Lampung textiles arrive for Jakarta anniversary

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.