A reference website for tribal textiles

tribaltextilesinfotribaltextiles.info is dedicated to sharing tribal textile information – particularly of a visual nature – with fellow enthusiasts as an on-line resource and to maximize the possibilities offered by the internet of assembling information in a dynamic, three dimensional, flexible and interactive format.

This site contains studies, travel reports photo galleries and bibliographies that can be used for research. What an amazing find! What lead me to the site was a Pinterest pin, rukaineedleweavingwhen I got there I was very confused because at first glance it appeared to be a text only site and I did not find the image on the Pinterest pin right away. After a little wandering around I was able to see the beauty and special weaving knowledge that it contains. If you click on the photo at the top of this post I’ll bring right to the photo gallery so that you can soak it in before wandering on your own.

Here is a link to the book  Textile Fabrics of Aboriginal Tribes in Taiwan showing work of the professor Yushan Tasi. You can see some of her work on display in a recent exhibit at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines which is located on Yang Ming Mountain overlooking Taipei city. From this link you can learn more about the people who’s weaving the professor is studying. Read about Atayal tribal life. atayalwomanweaving

There is a movement to preserve this tribal weaving at Atayal Textiles Research Center, houses a ramie farm, a battery of designers, and several women who work together to display and sell textile handicrafts and accept orders from government agencies to promote the beauty of Atayal textile workmanship. The Center currently employs a total of eleven personnel, ranging from 16 to 67 years of age, all of whom come from the Atayal community along the Daan River.

The Book of Looms  shows a diagram of the Atayal loom and describes how it works.

Each piece of the loom is pictured individually and its purpose is explained.

Here is a video of the loom in action: