © courtesy of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Photo: Don Cole, 2014. FIG. 10 (right): Ceremonial textile. Sa’dan Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Probably fi rst half of 20th century. Painted cotton. 178 x 81 cm. Gift of E. M. Bakwin, Fowler Museum at UCLA, inv. X2002.37.25. Image © courtesy of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Photo: Don Cole, 2014. ART on view
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