'Blangkon' makers fighting to stay in business

'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.