Indonesia's textile tradition is simply limitless. For Indonesians, fine textiles are more than just a piece of cloth. They carry symbolic meanings and are inseparable from social and religious rituals that are intertwined with the lives of its people. The traditional cloth is the result of unsurpassed technical skills which produce the songket of Sumatra and the highly intricate ikat weaving traditions of eastern Indonesia.
Songket
Songket is synonymous with Sumatra, found in West Sumatra, Aceh and Riau. In Palembang, beautiful songket can be found in Jalan Ki Gede Ingsuro, Palembang, South Sumatra. Traditional West Sumatra songket is ornately brocaded with gold and silver threads. Major centers include Koto Gadang, Padang Panjang, Payakumbuh and Silungkang. You will have the opportunity to see weavers at work at Pandai Sikek (Sikek literally means weavers), a village 12 km south of Bukittinggi.
The motive could have used the old motives, but now the fashion trends keep changing in the modern era. Songket is now no longer merely to be used as a tank during a religious ceremony only, but now Songket is used as one of the fashion appeal in a modern milieu.
Even so, songket is so hounded by the buyers. Songket are in great demand by the public, including the mothers of officials, to overseas travelers. In fact, not infrequently songket cloth is also sent to Overseas especially to several countries in continental Europe.
Ikat
The name of ikat is taken from an Indonesian word literally translated as "to bind". The process involves binding the resist material at intervals around the yarn. There are three methods of tenun ikat. They are warp ikat, weft ikat and the rare double ikat.
Ikat fabrics can be distinguished from songket based on the type of yarn. Songket generally wear gold or silver thread. Songket motifs seen only on one side of the fabric, while the connective fabric pattern is visible on both sides of the fabric.
The Batak in North Sumatra, the Toraja in South Sulawesi, in Lombok and the islands in the eastern part of Indonesia, namely Sumba, Flores, Sawu and Bima are producers of great quality and exquisitely designed ikats. In Bali, the double-ikat gringsing cloth is considered the most sacred of all textiles and is used in many important ceremonies. Gringsing can be found in Tenganan village and Merumas, Jalan Astina Utara Gianyar, Bali.
Advertisement
EmoticonEmoticon