Designer brings ceremonial cloth out of the closet

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): They are undeniably beautiful, and look completely in place when they are dusted off and cleaned up to be worn at formal ceremonies.

A more difficult proposition, however, is to bring the country's unique fabrics out of the closet for everyday use.

North Sumatra's woven cloth, ulos, has long been part of the ritual events of the Batak people of the region. It was used in the past to welcome honored guests; today it proudly takes its place at wedding receptions and special events.

The Batak, who consist of several marga or clans, continue to keep their traditions alive.

Martha Sirait, who has been in the ulos business for about 17 years, explained that each Batak clan created its own ulos and named them after particular motifs.

Batak Karo, for instance, create ulos with red nuances and sometimes interlace it with gold thread. The Tapanuli mostly produce black-and-white ragi idup ulos, with an interlocking diamond motif, and ragi hotang ulos, which mostly features a fine, spotted ikat design in the central part of the cloth. South Tapanuli's sadum ulos is known for its colorful beads decorating the black woven material.

Martha explained that ulos served a different function for each of the groups. Sadum ulos, for instance, is mostly used as a gift to greet kings or special guests.

For the Batak Toba, ragi idup ulos is presented to older people, with ragi hotang ulos reserved for wedding ceremonies.

"Hotang here means rattan and, during a wedding, it will be given by the parents in a ritual called mangulosi (presenting ulos) in the hope that the bride and groom's marriage will be like rattan, unbreakable. It is hoped that the married couple will have a long and harmonious marriage," Martha said.

According to Woven Messages -- Indonesian Textile Traditions in the Course of Time, there are more than 40 identified types of the textile. Specific types were preferred for ceremonial use.

Despite the frequent use of ulos, it still cannot match the popularity of other woven fabrics, such as those from Bali, Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi, with the fabrics and motifs known abroad.

Most Batak people still use ulos for ceremonial and special events. When they are finished, the textiles are returned to the closet.

Changes

In Martha's expert hands, ulos transforms from a ceremonial item into one for modern use.

It is no longer simply a wrap, or rigidly defined in the colors of black, white and red. She transforms it into vests, women's bags, wallets, bed covers, pillow covers, place mats and wall decorations, among other interesting items. Eye-catching colors such as blue, pink, gold and silver are used.

Modern technology has cut down on the time and elbow grease used in the past.

In the old days, an ulos was made from wood fiber which needed to be submerged in a concoction of tree sap and other materials for months before it was ready to be made into thread. Only then could the weaving begin.

The process is now much simpler and quicker because the thread is readily available.

For instance, a ragi idup ulos takes about a month and 10 days to make, while sadum ulos only needs about two weeks.

The cloth is not cheap. A regular piece costs about Rp 3.5 million, but decorative cloth would be about Rp 7.5 million each.

Martha said she did not wish to degrade the cultural and spiritual meaning of the cloth through applying the modern touch.

"I myself help in ulos preservation," said the director of Martha Ulos, who is exhibiting a 200-year-old ragi hotang ulos at Mal Puri Indah in West Jakarta.

The display is part of the mall's Sumatra promotion, which will last until Aug. 23, in conjunction with the country's 55th independence anniversary on Aug. 17.

"Besides, if we let ulos stay simply as a ceremonial item, we won't help its weavers, won't do much to help improve their economic status. The number of weavers is getting fewer and fewer, and most of the weavers come from the older generation."

She has about 300 weavers in North Sumatra, such as in Balige, Siantar, Samosir and Tarutung, to make her fabric (she also plans to start weaving training for dropouts). For the work, the weavers, most of whom are farmers, each obtain additional income of between Rp 250,000 and Rp 400,000 per month, she added.

The woven fabric is brought to Jakarta for final processing into the range of products, with Martha working with craftsmen from Garut, West Java.

"I provide ulos and they provide leather to make bags, wallets and other items. If the entire bag was made out of ulos, it would be very expensive."

A small bag costs Rp 55,000 while a big one sells for Rp 250,000. A wallet is Rp 40,000; a small wall decoration made entirely of ulos is Rp 175,000.

The works are exported to Japan and Saudi Arabia.

"I continue to focus on Japan since I see for myself that Japanese people really love unique handicrafts," Martha said.

The Japanese market likes black-and-white ragi idup ulos, she said, while beaded sadum ulos was popular in Saudi Arabia.

"But we have to admit that compared to other craftsmen in other areas, North Sumatra's weavers are still left behind. We hope that the government is willing to reach out, helping them to improve the design and procure raw materials."