Geringsing

(Glossary Term)

Sacred double ikat cotton textile woven only in Tenganan Pageringsingan, Bali. The geringsing is considered the most magical and powerful of all Balinese fabrics and is highly valued for ritual use. The geringsing is used by the nobility of Bali during important ceremonial rites, such as tooth-filing, for funerals and as part of the offerings made to the gods. The cloth is also used to treat people in times of sickness, when a small fragment of the cloth is sometimes removed and burned during a curative rite. In Balinese gering refers to illness or evil coming from the sea to the south of Bali or from Nusa Penida which lies off the coast, the realm of a powerful spirit associated with cholera and other epidemics, and sing means without.