Lampung textiles arrive for Jakarta anniversary

By Maria Kegel

JAKARTA (JP): An exhibit of antique textile art that relies mostly on embroidery for its major design features has arrived for the first time in the capital.

Lampung cloth, overshadowed by the more well-known gold and red silk tradition of songket from Palembang and West Sumatra and, of course, batik in all its versions, nevertheless shares a rich historical tradition with its counterparts.

Galeri Hadiprana in Kemang, South Jakarta, is moving it into the spotlight with its exhibition of authentic antique selections titled "The Ceremonial Lampung Clothes".

Running through Sunday, 40 pieces of the finest embroidered silk and cotton ceremonial fashions and wall decor from this area, with some dating as far back as 200 years ago, will be on display in commemoration of Jakarta's 474th birthday.

Exhibition coordinator Johanda Karahadi is enthused about the prospect of these intricate works gaining more attention in the capital.

"We think Lampung cloth is an amazing variety of textile art, and this is the first time we have had so many at once in our gallery," Johanda said.

Johanda said the gallery decided against organizing a batik exhibition as there had been so many already in Jakarta, and Lampung cloth warranted more attention.

Songket, named after the technique of supplementary weft patterning, resembles the variety from Lampung with its interwoven gold thread, but differs in several ways, he said.

With songket, gold thread is woven in a set pattern fully throughout a silk or cotton foundation, while Lampung cloth is typically based on embroidered work, and so it has handwoven motifs as well as embroidery, Johanda said.

He added that songket also featured embroidery, but in different styles.

The similarities between songket and Lampung cloth are due to the influence of the kingdom of Sriwijaya, which stretched from Palembang to West Java in the eighth century, as textiles in Sumatra had developed the tradition in parallel, but there were differences in certain regions, such as in West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Palembang and Lampung, he said.

In Palembang, the source of songket, trading was intensive and there usually was direct contact with traders because of its port, while Lampung had indirect contact and relied on the ports of Banten and Batavia instead.

The international pepper trade had brought substantial wealth to the Lampung region through Batavia's port. But it was the foreign traders who also brought along exotic textiles, such as silk, metallic yarns and mirrored metals, which in turn influenced the amazing range of Lampung textiles and how they have evolved today.

Java was regarded as the center of civilization, and Johanda pointed out that other areas with noted textiles, such as Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Cirebon, were under sultanates that ensured a standard of quality and helped its development.

"But surprisingly, in Lampung, they did not have a sultanate, yet they could develop a very interesting textile."

There was an aristocracy present in Lampung though, and they were entitled to wear the tapis cucuk andak, a sarong only worn by the females of that class.

"Just as in Java where there was certain batik that was allowed to be worn only by the sultan's family, such as the parang garuda, if ordinary people in Lampung had worn the tapis cucuk andak, they would have been fined," Johanda added.

So although it was reserved for the higher class, tapis cucuk andak, circa 1800, has a surprisingly simple design compared to other tapis on display at the gallery.

Four bands of embroidered patterns on an indigo background are set against a handwoven pure silk fabric, dyed in natural browns and earth tones.

"Historically, Palembang was more developed than Lampung, and since the two cities developed separately, the tapis cannot be found in other places," he said referring to the ceremonial garment worn as a sarong by females of all classes.

He said the tapis, indicative of the region's distinctive textiles and only found in Lampung, was made from basic handwoven fabric, using handspun yarn and rich natural dyes of deep blue, warm yellow and rusty brown from the mahogany bark. It was later embroidered, and that could take up to a year to complete.

"The tapis was only used as a sarong, otherwise it was kept in storage," he said.

The ornate tirai features embroidered motifs that originated from a mix of ethnic Indonesian, European, Chinese and Muslim cultures on a silk or velvet foundation, and were strictly used as wall decorations in ceremonies.

Kain kapal (boat cloth), named by westerners because of its embroidered ship images, was also a textile for display only and is divided into three kinds: palepai, tatibin and tampan.

Tampan, which was not used by the aristocracy, was the cloth with the shortest length, at under one meter long, and served as a cover for gifts put on a tray at engagement or wedding ceremonies.

Palepai, measuring over three meters long, was hung on a wall in a home belonging to a person who was a prominent figure in a traditional ceremony, and tatibin, about a meter in length, was also displayed, but sometimes used to cover wedding gifts.

"It is possible that these types of textiles were used more than 200 years ago, but no records are available to confirm this," Johanda said.

"We can still see the cloths used in the culture today, but sadly, it is difficult to find the weavers and craftsmen in Lampung. There are still some, but not as many as 100 years ago," he said.

Johanda said songket was still alive in Palembang as many 20- something women enjoyed making them in workshops, but this was not the case in Lampung.

A reminder of colonialism exists in the tapis perahu kolonial, or raja tunggal, circa 1840, where large bands of brilliant gold motifs sewn on black silk are spaced evenly on a field of triangles and diamonds on natural brown.

Across the large bands are a stream of repeated motifs, of which a crest of lions, which usually appears in European art, figures predominantly.

"But here the lions are replaced with dogs, as they were more familiar with dogs than lions, although we don't know what the reason was to replace them with dogs." Motifs of Dutch soldiers are also included alongside them.

Also on display are extremely short antique jackets, designed to complement the tapis and worn by the Kauer people of West Sumatra, and wedding pillows, embroidered with payet (small pieces of brass) and gold thread in a flower and leaf design on red silk.

"The pillows were a sign of social status. The more pillows you displayed at weddings, the more wealth was assumed you had," Johanda said.

The exhibition is open to the public at Galeri Hadiprana, Mitra Hadiprana building, Jl. Kemang Raya 30, daily through June 17 from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., except for Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 719-4715 for more information.