'Blangkon' makers fighting to stay in business

Text and photo by Kartika Bagus

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): In the past, one could tell a man's social position in Java by the blangkon he wore.

The cap, made of batik with a small knobbed end, bore symbolic status in defining whether somebody was of the aristocracy, a royal servant or commoner.

Today, with changes in fashion and society, it has lost its former function. Now it is nothing more than an accessory, a curiosity of a time gone by. Most modern Javanese men wear a blangkon only a few times in their life, on their wedding day and of those of their children.

As demand has slumped, there are now few businesses still producing the hats. Even in Surakarta, once a hub for blangkon making, the remaining producers wonder how long their business will hold out.

Fifteen producers in Potrojayan, Serengan subdistrict, Surakarta, acknowledged their business is stagnant due to the economic crisis which began in 1997 and price competition. All of them were pessimistic about business prospects.

M. Fahmi, a 23-year-old maker who inherited the craft from his forefathers, blamed the terrible state of the industry to unsound competition among the producers and the meddling of brokers.

With so little business to go around, the makers have few thoughts about price standardization for the good of the overall industry. They are prey to the brokers who bargain them down to the lowest prices, for they know that if they do not accept the price, other makers will.

Fahmid said the business was "seasonal", with the biggest orders coming in the Javanese month Muharram, which is considered auspicious to get married. The hats are ordered for members of the wedding party and the family.

"But now we have a modern method compared to the more traditional way of selling our hats, because each producer has his own distributor. That is why the competition is increasing," Fahmi said.

Businesses can make up to 50 hats per day and their prices range from Rp 8,500 to Rp 20,000, depending on the quality of the batik used. In addition to local marketing in Surakarta, they sell their products to Javanese living in Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and Yogyakarta.

Another blangkon maker, Ananta, said the hats were of several types. Most of them are blangkon kasepuhan, which are worn by older men, such as the fathers in wedding ceremonies, kasatrian (worn by noblemen), Solo mudo (worn by young men from Surakarta), and perbawan and mangkunegaran, which are also for nobles.

In addition, they also make to order blangkon for people of other cultures, such as those in West Java, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Madura, Ponorogo in East Java and Bali.

Some of the companies are trying an innovative way to stay in business.

They have expanded from the hat-making industry by providing complete wedding packages for their clients. This entails making the costumes for the bride, groom and their families, and slippers and copper buckles, all of which are essential in the Javanese wedding ensemble.

For the time being, this branching out into the wedding accessory business is keeping them alive. But it would be a shame if most of the companies were to vanish without a trace, with changes in the modern world putting an end to a craft steeped in centuries of tradition.