Nini Towok's Spinning Wheel: Cloth and the Cycle of Life in Kerek, Java

In 1976 Dutch textile specialist Rens Heringa first visited Kerek in rural East Java and discovered a region where—unlike the rest of Java—the full range of textiles with woven patterning, as well as the only batik still made on handwoven cotton cloth, continued to be produced for local use.

Each type of cloth made in Kerek is created for a specific purpose—to be worn by a person of a particular age, social, or residential group; to serve in life-cycle events such as marriage or funerals; to...