Sumba Neon Wara Pata Ikat - many spirit sentients woven together

🌿 Sumba Cosmology (Marapu Belief) This 2 meters handwoven Sumba ikat features neon animals of the sun—horses, chickens, and birds—woven in bright, vivid colour. Sumba’s traditional worldview is rooted in Marapu, an ancestral belief system that connects humans, nature, and spirits as one living universe. Within this cosmology, the world is understood as both the upper realm—home to ancestors and the divine—and the earthly realm of people, animals, and land. These realms are not separate, but in constant relationship. Ancestors remain present, guiding and protecting the living, while animals such as horses, chickens, and birds are more than physical beings—they carry symbolic and spiritual meaning. Life, in this understanding, is about maintaining balance and respect between all parts of this living world.