[18] Woof threads are generally of one color. A somewhat similar process used in Java is described by SIR THOS. RAFFLES in The History of Java, Vol. I, p. 189.
[Transcriber's note: Although footnote 2 appears on the same page as the above paragraph, it is not clear to what particular part of that paragraph it refers.]
After the cloth is removed from the loom it is polished. A long pole of _palma brava_ is fitted into a notch in the roof. The operator seats herself on the floor with a smooth board before her, or in her lap, and on it places the dampened cloth. A shell is fitted over the lower end of the pole, which is bent and made bowlike, until the shell rests on the cloth. It is then ironed rapidly to and fro until the fabric has received a high polish (Plate XXIV).
The woman's duties do not end with the manufacture of cloth, for all the garments worn by the members of the tribe are the result of her handiwork. She sews the strips of hemp cloth into skirts, men's trousers, carrying bags, and sometimes into jackets. The women devote hours of labor to these jackets, covering arms, necks, and waist bands with colored embroidery or designs in applique, while on the better garments they place elaborate designs in beads or shell disks.
After the evening meal is over the women of the household gather around the flickering lights, and until far into the night work on these garments, bead necklaces, or other ornaments.
Only a few of the weavers attempt to make the peculiar chocolate-colored head covering worn by the _magani_. For these kerchiefs the woman weaves a square cotton cloth of the desired size, and at one corner attaches a small brass hook. Joined to the hook, by means of a chain, is a loop which fits over the toes of the operator, thus enabling her to keep the fabric taut while her hands are left free for work. Small sections of this cloth are raised and are wrapped with waxed thread, so that when the fabric is dyed these portions will not receive the coloring matter (Plate XXV). Later the overtying is removed, leaving small white rings or squares on a chocolate-colored background. These cloths are meant primarily for the warriors, but expert weavers, who are under the protection of a certain powerful spirit, are also permitted to wear an upper garment of this material.