An article on the ship cloths of South Sumatra, the long palepai (sesai balak) and the small square tampan. It covers their ceremonial use in marriage, birth, circumcision and funeral rites among the Paminggir and neighboring groups, and their role in marking aristocratic rank and family exchange. It also describes the technique (supplementary weft patterning on a plain weave cotton ground, with cotton, silk and metallic yarns, natural dyes, and a back tension loom) and classifies the motif groups (ships, birds, hornbills, wajang-style figures, geometric and floral designs). Twelve plates of palepai and tampan in museum and private collections are followed by notes and a bibliography.